Michigan terms, defined.
The 18 words that show up on Michigan tax bills, insurance bills, and renewal notices. Each one comes with the page that goes deeper and the official source behind it.
Assessed value
The value the local assessor puts on a property each year — usually about half of its market value, which Michigan calls True Cash Value. Assessed value appears on the annual assessment notice. It is not the number the bill is figured from; that job belongs to taxable value.
See Property tax basics · Official source: MCL 211.27a
Board of Review
A local board that hears property assessment protests, mainly each March. For most homeowners it is the first appeal step, and protesting there usually protects the right to go on to the Michigan Tax Tribunal. Deadlines are short, so read the assessment notice as soon as it arrives.
See How to appeal your assessment · Official source: Michigan Treasury Board of Review forms
City income tax
A local tax on wages that 24 Michigan cities charge on top of the state income tax. Residents usually pay 1%, and people who work in the city but live outside it usually pay 0.5%. A few cities charge more — Detroit residents pay 2.4%. Where you live and where you work both matter.
See City income tax checker · Official source: Michigan Treasury city income tax list
Escrow
Money a mortgage lender collects with each monthly payment and holds to pay the property taxes and insurance. In Michigan, escrow is where the property tax pop-up usually lands: the tax bill rises the year after a sale, and the lender raises the monthly escrow payment to catch up.
Headlee rollback
A required cut to a local millage rate. Under the 1978 Headlee Amendment, if the taxable value of existing property in a community grows faster than inflation, the local government must lower its authorized millage rate to match. New construction is left out of that math. It is why a millage passed at one rate is often billed at slightly less years later, unless voters approve restoring it.
See Property tax basics · Official source: MCL 211.34d
MCCA fee
A per-vehicle charge from the Michigan Catastrophic Claims Association, the statewide fund that helps pay very large crash medical claims. It can appear as its own line on a car insurance bill. For the July 2026 to June 2027 fee year, it is $84 per vehicle with unlimited PIP medical coverage, or $19 with other PIP levels.
See Car insurance, explained · Official source: Michigan Catastrophic Claims Association
Mill (millage rate)
The unit Michigan property tax rates are written in. One mill is $1 of tax for every $1,000 of taxable value, so a 40-mill rate means about $40 per $1,000. A total millage is a stack of local levies — schools, county, city or township, library, and more — which is why bills differ across a city line.
See Property tax basics · Official source: Michigan Treasury millage-rate reports
No-fault insurance (PIP)
Michigan's car insurance system. After a crash, your own policy usually pays certain benefits first, no matter who caused it. Personal Injury Protection, or PIP, is the medical piece. Since a 2019 reform took effect in July 2020, drivers choose a PIP medical level instead of being required to carry unlimited coverage — and that choice is the part of the bill that moves most.
See Car insurance, explained · Official source: Michigan DIFS PIP medical coverage options
Non-homestead
The higher property tax rate for homes that are not the owner's main residence — rentals, vacation homes, and second homes. It includes up to 18 extra school operating mills. If the bill on the home you live in says non-homestead, the PRE probably is not on file; ask the assessor.
See The PRE guide · Official source: Michigan Treasury PRE page
Principal Residence Exemption (PRE)
Michigan's main tax break for the home you own and live in. It removes up to 18 school operating mills — about $18 for every $1,000 of taxable value. It is not automatic: the owner claims it by filing Form 2368 with the city or township assessor. June 1 and November 1 are the deadlines that affect the summer and winter bills.
See The PRE guide · Official source: Michigan Treasury PRE page
Proposal A cap
The 1994 limit on how fast a home's taxable value can grow while the same owner keeps it: the lesser of 5% or that year's inflation multiplier. Over the years the cap can leave taxable value far below market value. The cap resets when the property transfers — that reset is uncapping.
See Uncapping, explained · Official source: Michigan Treasury property transfer guidance
Recreation Passport
Michigan's vehicle pass for state parks and recreation areas, DNR boat launches, and state trailheads. Residents buy it as a $15 checkbox when renewing a license plate (the 2026 rate — it adjusts with inflation by law). It is per vehicle, not per family, and buying later at a park gate costs $5 more.
See The Recreation Passport, completely explained · Official source: Michigan DNR Recreation Passport
SEV (State Equalized Value)
Assessed value after county and state equalization — the review that keeps assessments near half of market value statewide. SEV matters most in the year after a sale: taxable value usually resets to match the SEV then. That reset is the pop-up buyers hear about.
See Property tax basics · Official source: MCL 211.27a
Special assessment
A charge on specific parcels to pay for a specific local project — a county drain, lake weed control, or similar work. It shows up on the property tax bill as its own line, separate from the regular millage. The hearing and appeal windows on a new special assessment are short: act on the notice letter, not the eventual bill.
See Water on your land · Official source: The Drain Code of 1956 (MCL ch. 280)
Summer and winter tax bills
Michigan's two-bill system for property tax. Most communities send a summer bill around July 1, due September 14, and a winter bill around December 1, due February 14. The two are not equal halves — which taxes land on which bill is decided locally. Some places bill once a year, and some city charters set earlier due dates, so confirm with the local treasurer.
See The two property-tax bills, explained · Official source: MCL 211.44a
Tabs (vehicle registration)
Michigan's word for the yearly registration sticker on a license plate — renewing your tabs means renewing your vehicle registration. For most passenger vehicles from 1984 or newer, the fee starts from the vehicle's original base MSRP, the sticker price when it was new, and steps down over the first few years. Electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles pay an extra fee on top.
See Vehicle tabs estimator · Official source: Michigan Secretary of State license plates and tabs
Taxable value
The number a Michigan property tax bill is actually figured from. While the same owner keeps the home, it can grow only by the lesser of 5% or inflation, so it often sits well below assessed value and SEV. The bill is taxable value divided by 1,000, times the millage rate. After a sale, taxable value usually resets to the SEV.
See Property tax basics · Official source: Michigan Treasury property transfer guidance
Uncapping (the pop-up)
Michigan's reset of taxable value after most property transfers. The year after a sale, taxable value is set equal to the SEV, and the Proposal A cap starts over for the new owner. The result is often a higher bill in the buyer's first full year — the pop-up — and it usually reaches the monthly mortgage payment through escrow.
See Uncapping, explained · Official source: Michigan Treasury property transfer guidance