Prorated Property Tax Calculator

How it is calculated

The tool prorates one year of property tax on a 365-day basis. First the daily tax is found: daily = annual tax / 365. The seller's share is seller = annual tax × seller days / 365, and the buyer gets what is left, buyer = annual tax − seller. Annual tax is the full-year bill in money, and seller days is the number of days in the tax year that the seller owned the home. Amounts are shown with two decimals.

It always divides by 365, even in a leap year, and it only handles a one-year period starting when the tax year starts. Seller days must be between 0 and 365 (decimals are accepted) and the tax cannot be negative. Whether the tax is paid in advance or in arrears, which party's share counts the closing day and which calendar the tax year follows vary by country, state and contract, so check the settlement terms.

Common mistakes

• Entering the number of days the seller owned the home in total, not the days within the current tax year. Only the days from the start of the tax year up to closing belong here.
• Entering the buyer's days instead of the seller's. The seller share grows with the number you type, so swapping them gives the shares the wrong way round.
• Using a semi-annual or quarterly bill as the annual tax. The field expects the full-year amount, with days counted out of 365; for a half-year bill, double it first.
• Typing a date, a month count or a number above 365. Seller days is a day count between 0 and 365, otherwise no result is shown.
• Ignoring who has already paid. If the seller has paid the whole year in advance, the buyer owes the seller the buyer's share; the tool only splits the amount and does not say who pays whom.