Chronicle of the 172-Year History of State-Imposed Property Tax Limitations

This paper chronicles the enactment and repeal of state-imposed property tax rate limits, levy limits, assessment limits, and revenue and expenditures limits, from the first documented limit enacted in 1852 through 2024. Although 46 states and the District of Columbia have legal restrictions on property taxation, the last comprehensive survey of these limits was published nearly 30 years ago. This report details the 172-year history of state-imposed property tax limitations relying on state sources, previous research, and the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy’s database Significant Features of the Property Tax.