02 · THE CAP

The cap, and why the county is the one that loses

From The Indiana County Squeeze · From Indiana Gateway parcel data, DLGF and LSA filings, and a 92-county read of council records · October 2026

Indiana's constitution sets a ceiling on every property tax bill. For a home, the ceiling is 1% of the home's value — the value the assessor set, before any deductions. For farms and rentals it's 2%, and for business property it's 3%. Voters added this in 2008–2010 to keep bills from climbing without limit.

Here's the part that trips everyone up. When the math from step one comes out higher than the ceiling, the difference does not get paid by anyone. It is erased from the bill. The homeowner is protected. But the city, school, township, and county that were counting on that money simply never receive it, and the state does not pay them back.

$2,000

The ceiling on the bill

1% of the home's value
$375

Erased

no one pays this — the county loses it
$2,000

What the owner pays

at the ceiling, not the $2,375 the math gave

The math said $2,375. The cap holds the bill at $2,000. The $375 on top is the "circuit-breaker" amount — it vanishes from the bill, and the local governments never collect it. Multiply that across millions of parcels and it is real money.

Add up every erased dollar across the state and you get the number driving this whole story. In a single year, the money county units lost to the cap jumped from $154.6 million to $210.8 million — a 36% increase.

Whose job this is, on this ballot

The squeeze described above is the result of decisions made by particular offices, four of which are on the ballot on Nov. 3. Below is what each one actually controls.

County Council Member 368 races on this ballot

Adopts the levy and the local income tax rates, and must adopt the county's 2028 income tax between July 1 and Oct. 1 of 2028 — the decision meant to replace what the caps take.

In this study The council seats filled this November serve 2027 through 2030, which is exactly the window the overhaul phases in over.
County Assessor 92 races on this ballot

Sets the assessed value every bill starts from, and trends it toward the market each year.

In this study The caps are a percentage of assessed value, so assessment quality decides who pays and who is capped. Every county elects an assessor this year.
County Auditor 65 races on this ballot

Applies the deductions, certifies net assessed value to the state, and calculates the credits the caps produce.

In this study The new deductions come off the base the auditor certifies, which is where the levy loss is first visible.
County Treasurer 15 races on this ballot

Collects the bills and manages the cash the caps leave behind.

In this study The counties with the thinnest reserves are the ones with the least room to absorb a cap loss in the year it lands.

Find which of these are on your own ballot.

What's included: the U.S. House, statewide offices, every Indiana House and Senate district on the ballot, Indiana's statewide public questions and judicial retention questions, and county, township, city, town and school board races from the Indiana Election Division's candidate list.
Everything else: Local races (county, city, school board, judges) and anything else on your ballot are on your official sample ballot: IndianaVoters.in.gov.
Candidate lists: As of Monday, October 19, 2026.
At the polls: Indiana law lets you bring a list of candidates and public questions into the polling place, including one stored on your phone, as long as you don't electioneer. IC 3-11-8-18.5

This is not an official ballot. Confirm your registration, polling place and ballot with your election office through vote.gov.