How Alabama property tax works
Homes in Alabama (Class III property) are assessed at 10% of market value, and millage is the tax per $1,000 of that assessed value. A $300,000 house has a $30,000 assessed value, so every mill costs $30 a year.
Your total millage adds the state (6.5 mills everywhere), the county, the school district and, inside city limits, the city, which often includes extra mills earmarked for city schools. That's why the same county can have very different totals inside and outside a city.
Total millage inside city limits
These are the Alabama Department of Revenue's most recent published rates (its October 2024 millage file). Local rates rarely change from year to year, but check with your county revenue commissioner. The last column is the tax on a $300,000 home before homestead exemptions.
| City | County | State + county + school + city | Total mills | Tax on $300,000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vestavia Hills | Jefferson | 6.5 + 13.5 + 23.3 + 49.3 | 92.6 | $2,778 |
| Hoover (Jefferson part) | Jefferson | 6.5 + 13.5 + 22.1 + 30.5 | 72.6 | $2,178 |
| Birmingham | Jefferson | 6.5 + 13.5 + 24.0 + 28.5 | 72.5 | $2,175 |
| Madison | Madison | 6.5 + 11.0 + 5.5 + 46.5 | 69.5 | $2,085 |
| Hoover (Shelby part) | Shelby | 6.5 + 7.5 + 22.0 + 30.5 | 66.5 | $1,995 |
| Mobile | Mobile | 6.5 + 20.5 + 29.5 + 7.0 | 63.5 | $1,905 |
| Phenix City | Russell | 6.5 + 12.0 + 21.5 + 19.0 | 59.0 | $1,770 |
| Huntsville | Madison | 6.5 + 11.0 + 5.5 + 35.0 | 58.0 | $1,740 |
| Auburn | Lee | 6.5 + 13.5 + 8.0 + 26.0 | 54.0 | $1,620 |
| Alabaster | Shelby | 6.5 + 7.5 + 30.0 + 10.0 | 54.0 | $1,620 |
| Gadsden | Etowah | 6.5 + 14.5 + 16.0 + 12.0 | 49.0 | $1,470 |
| Florence | Lauderdale | 6.5 + 10.5 + 18.0 + 14.0 | 49.0 | $1,470 |
| Montgomery | Montgomery | 6.5 + 7.5 + 22.0 + 12.5 | 48.5 | $1,455 |
| Decatur | Morgan | 6.5 + 10.8 + 9.4 + 18.6 | 45.3 | $1,359 |
| Dothan (Houston part) | Houston | 6.5 + 14.5 + 10.0 + 5.0 | 36.0 | $1,080 |
| Prattville (Autauga part) | Autauga | 6.5 + 7.5 + 10.0 + 7.0 | 31.0 | $930 |
The suburbs with the highest totals, Vestavia Hills, Madison and Hoover, are the ones that tax themselves extra for city school systems: 28.75 of Vestavia Hills' 49.3 city mills and 33.5 of Madison's 46.5 go to schools. Even so, at 92.6 mills Vestavia Hills is under 1% of market value.
Some cities add flat fees on top, such as Birmingham's $5 storm water fee and fire fees in parts of Lee and Houston counties. Cities that span two counties (Hoover, Dothan, Decatur, Prattville, Phenix City) have different totals in each part.
Homestead exemptions
You must own and live in the home on the first day of the tax year (October 1) and apply with your county.
- Regular (H-1): $4,000 of assessed value off state taxes and $2,000 off county taxes. On a $300,000 Birmingham home it saves only about $50 a year, because city and most school millage isn't reduced.
- 65+ or disabled, lower income (H-2): no state tax, plus $5,000 off county taxes including schools.
- 65+ with $12,000 or less of taxable income, or totally and permanently disabled (H-3): exempt from all property tax on the home.
- 65+ with higher income (H-4): no state tax plus the regular $2,000 county exemption. Many counties add their own senior exemptions.
The 7% cap on increases
A 2024 law (Act 2024-344) caps the annual increase in the taxable value of homes and most other non-utility real estate at 7%, starting with taxes collected from October 2025 and running through the fiscal year beginning October 1, 2027. You don't have to apply. The cap resets when the property is sold (but not for most transfers within a family or by inheritance) or when you add significant improvements.
Due dates and appeals
- Due: October 1; delinquent after December 31.
- Appeals: you have 30 days after receiving written notice of a new valuation to appeal to your county's board of equalization. See our appeal guide.
Alabama ranks among the states with the lowest property taxes. See the states with the lowest property taxes and the best states for retirees.
Where these numbers come from
Millage rates are from the Alabama Department of Revenue Property Tax Division's county millage file (October 2024 millage). Assessment classes, homestead exemptions and due dates are from Department of Revenue pages, and the 7% cap from its HB73 / Act 2024-344 guidance. The $300,000 examples are our calculations. For ZIP-level data, start from our Alabama page.