Auditor

Porter County 2020 Online Tax Sale

Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Porter County's 2020 Tax Sale will be an online sale this year. Bidding will begin on Dec. 8 and will close on Dec. 9. Each parcel has its own bid closing time. For information about the parcels on the tax sale list, registration details, lien holder responsibilities, and more, visit our Tax Sale vendor, SRI Inc., by clicking on the following link: Porter County 2020 Tax Sale.

Income Tax revenue for 2021 certified

The state has certified its estimates of local income tax (LIT) revenues that will be distributed in 2021. This tax comes from payroll withholdings from those who work in the county; the 2021 estimates reflect the income taxes generated in 2019. 

Overall, Porter County is expected to see an increase of 5.48% in its LIT revenues. Half of the total is reserved for a credit on homeowner tax bills and for the Northwest Indiana Regional Development Authority. The other half is distributed to the county and municipalities. 

Did you know? Porter County's LIT rate of 0.5% (.005) is the lowest in Indiana. Only one other county currently has this same rate. The LIT revenues certified by the state are subject to change before the final certification later in the year. The following breakdown shows the distribution to the county and municipalities in both 2020 and 2021.

 Budget austerity measures now in place

The Porter County Council and Porter County Commissioners have jointly adopted a financial resolution in anticipation of potentially negative budgetary impacts due to the coronavirus. The resolution, adopted by the Council on May 26 and adopted by the Commissioners on June 9, calls for several austerity measures, including the following:

• Department heads must seek Council or Commissioner approval before moving forward with filling vacancies;
• Department heads must seek advance approval before authorizing any overtime or compensatory time for employees;
• Department heads seeking an additional appropriation from the general fund must first seek approval to get on the council agenda;
• The Porter County Auditor will utilize inter-fund borrowing to resolve departmental cash flow problems.

Tax rates 2020

The table below shows this year’s property tax rates with a comparison to the 2019 rates.

 To view the adopted budgets for Porter County government, see the "Budgets & Finance" tab or click here.