Delaware County, Indiana

Indiana Property Tax Reform

Recent State Legislation Affecting Property Tax Revenue

In 2025, the State of Indiana enacted significant property tax reforms through Senate Enrolled Act 1 and related legislation, which introduce a series of changes to property tax calculations, exemptions, and credits that are being phased in over multiple years beginning with taxes payable in 2026. Key provisions include the expansion of the business personal property tax exemption threshold, the introduction of a homestead property tax credit (up to $300 per qualifying property), modifications to homestead deduction structures, and additional deductions impacting certain residential and agricultural properties. These changes are expected to reduce net assessed value and, in certain cases, the effective property tax rates applied to taxable property.

As property taxes represent a significant source of revenue for local governmental units in Indiana, including the County, the legislation is expected to affect future property tax collections and the composition of the county’s tax base and in-turn amounts received by the County. While the State has expanded local authority to utilize local income taxes as a potential offsetting revenue mechanism, such revenues are subject to local adoption and economic conditions. The financial impact of these legislative changes will be phased in through approximately 2030 and may result in increased fiscal pressure on local governments, depending on the related county’s assessed valuation trends, tax base composition, and policy decisions. At this time, the County continues to evaluate the long-term effects of these changes on its financial position and results of operations.

Government-Wide Financial Statements

The statement of net position and statement of activities display information about the reporting government as a whole. They include all funds of the reporting entity except for fiduciary funds. The statements distinguish between governmental and business-type activities. Governmental activities generally are financed through taxes, intergovernmental revenues and other nonexchange revenues. Business-type activities are financed in whole or in part by fees charged to external parties for goods or services.

The statement of activities demonstrates the degree to which the direct expenses of a given function or segment are offset by program revenues. Direct expenses are those that are clearly identifiable with a specific function or segment. Direct expenses are clearly identifiable with a specific function or segment Program revenues include 1) charges to customers or applicants who purchase, use or directly benefit from goods, services or privileges provided by a given function or segment and 2) grants and contributions that are restricted to meeting the operational or capital requirements of a particular function or segment. Taxes and other items not included among program revenues are reported as general revenues. Internally dedicated resources are reported as general revenues rather than as program revenues.

Fund Financial Statements

Financial statements of the County are organized into funds, each of which is considered to be a separate accounting entity. Each fund is accounted for by providing a separate set of self-balancing accounts, which constitute its assets, deferred outflows of resources, liabilities, deferred inflows of resources, net position/fund balance, revenues and expenditures/expenses.

Funds are organized as major funds or nonmajor funds within the governmental and proprietary statements. An emphasis is placed on major funds within the governmental and proprietary categories. A fund is considered major if it is the primary operating fund of the County or meets the following criteria:

1. a.
   Total assets/deferred outflows of resources, liabilities/deferred inflows of resources, revenues or expenditures/expenses of that individual governmental or enterprise fund are at least 10% of the corresponding total for all funds of that category or type and