What is the property tax rate in Arizona?
The average effective property tax rate in Arizona is 0.48%, meaning the typical owner-occupied home pays about $480 a year per $100,000 of market value, according to the Tax Foundation’s 2026 figures built from the 2024 American Community Survey. That ranks Arizona among the lower-tax states for homeowners.
The rate that actually appears on your bill works differently. Arizona taxing districts set rates per $100 of assessed value, and assessed value is a fraction of a capped value the assessor sets. In 2025 the statewide average combined rate was $10.56 per $100 of assessed value, according to the Arizona Department of Revenue’s 2026 Abstract of the Assessment Roll. For an apartment building, that works out to roughly 1% of its limited value each year.
Arizona property tax compared with nearby states
Arizona’s 0.48% average effective rate is one of the lowest in the country and below most of its neighbors. The figures in the table are the Tax Foundation’s 2026 effective rates, which divide median real estate taxes paid by median home value for owner-occupied housing in the 2024 American Community Survey.
Treat these as a homeowner benchmark, not an apartment rate. In the worked example below, a $2,000,000 Arizona apartment building with an average rate pays about 0.84% of its market value, because its bill depends on how far LPV trails market value and on the districts it sits in.
| State | Average effective property tax rate (2026) |
|---|---|
| Arizona | 0.48% |
| Utah | 0.48% |
| Nevada | 0.50% |
| Colorado | 0.50% |
| New Mexico | 0.63% |
| California | 0.70% |
| Texas | 1.40% |
How Arizona sets assessed value: full cash value and limited value
Every Arizona parcel has two values on its Notice of Value: a full cash value and a limited property value. Full cash value (FCV) is the assessor’s estimate of market value and is the only value you can appeal. Limited property value (LPV) is a statutory value that can rise only 5% a year and can never exceed FCV. Your taxes are levied on LPV.
The assessed value is LPV multiplied by the assessment ratio for your property’s legal class. The formula is simple once you see it laid out: tax = LPV x assessment ratio x (rate / 100). The ratios for tax year 2026 are in the table.
| Legal class | What it covers | 2026 assessment ratio |
|---|---|---|
| Class 1 | Commercial and industrial | 15.5% |
| Class 2 | Vacant land and agricultural | 15% |
| Class 3 | Owner-occupied primary residences | 10% |
| Class 4 | Residential rental, including apartments and non-primary homes | 10% |
| Class 5 | Railroads | 13% |
| Class 6 | Specified properties under the statute | 5% |
| Class 9 | Specified properties under the statute | 1% |
Apartment buildings are Class 4 at a 10% ratio
Apartment buildings in Arizona are Class 4 residential rental property, assessed at 10% of limited value, the same ratio as an owner-occupied home. That is well below the 15.5% ratio on commercial property in 2026, so a 40-unit complex is assessed at a lower share of value than a retail strip of the same size.
Older county websites still show commercial ratios of 16.5% to 18%. Those figures are out of date; ADOR’s 2026 numbers put Class 1 at 15.5%. If you own a mixed-use building with shops on the ground floor, the assessor can split it between classes, and the commercial portion carries the higher ratio.
Primary and secondary property taxes
An Arizona tax bill has two parts, and both are charged per $100 of assessed value. Primary taxes pay for the basic operations of counties, cities, school districts and community colleges. Secondary taxes pay for voter-approved bonds, budget overrides and special districts such as fire and sewer.
Primary levies by counties and cities are limited to 2% annual growth plus new construction under Proposition 101, as the Mohave County Treasurer explains. Secondary levies have no such limit because voters approve them directly. That is why two buildings on opposite sides of a district line can pay noticeably different amounts on the same value.
Is property reassessed when it sells in Arizona?
No. A sale does not reset limited property value in Arizona. LPV carries forward from the prior year’s LPV plus up to 5%, no matter who owns the building or what they paid. A buyer who pays $2,000,000 for a building with a $1,600,000 LPV keeps paying tax on the $1,600,000, grown by up to 5% a year.
Changes to the property or its use can reset LPV. New construction, an addition, a split or combination of parcels, or a change of legal class can all lead the assessor to set a new value. Converting a building from owner-occupied use to rentals, or adding units, is the kind of change to ask the assessor about before you close.
Arizona property tax caps
Arizona has two caps that matter to apartment owners: one on value and one on levies. Neither caps your total bill outright.
- Limited property value may rise at most 5% a year and never above full cash value (A.R.S. 42-13301).
- Primary levies by counties and cities may grow at most 2% a year plus new construction (Proposition 101).
- Secondary levies for bonds and overrides are set by voters and are not capped by either rule.
- Once LPV catches up to FCV, a market jump flows through to LPV at no more than 5% a year until the gap closes again.
Arizona property tax rates by county
Average combined rates range from $3.82 per $100 of assessed value in Greenlee County to $13.63 in Pima County, based on ADOR’s 2026 Abstract of the Assessment Roll (2025 average primary plus secondary rates). These are per $100 of assessed value, which for an apartment is LPV times 10%, not per $100 of market value. Your parcel’s actual rate depends on its school district, city and special districts.
| County | Average rate per $100 of assessed value | Highest or lowest | Tax on $1,600,000 LPV apartment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pima | $13.63 | Highest | $21,808 |
| Santa Cruz | $13.49 | Highest | $21,584 |
| Gila | $12.85 | Highest | $20,560 |
| Pinal | $12.32 | Highest | $19,712 |
| Cochise | $11.58 | Highest | $18,528 |
| Mohave | $9.19 | Lowest | $14,704 |
| Yavapai | $8.58 | Lowest | $13,728 |
| Coconino | $8.54 | Lowest | $13,664 |
| Apache | $7.31 | Lowest | $11,696 |
| Greenlee | $3.82 | Lowest | $6,112 |
| Statewide average | $10.56 | $16,896 |
Worked example: property tax on a $2 million Arizona apartment building
Take a Class 4 apartment building with a full cash value of $2,000,000 and a limited property value of $1,600,000, taxed at the statewide average of $10.56 per $100 of assessed value. Assessed value is $1,600,000 x 10% = $160,000. The yearly tax is $160,000 x 10.56 / 100 = $16,896, or about 0.84% of the $2,000,000 market value.
Now say a buyer pays $2,000,000. Because Arizona does not reassess on sale, the buyer’s first-year tax stays at $16,896. If LPV rises the full 5% the next year to $1,680,000, the bill becomes about $17,741, an increase of about $845 at the same rate. At a 6% cap rate (our assumption for illustration), that $845 cut to net operating income lowers the building’s value by about $14,080.
Compare that with a state that resets value on sale. If this building were taxed on the full $2,000,000, the bill would be $21,120, or $4,224 more a year. At the same 6% cap rate, that is about $70,400 of value. Arizona’s no-reset rule is part of what a buyer is paying for, and it is worth pointing out when you price a sale.
Reading your Notice of Value
Your Notice of Value, mailed by early March, shows the full cash value and the limited property value for the next tax year, along with the legal class. Read three lines on it before you do anything else.
- The gap between FCV and LPV. A wide gap means LPV can keep rising 5% a year for several years even if the market goes flat.
- The legal class. An apartment building should show Class 4 at a 10% ratio.
- The mailing date. Your 60-day appeal window runs from that date, not from when the notice arrives.
How to appeal your Arizona property tax
You have 60 days from the mailing date on your Notice of Value to file a petition with the county assessor. Notices go out by early March, so the deadline usually falls in late April or early May. Full cash value is the only value you can appeal; you can’t appeal LPV directly, though a lower FCV can pull LPV down if it falls below it.
- Bring a rent roll, trailing twelve-month operating statement and recent sales of similar buildings.
- Income-producing properties are often argued on the income approach, so show actual vacancy and expenses.
- Check the class on your notice. A rental listed in the wrong class can carry the wrong ratio.
| Step | Deadline | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Petition for review of valuation | 60 days from the Notice of Value mailing date | County assessor |
| Appeal the assessor’s decision | 25 days after the assessor mails its decision | Board of equalization (State Board in Maricopa County) |
| Appeal to court | By December 15, or within 60 days of the last administrative decision | Arizona Tax Court |
Exemptions for apartment buildings
Market-rate apartments in Arizona are taxed as Class 4 rentals, and we did not find a general exemption that lowers the bill on an ordinary apartment building. Housing that is owned, financed or subsidized by government is handled under separate rules. If your building has an affordability agreement or public financing, ask the county assessor which program, if any, applies.
Selling an Arizona apartment building
Skyline buys apartment buildings with five or more units in Arizona, in every county from Pima to Coconino. We buy directly, close on your timeline, and can work inside 1031 deadlines. Because a sale does not reset LPV, your current tax bill is a fair guide to what we underwrite, and we can show you how it fits into our offer. Our property tax calculator runs these numbers for any building.
