By Casey Smith
Indiana Capital Chronicle
Indiana farmers facing steep increases in building assessments are calling for changes to the state’s property valuation system, warning lawmakers Wednesday that similar structures are being assessed differently across county lines.
Indiana Farm Bureau representatives told the Interim Study Committee on Fiscal Policy that updated state cost tables have pushed up the assessed values of barns, grain bins and livestock facilities ahead of next year’s tax bills.
They urged lawmakers to address those discrepancies rather than leave individual property owners to challenge their assessments.
State officials acknowledged the concerns but cautioned that assessment changes alone would not resolve complaints about rising tax bills. They instead recommended preserving annual adjustments while improving assessment data and testing automated valuation tools.
Lawmakers also raised concerns about longtime homeowners whose assessments climb as new or renovated houses change the surrounding market, and questioned whether new technology could help catch errors before taxpayers have to appeal.
The committee additionally heard an update on Indiana’s childcare voucher programs and proposals to finance expanded access ahead of the 2027 budget session. Discussions focused on sustaining the state’s recent voucher expansion and drawing more investment from employers, philanthropy and local governments.
Farm building increases draw concerns
Katrina Hall, Indiana Farm Bureau’s senior director of policy strategy and advocacy, said the organization commissioned Policy Analytics to examine agricultural building assessments after members began reporting large increases earlier this year.
The analysis initially showed a statewide increase of about 44% in assessed value for the agricultural buildings studied, she said. Later data, reflecting appeals and discussions with assessors, reduced that increase to 29% — still about $2 billion in additional assessed value for taxes payable in 2027.
More than half of the parcels in the later analysis had increases of at least 15%, Hall said. The figures show how much assessed values increased, not how much farmers’ tax bills will rise.
Hall said the discrepancies suggest a problem with statewide consistency. Some assessors made adjustments to the cost tables, she said, while others appeared to use them without similar changes. Identical buildings of the same age can consequently receive different values in neighboring counties.
She argued that appeals cannot substitute for correcting the underlying assessment process.
“Appeals are like a parcel at a time,” Hall said. “They are not fixing problems with assessing in the tax base.”
Farm Bureau wants the state to consider a nationally recognized valuation system, like Marshall & Swift, and examine outdated depreciation schedules. Hall said taxpayers seeking to challenge assessments often get appraisals using that system, creating a mismatch with the state’s tools.
The organization also proposed moving agricultural improvements from the 3% property tax cap category to the 2% category. Hall said its analysis estimated about $44 million in savings across agricultural properties.
That would be a tax relief change separate from revisions to assessment methods.
The proposals follow Indiana’s 2025 property tax overhaul, which changed homeowner deductions and credits, business personal property taxation and local government revenue rules.
A subsequent Indiana Fiscal Policy Institute analysis found that most homeowners would likely receive relief, but owners of low-value homes could face increases while more expensive homes received larger breaks.
State defends annual adjustments
Tim Rushenberg, general counsel for the Department of Local Government Finance, said Indiana can change its assessment tools, but the results must still meet constitutional requirements for uniform, equal and just valuations.
The department’s report explains that assessed value is only one part of a property tax bill, which also depends on local budgets, tax levies, deductions, credits and caps.
“An individual parcel can see a higher bill even when the district rate falls, or a lower bill despite increasing gross assessed value,” Rushenberg said. “There’s a lot of moving parts, so there is no reliable shortcut from gross assessed value to taxpayer impact.”
Annual adjustments, commonly called trending, help keep assessments aligned with market evidence between physical reassessments, he said.
Less frequent updates could reduce annual changes but allow inequities to accumulate and produce larger increases when properties are eventually reassessed. Limits tied to purchase prices or annual assessment growth could also raise constitutional questions if comparable properties receive different treatment.
Cost tables provide a common starting point for estimating property values, Rushenberg continued, but their results must remain open to challenge using credible evidence.
Barry Wood, the department’s assessment division director, said the state previously updated cost schedules once every four years. It’s moving toward annual review of the schedules or a related adjustment factor to help limit large fluctuations.
Rushenberg said the department wants construction costs, appraisals and other evidence to evaluate whether particular agricultural building schedules need correction. Public comments on readoption of the state’s real property assessment rule close Oct. 23.
“We want to look at the data,” Rushenberg said. “We’ve asked for data to see where, maybe in the cost schedule, something isn’t adding up there. But we certainly don’t want to make a general assumption that an entire schedule is is incorrect.”
Homeowners face hurdles, too
Rep. Cherrish Pryor, D-Indianapolis, raised concerns about longtime homeowners whose assessments rise as new or renovated houses elevate housing prices, even when they have made no improvements themselves.
She urged officials to make the process easier to understand and reduce the need for homeowners to challenge inaccurate values.
“We live it, and so it’s easy for us, but it’s not easy for the average person, particularly if you’re an older individual,” Pryor said.
Wood said assessors can distinguish between different types and ages of homes within a neighborhood when applying adjustments.
Automated valuation models could help identify inconsistencies requiring closer review, said Hamilton County Assessor Kevin Poore. An assessor-led pilot is underway in Hendricks, Clark, Lake, Vanderburgh, LaPorte and Allen counties.
The department recommended beginning with an advisory or quality-control pilot, retaining local assessor judgment and taxpayers’ notice and appeal rights.
Still, Sen. Fady Qaddoura, D-Indianapolis, pressed for clear error measures and analysis of who would pay more or less before broader implementation.
“Anytime you bring a new model, you have to refine that system to be sure that there are no unintended consequences,” Qaddoura said.
Childcare funding debate continues
Also Wednesday, Adam Alson, director of the Office of Early Childhood and Out-of-School Learning, said Gov. Mike Braun intends to continue the voucher expansion supported by a one-time $200 million infusion announced this spring.
“The additional 14,000 CCDF vouchers are funded solely with state dollars and for one fiscal year,” Alson said. “The governor is committed to continuing this increase in enrollment, and as such, this additional investment and allocation will be reflected in its upcoming budget.”
September figures presented to the committee showed 46,579 children enrolled across the Child Care and Development Fund and On My Way Pre-K programs, with 17,732 on their combined waitlists.
Regulated childcare capacity nevertheless fell about 3.3% from a year earlier, to 156,151 seats.
Alson said the administration is pursuing regulatory changes and additional ways for employers, philanthropy and local governments to invest.
Whitney Coake, a Taft public affairs director speaking on her own behalf, proposed a “QuadShare” framework combining employer, taxpayer, state and philanthropic contributions. It would fund expanded childcare assistance, 12 weeks of paid parental leave and an early care trust fund.
Her model estimated about $1.74 billion in annual operating expenses, separate from proposed trust fund deposits. Financing would include a 0.3% employer payroll contribution and a 0.15 percentage-point increase in the individual income tax rate. Philanthropic contributions and investment returns remain proposed or illustrative.
Alson emphasized that communities need flexibility to develop approaches suited to their families and employers.
“There are places throughout the state that are saying this is important,” he said. “How do we figure out how we do it?”
