What is the property tax rate in Nebraska?
The property tax rate in Nebraska averages 1.44% of market value for owner-occupied homes (Tax Foundation 2026, using the 2024 American Community Survey). In the Tax Foundation figures, Nebraska ranks sixth, behind only Illinois, New Jersey, Connecticut, Vermont and New Hampshire.
The Department of Revenue publishes its own figure. Its 2025 Certificate of Taxes Levied report shows $5.59 billion of property taxes on $379.1 billion of value, an average rate of 1.4738%. That figure covers all property, including farmland, which is valued at 75% of actual value and pulls rural county averages down.
How Nebraska property taxes are calculated
Your bill is your property’s assessed value times the combined levy of every taxing body in your district, minus state credits. Levies are set per $100 of value and add up the county, city, school district, community college, natural resources district and other levies where the building sits.
Because apartment buildings are assessed at full actual value and levies in Omaha and its suburbs are high, the tax on a Nebraska building is often a larger share of its income than in neighboring states. Two credits then come off the bill, and they are covered below.
To compare a levy with a percentage, move the decimal: a combined levy of $2.04 per $100 of value is the same as 2.04%. So a building valued at $1,500,000 in a district with that levy owes about $30,600 before credits.
How Nebraska sets assessed value
Nebraska values real property at its actual value as of 12:01 a.m. on January 1 each year. Under Nebraska Revised Statutes 77-201, all taxable real property other than agricultural land is valued at 100% of actual value, which covers apartment buildings, houses and commercial property. Agricultural and horticultural land is valued at 75% of actual value, and at 50% for school bonds approved on or after January 1, 2022.
The county assessor sets the value each year, and if it changes, the assessor must mail a notice by June 1 to the owner of record. Apartment buildings are commonly valued with income and sales comparison methods, so your rent roll, expenses and recent sales in the market all feed into it.
Does a sale trigger reassessment in Nebraska?
There is no special reassessment on sale, because Nebraska revalues every property every year anyway. A sale shows up in the next January 1 value if the assessor uses it.
The Department of Revenue’s protest guide lists recent sale information for your own property as pertinent evidence of value, and the assessor sees it too. A building assessed at $1,700,000 that sells for $2,000,000 will often be valued near $2,000,000 the following year, and the buyer pays the higher bill. Nebraska has no cap like California’s Proposition 13 on how fast one property’s value can rise.
Nebraska property tax rates by county
Average county rates in Nebraska range from 0.67% in Grant County to 2.04% in Douglas County, according to the Department of Revenue’s 2025 Certificate of Taxes Levied report, dated December 31, 2025. The rate is total taxes levied divided by total value of all property in the county.
The highest rates are in the Omaha metro, where most of the state’s apartment buildings are. Rural Sandhills counties rank lowest partly because farmland and ranchland make up most of their value, and that land is valued at 75%. Lancaster County, which includes Lincoln, averages 1.5955%, and Hall County, home to Grand Island, 1.5861%. Rates inside a county also vary by city and school district, so check your own tax statement.
| County | Average tax rate (2025) | Group |
|---|---|---|
| Douglas | 2.0381% | Highest |
| Sarpy | 2.0028% | Highest |
| Cheyenne | 1.6980% | Highest |
| Cass | 1.6643% | Highest |
| Scotts Bluff | 1.6389% | Highest |
| Cherry | 0.7705% | Lowest |
| Hooker | 0.7297% | Lowest |
| Boone | 0.6746% | Lowest |
| Keya Paha | 0.6745% | Lowest |
| Grant | 0.6658% | Lowest |
Property tax credits on Nebraska tax statements
Two state credits reduce the tax due on every non-agricultural parcel, apartment buildings included, and they appear on the statement after the full tax is calculated. They do not lower the levy rate.
The Real Property Tax Credit for tax year 2026 is $118.87 per $100,000 of value for non-agricultural property, from a $495.5 million statewide fund, according to the Department of Revenue’s September 15, 2026 release. On a building valued at $2,000,000, that is about $2,377.
The School District Property Tax Relief Credit is larger in total, $809.5 million for 2026. The county treasurer gives each parcel a share of the county’s amount based on that parcel’s share of school district taxes levied in the county. The amount differs by district, so look for it on your 2026 statement.
Is there a cap on Nebraska property tax increases?
There is no cap on how much one property’s value can rise in a year. The limits Nebraska uses work on local budgets instead. Under LB 803 (2026), starting January 1, 2027, a political subdivision needs a two-thirds vote of its governing body to set a property tax request above the prior year’s request. The Department of Revenue’s summary says seven-member boards need a four-sevenths majority.
For an owner, that means the levy may grow more slowly, but a rising valuation can still push your bill up. Watch the change-of-value notice each spring.
How to protest your property value in Nebraska
File a protest with the county board of equalization on or before June 30, using Form 422, after the assessor completes the roll. Under Nebraska Revised Statutes 77-1502, the board hears protests between June 1 and July 25, or until August 10 in a county of more than 100,000 people that adopts a resolution to extend. Decisions are mailed by August 2, or August 18 in those counties.
If you disagree with the board, you can appeal to the Tax Equalization and Review Commission on or before August 24, or September 10 where the county extended its deadline (77-1510). The burden is on the owner, and the department’s guide says a protest needs more than a difference of opinion. Bring a rent roll, operating statements, recent sales or an appraisal. LB 803 (2026) adds a requirement, starting January 1, 2027, that protests include documentation sufficient for the board to set a different value.
- January 1: valuation date.
- By June 1: change-of-value notices mailed.
- June 30: last day to file a protest.
- August 2 (August 18 with extension): board decisions mailed.
- August 24 (September 10 with extension): last day to appeal to TERC.
Worked example: property tax on a $2M Nebraska apartment building
They use county average rates, which include farmland, and your actual levy will differ.
Take a 20-unit building valued at $2,000,000. At Douglas County’s average rate of 2.0381%, the yearly tax is about $40,762. At the state average of 1.4738% it would be about $29,476, in Lancaster County about $31,910, and in Grant County about $13,316. The 2026 Real Property Tax Credit would take about $2,377 off each, before the school credit.
Now the sale. Say an Omaha building is valued at $1,700,000, for a tax of about $34,648 at the Douglas average, and a buyer pays $2,000,000. If the assessor moves next year’s value to the sale price, the tax rises to about $40,762, or $6,114 more a year. At an illustrative 6% cap rate, that is about $101,900 less a buyer can pay. Sellers whose buildings are assessed well below market should expect buyers to underwrite the higher figure.
| Scenario | Value | Yearly tax before credits |
|---|---|---|
| Douglas County average, 2.0381% | $2,000,000 | $40,762 |
| Lancaster County average, 1.5955% | $2,000,000 | $31,910 |
| State average, 1.4738% | $2,000,000 | $29,476 |
| Omaha building before sale | $1,700,000 | $34,648 |
| After revaluation to sale price | $2,000,000 | $40,762 |
Nebraska property tax changes in 2025 and 2026
Recent Nebraska laws change what you see on notices and statements more than the tax itself. Under LB 647 (2025), the notice of taxes due no longer has to show the levy rate but must show public safety amounts, and the School District Property Tax Relief Act now uses current-year school levies. LB 834 (2026), operative July 18, 2026, requires property tax statements to show the taxes levied for public safety by each county, city and village.
More changes start January 1, 2027 under LB 803 (2026). Change-of-value notices must follow new design and content rules, the Department of Revenue will mail a postcard by June 25 to owners who received one, and protests must include documentation sufficient for the board to set a different value. Joint public budget hearings must be held on or after July 1 and before July 15, after 6 p.m. If you plan to protest your 2027 value, start assembling rent rolls and operating statements before the June 30 deadline, not after the notice arrives.
How property tax affects your sale price in Nebraska
Property tax is often the largest operating expense on a Nebraska apartment building after payroll, and buyers subtract it dollar for dollar from NOI. In Douglas and Sarpy counties, a bill near 2% of value equals about a third of NOI for a building priced at a 6% cap rate.
Gather the last three tax statements, the most recent change-of-value notice and any protest results before you go to market. If the assessor has your building well below what you are asking, tell buyers up front that their bill will rise, and show them the math.
Selling an apartment building in Nebraska
Skyline buys apartment buildings with five or more units in Nebraska, including properties in high-rate Douglas and Sarpy counties. We buy directly, close on your timeline, and can work inside 1031 deadlines. We underwrite from your real tax statements, so we can show you how we treat the tax line.
For the tax on the sale itself, see our page on Nebraska capital gains tax on real estate. For tenant rules a buyer inherits, see Nebraska landlord-tenant law for apartment owners.
