North Dakota property tax: rates, credits and appeals

How is a home’s tax calculated?

The assessor sets the home’s true and full value, the price it would fairly sell for. State law defines “assessed valuation” as 50% of that value (§ 57-02-01). For residential property, the taxable valuation is 9% of the assessed value (§ 57-02-27). The two steps together give 4.5% of market value.

The tax is the taxable value times the mill levy. A mill is 0.1%, so 292.90 mills means $292.90 per $1,000 of taxable value. Each city, county, school district, park district and other taxing body sets its own levy, and the sum is your rate.

This is an example. The 292.90 figure is the 2025 average mill rate for all of Cass County (Table 8 of the 2025 Property Tax Statistical Report); your rate depends on your city and school district. In Fargo, the Assessment Department says there are three school districts, so three different rates apply. Look up your parcel’s bill, not the average.

Before credits, the effective rate is 0.045 × mills ÷ 1,000. At 292.90 mills that is about 1.32% of market value.

Primary Residence Credit

Any owner who lives in the home as a primary residence can apply, with no age or income limit. The credit is up to $1,600 and cannot exceed the tax due. The application is online only, from January 1 to April 1 (State Tax Commissioner; § 57-02-08.9). Only one credit applies per household. It reduces the tax after other credits and discounts. If the home sells, the buyer-seller proration of property tax uses the amount after the credit (§ 57-02-08.9).

Homestead credit for older or disabled owners

Owners 65 or older, or permanently and totally disabled, with income up to $70,000 can reduce taxable value (§ 57-02-08.1):

A $9,000 reduction in taxable value equals $200,000 of true and full value. Applications go to the local assessor by April 1. This credit does not reduce special assessments. The Primary Residence Credit can cover tax left after it.

Are there caps on increases?

North Dakota limits how many dollars a taxing district can levy, not how much your own assessment can rise. Under § 57-15-01.2, a district’s levy in dollars may not exceed its base-year levy increased by 3% (with a carry-forward of unused room), unless voters approve more or an exception applies (such as bond payments). The statutes read here contain no cap on the annual increase in an individual home’s assessed value.

When is it due?

Taxes are due January 1 of the year after the levy year. The first installment becomes delinquent after March 1, with a 3% penalty, and more penalties follow on May 1, July 1 and October 15. The second installment is delinquent after October 15 with a 6% penalty (§ 57-20-01). Paying everything by February 15 earns a 5% discount, applied before the Primary Residence Credit (§ 57-20-09).

How to appeal an assessment

In Fargo, you can call the Assessment Department at 701-241-1340 to ask for an informal review of a current value. Formal appeals go to the city board of equalization, which meets in the first 15 days of April (§ 57-11-01), and then the county board of equalization, which meets in the first 10 days of June (§ 57-12-01). To go on to the State Board of Equalization, you must have appeared at both the city and county boards. You can also apply for an abatement by November 1 of the year after the tax becomes delinquent (City of Fargo). The State Tax Commissioner’s property tax division takes questions at 701-328-3127. For how taxes enter your closing, see closing costs in North Dakota and the Fargo city page.