This is one of the most important questions facing any serious proposal to abolish property taxes.
Untax the Roof does not yet claim to have one complete replacement plan for every state and community. We will not invent a simple answer or promote an untested plan merely to make abolition sound easier.
Property-tax collections, government budgets, public services, and available revenue sources differ across the country. A responsible plan must be built from accurate financial data and evaluated according to the circumstances of each state.
The scale of the question, in verified numbers
The U.S. Census Bureau's 2024 Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances reports $724.785 billion in state-and-local property-tax revenue (item code T01). Of that, $700.612 billion (96.66%) was local-government revenue, and $24.173 billion was state-government revenue.
| Census category | 2024 collections | Property tax as % of this category |
|---|---|---|
| Property taxes | $724.785 billion | 100.00% |
| General sales & gross-receipts taxes | $607.659 billion | 119.27% |
| Individual income taxes | $526.006 billion | 137.79% |
| Corporation net-income taxes | $178.139 billion | 406.86% |
| All taxes other than property taxes | $1.739 trillion | 41.68% |
The percentages are scale comparisons, not proposed tax-rate changes. 119.27% means 2024 property-tax collections equaled 119.27% of 2024 general-sales-tax collections — it does not mean raising a sales-tax rate by that amount would yield the same revenue. Tax bases, exemptions, behavioral changes, administration, compliance, and state constitutional restrictions all affect actual revenue. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2024 Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances.
Property tax's share of state-and-local taxes varies sharply by state — from 64.31% in New Hampshire down to 13.95% in New Mexico in the 2024 data. No single national percentage describes every state's replacement problem.
Where Local Property-Tax Revenue Goes, By Government Type
The 2022 Census of Governments reports $650.628 billion in state-and-local property-tax revenue, of which $629.031 billion (96.68%) went to local governments and $21.597 billion (3.32%) to state governments. The local total reconciles exactly to five government-type amounts:
| Local government type | 2022 property-tax revenue | Share of local total |
|---|---|---|
| School districts | $256.482 billion | 40.77% |
| Counties | $152.521 billion | 24.25% |
| Cities/municipalities | $151.976 billion | 24.16% |
| Townships | $40.390 billion | 6.42% |
| Special districts | $27.662 billion | 4.40% |
| All local governments | $629.031 billion | 100.00% |
School districts receive the largest single government-type share, but together counties, municipalities, townships, and special districts account for 59.23% of local property-tax revenue - any replacement plan has to account for all five, not just schools.
Government types also differ sharply in how dependent they are on property tax versus other revenue. Using compatible 2022 Census revenue denominators:
| Government type | Property tax / general revenue | Property tax / own-source revenue | Property tax / total taxes |
|---|---|---|---|
| County | 27.74% | 42.35% | 69.10% |
| Municipality | 23.70% | 31.30% | 48.13% |
| Township | 61.03% | 75.92% | 91.08% |
| Special district | 10.92% | 17.51% | 59.86% |
| School district | 35.21% | 84.08% | 95.01% |
These are 2022 revenue totals and dependency ratios, not a completed replacement plan. Government-type rows are not additive to each other for general or intergovernmental revenue, because transfers between government types appear as intergovernmental receipts for the receiving type. Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, 2022 Census of Governments, State and Local Government Finance public-use files (22statetypepu.txt) (the file inside the 2022 Individual Unit File; see the Census dataset page). Totals and ratios were calculated by Untax the Roof from that file.
How dependent each state's local governments are on property tax for general revenue varies even more sharply than the national government-type averages above — see Local Government Tax Dependency for all 50 states and D.C., ranked.
By State: Which Government Type Receives Local Property Tax
The national 40.77%-to-school-districts figure above is a ratio of national sums, not a state average. Which government type actually records a state's local property-tax revenue varies sharply — for example, school districts account for 72.5645% of Missouri's recorded local property tax, while county governments account for 83.6429% of Maryland's. This reflects how each state organizes and assigns local government, not evidence of a funding solution.
| State | Local property tax | County | Municipality | Township | Special district | School district |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | $3.023B | 26.7696% | 20.697% | not separately reported | 1.946% | 50.5874% |
| Alaska | $1.626B | 51.395% | 48.605% | not separately reported | not separately reported | not separately reported |
| Arizona | $7.944B | 21.7446% | 10.7056% | not separately reported | 7.2097% | 60.3401% |
| Arkansas | $1.3B | 31.0117% | 18.5532% | not separately reported | 5.4359% | 44.9992% |
| California | $80.424B | 33.0238% | 21.0971% | not separately reported | 6.3535% | 39.5256% |
| Colorado | $12.38B | 16.5269% | 11.851% | not separately reported | 19.8094% | 51.8127% |
| Connecticut | $12.141B | not separately reported | 30.3599% | 68.038% | 1.6021% | not separately reported |
| Delaware | $1.178B | 20.7528% | 11.8675% | not separately reported | 0.1397% | 67.24% |
| District of Columbia | $2.965B | not separately reported | 100% | not separately reported | not separately reported | not separately reported |
| Florida | $37.234B | 35.9845% | 18.2633% | not separately reported | 6.5977% | 39.1545% |
| Georgia | $15.157B | 34.4405% | 13.3122% | not separately reported | 0.3764% | 51.8708% |
| Hawaii | $2.313B | 41.2818% | 58.7182% | not separately reported | not separately reported | not separately reported |
| Idaho | $2.087B | 28.4442% | 27.7533% | not separately reported | 13.1636% | 30.6388% |
| Illinois | $34.483B | 7.3563% | 20.3662% | 1.9277% | 9.6756% | 60.6743% |
| Indiana | $8.584B | 21.0191% | 30.3368% | 3.1142% | 4.3208% | 41.2091% |
| Iowa | $6.381B | 24.9263% | 29.8095% | not separately reported | 0.9495% | 44.3147% |
| Kansas | $4.467B | 40.6347% | 23.5988% | 1.6623% | 2.3926% | 31.7116% |
| Kentucky | $3.896B | 7.7727% | 15.492% | not separately reported | 9.1584% | 67.5769% |
| Louisiana | $4.672B | 34.0547% | 21.4171% | not separately reported | 2.7193% | 41.8089% |
| Maine | $3.439B | 4.9703% | 24.7113% | 44.161% | 0.1077% | 26.0496% |
| Maryland | $10.614B | 83.6429% | 16.3213% | not separately reported | 0.0358% | not separately reported |
| Massachusetts | $20.92B | 0.1233% | 46.804% | 52.5288% | 0.5439% | not separately reported |
| Michigan | $14.565B | 18.2045% | 20.9227% | 8.6572% | 3.2451% | 48.9705% |
| Minnesota | $10.033B | 36.4605% | 28.3248% | 2.7192% | 1.8744% | 30.621% |
| Mississippi | $3.582B | 37.4292% | 16.8554% | not separately reported | 0.6316% | 45.0838% |
| Missouri | $8.377B | 5.9313% | 9.1522% | 0.3205% | 12.0314% | 72.5645% |
| Montana | $1.801B | 40.5237% | 16.6796% | not separately reported | 7.0831% | 35.7136% |
| Nebraska | $4.47B | 17.5292% | 11.61% | 0.4518% | 6.4473% | 63.9617% |
| Nevada | $2.871B | 49.6067% | 19.8802% | not separately reported | 3.7463% | 26.7668% |
| New Hampshire | $4.689B | 6.5279% | 17.2989% | 36.7003% | 0.3909% | 39.0821% |
| New Jersey | $33.489B | 15.7824% | 19.6038% | 17.4955% | 0.9331% | 46.1853% |
| New Mexico | $2.221B | 34.8909% | 13.1616% | not separately reported | 5.962% | 45.9856% |
| New York | $65.403B | 8.8672% | 49.719% | 6.5101% | 2.1247% | 32.779% |
| North Carolina | $12.512B | 72.4494% | 27.374% | not separately reported | 0.1765% | not separately reported |
| North Dakota | $1.256B | 24.2685% | 15.9067% | 2.425% | 13.4439% | 43.9559% |
| Ohio | $18.995B | 17.3063% | 6.3267% | 7.4097% | 3.5916% | 65.3657% |
| Oklahoma | $3.546B | 18.2315% | 8.926% | not separately reported | 2.0391% | 70.8033% |
| Oregon | $8.026B | 19.5356% | 24.4685% | not separately reported | 11.0378% | 44.9582% |
| Pennsylvania | $22.258B | 15.6171% | 8.8267% | 5.3042% | 0.3846% | 69.8674% |
| Rhode Island | $2.767B | not separately reported | 42.165% | 51.3971% | 1.811% | 4.6269% |
| South Carolina | $7.481B | 30.3266% | 11.9008% | not separately reported | 3.4332% | 54.3393% |
| South Dakota | $1.531B | 21.6022% | 17.6498% | 2.2105% | 2.7883% | 55.7493% |
| Tennessee | $6.846B | 49.9686% | 48.7386% | not separately reported | 0.1368% | 1.156% |
| Texas | $67.436B | 21.2066% | 18.0679% | not separately reported | 4.3827% | 56.3428% |
| Utah | $4.547B | 19.1458% | 19.7013% | not separately reported | 6.7297% | 54.4232% |
| Vermont | $0.881B | 0.52% | 21.9115% | 76.1589% | 0.4347% | 0.975% |
| Virginia | $17.454B | 72.7822% | 27.2147% | not separately reported | 0.0031% | not separately reported |
| Washington | $11.125B | 21.99% | 17.9591% | not separately reported | 18.0056% | 42.0453% |
| West Virginia | $1.958B | 25.9394% | 7.3652% | not separately reported | 2.3284% | 64.3671% |
| Wisconsin | $10.703B | 21.4496% | 29.3665% | 4.2291% | 1.5122% | 43.4426% |
| Wyoming | $0.982B | 27.0775% | 4.8071% | not separately reported | 11.5475% | 56.5679% |
Shares are each government type's percent of that state's own local property-tax total, not a national comparison. "Not separately reported" means the Census source has no T01 record for that state/government-type combination — it is not a reported zero. Reported shares within a state sum to that state's full local total. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2022 Census of Governments, State and Local Government Finance public-use files (22statetypepu.txt, individual-unit file) (inside the 2022 Individual Unit File; see the Census dataset page). Shares were calculated by Untax the Roof from that file.
Abolition Requires Honest Planning
Untax the Roof supports complete abolition of recurring property taxes. We also recognize that governments currently use property-tax revenue to help finance schools, emergency services, infrastructure, and other public functions.
Ending the tax does not automatically answer how every affected service should be financed afterward. That question must be confronted openly. U.S. Census Bureau: Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances
Government Waste and Spending
We believe governments should examine waste, unnecessary spending, duplication, administrative costs, and inefficient programs before asking the public to accept replacement taxes.
Untax the Roof will not claim without evidence that eliminating waste would replace all property-tax revenue. That question must be answered with actual budgets, audits, spending records, and state-specific analysis.
Our research will examine:
- Wasteful or unnecessary spending.
- Duplicated programs and administrative functions.
- Opportunities to restructure or consolidate services.
- Whether existing revenue is being used efficiently.
- Whether current spending priorities should change.
- Alternative state and local revenue sources.
- The likely effect of each proposal on households, businesses, and public services.
Our Nonnegotiable Boundaries
Untax the Roof will evaluate different funding ideas, but an acceptable plan must not:
- Create another recurring tax based on property ownership.
- Recreate property tax under a different name.
- Allow government to seize a person's property for failure to pay a replacement charge.
- Shift an unfair burden onto people with low incomes.
- Hide the cost of replacement funding from the public.
- Describe a tax as abolished when property owners remain subject to a substantially equivalent recurring charge.
Replacing one annual ownership charge with another would not accomplish our mission.
A State-by-State Approach
Untax the Roof will establish national principles, but replacement proposals must be evaluated using the laws, budgets, and revenue structures of the affected state. Our intended process:
- Determine how much property-tax revenue the state and its local governments collect.
- Identify the entities and services receiving that revenue.
- Examine audited expenditures and existing revenue sources.
- Investigate waste, duplication, and possible spending changes.
- Evaluate alternative funding options without endorsing them in advance.
- Estimate how each option would affect different groups.
- Publish the evidence, assumptions, uncertainties, and tradeoffs.
- Seek independent review before endorsing a final plan.
- Recommend a state-specific approach only when the available evidence supports it.
Where several workable options exist, we may publish multiple alternatives rather than pretend there is only one possible answer.
No state has abolished all real-property tax and replaced the revenue, but a few have done this at a smaller scale for specific property categories - see our Replacement Funding Case Studies (Illinois, Wisconsin, Rhode Island) for what that actually looked like in practice.
Schools are the biggest single use of property-tax revenue in most states - see Schools and Property Tax for exactly how dependent each state's public schools are on it.
What We Know and What We Do Not
We know the objective: recurring property taxation should end.
We also know that reaching that objective responsibly will require detailed financial work. We do not yet know which combination of spending changes, government restructuring, existing revenue, or alternative funding will prove most workable in every state.
Untax the Roof will treat that uncertainty honestly. The replacement question should be answered through transparent evidence rather than unsupported promises.
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, 2024 Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances (public-use datasets, methodology, classification manual).