Dearborn County is Indiana's southeastern Cincinnati-metro outpost. Lawrenceburg, the county seat, sits on the Ohio River roughly 25 miles downriver from downtown Cincinnati, and Aurora, Greendale, and Bright extend the county's Cincinnati-commuter footprint along US-50 and the I-275 outer loop. The 2026 Form 11 Notices of Assessment will be mailed Friday, April 24, 2026 — slightly earlier than most of Indiana — and the assessor's office has signaled that some Dearborn County assessments will increase due to the strong 2025 real estate market.
For owners across Dearborn's roughly 50,000 residents, the cross-state-line dynamic shapes how to read the Form 11 and how to weigh an appeal under the June 15, 2026 deadline.
Dearborn County 2026 calendar: Form 11 notices for 2026 pay 2027 mail Friday, April 24, 2026. Appeal deadline is June 15, 2026 (or 45 days from notice date, whichever is later). File a Form 130 with the Dearborn County Assessor's Office in Lawrenceburg.
The Cincinnati Cross-State Dynamic
Dearborn County competes for residents with northern Kentucky and western Ohio. Indiana's property tax structure — including the constitutional 1% homestead cap, the homestead deduction, and the new SB 1 $300 supplemental credit — is part of what attracts Cincinnati-area buyers across the state line.
The implications for 2026 assessments:
- Sale prices in Lawrenceburg, Aurora, and Bright reflect Cincinnati-metro buyer demand, not just local trending
- The Ohio River corridor parcels carry land-side weight that pulls valuations higher than purely inland comparables
- Lawrenceburg's casino and entertainment economy adds a commercial tax base that affects district-level rates
Lawrenceburg has a median property tax rate of approximately 0.90% — below the national median of 1.02% and substantially below the rates of nearby Cincinnati-Hamilton County, Ohio jurisdictions. That structural rate advantage is part of the cross-state-line draw.
What Drives Dearborn County's 2026 Assessment Movement
Three forces shape the 2026 cycle:
1. Statewide DLGF Cost-Table Reset
The DLGF removed a downward base-cost adjustment that had been suppressing improvement values across Indiana. Dearborn County's housing stock saw meaningful improvement-side adjustments as a result.
2. Strong 2025 Real Estate Market
The Dearborn County Assessor's Office has noted that some assessments will increase primarily due to the strong real estate market of 2025. The assessor's trending window captured that strength.
3. Cincinnati-Metro Demand
Cross-state-line demand from Cincinnati-area buyers continues to push Dearborn County values higher in the Cincinnati-accessible neighborhoods.
What to Check on Your Dearborn County Form 11
The general Form 11 walkthrough applies. Dearborn-specific items:
Township Assignment
Dearborn County is divided into fourteen townships including Caesar Creek, Center, Clay, Harrison, Hogan, Jackson, Kelso, Lawrenceburg, Logan, Manchester, Miller, Sparta, Washington, and York. Verify the township assignment on your Form 11 — Lawrenceburg Township in particular has different rate dynamics from the surrounding rural townships.
Neighborhood Code
Dearborn County's neighborhood codes determine the per-acre land valuation. Cincinnati-commute-accessible neighborhoods carry different per-acre values than purely rural neighborhoods. A neighborhood reclassification can produce a sudden land-side spike.
Homestead Status
If you bought in 2024 or 2025 and have not filed Form HC-10, your 2026 Form 11 will not reflect the homestead deduction, the SB 1 $300 supplemental credit, or the 1% homestead cap. File at the Dearborn County Auditor's Office before May 10.
Ohio River Floodplain
Parcels along the Ohio River in Lawrenceburg, Aurora, and the unincorporated river corridor fall within FEMA flood plain designations. Flood plain status should be reflected in the assessment — a parcel in a 100-year flood plain has materially different value from the same improvement on a non-flood-plain lot.
Casino-Adjacent Parcels
Lawrenceburg's casino and entertainment economy adds parcels that operate at the 3% commercial cap rather than the residential caps. Verify the property class code on commercial Form 11 notices.
Dearborn County and SB 1
The SB 1 property tax reform package layers onto the standard 2026 cycle:
| SB 1 change | Dearborn County impact |
|---|---|
| $300 homestead credit | Applies to all Dearborn homesteads on spring 2026 bills |
| Supplemental deduction 35% to 40% | Reduces taxable AV on homesteads |
| Business personal property exemption to $1M | Helps small Lawrenceburg and Aurora commercial owners |
| Rental/farmland 2% deduction starts at 13.3% | Helps Dearborn County rental and farmland owners |
For Dearborn County's rental investors — meaningful in Lawrenceburg's older housing stock and in the Cincinnati-commuter corridor — the new 2% rental deduction is a modest but real reduction in carrying costs.
Appeal Strategy for Dearborn County
Dearborn County Form 130 filing: filed with the Dearborn County Assessor's Office at the County Administration Building in Lawrenceburg. Online filing through the county's portal is time-stamped on submission and is the safest option in the final week before June 15.
The Indiana property tax appeal guide covers the statewide procedure. Dearborn County considerations:
- Form 130 is filed with the County Assessor in Lawrenceburg
- Comparable sales must come from within the same neighborhood code
- Cross-state Cincinnati-area sales are not admissible comparables — only Indiana-side sales carry weight
- For commercial properties along the casino corridor, include rent rolls and operating statements
The math on appeal payoff in Dearborn County: at Lawrenceburg's effective rate near 0.90%, every $10,000 of AV reduction translates to roughly $90 in annual tax savings. For commercial parcels with higher effective rates, the per-dollar payoff is correspondingly larger.
Dearborn County By the Numbers
| Metric | Dearborn County |
|---|---|
| County seat | Lawrenceburg |
| Largest cities | Lawrenceburg, Aurora, Greendale |
| Metropolitan area | Cincinnati MSA |
| Approximate parcel count | ~30,000 |
| Median effective tax rate | ~0.90% in Lawrenceburg |
| Townships | 14 |
| Form 11 mailing | April 24, 2026 |
| Appeal deadline | June 15, 2026 |
| Spring installment due | May 11, 2026 |
The Three-State Border
Dearborn County is one of the few Indiana counties that borders both Kentucky (across the Ohio River) and Ohio (along the eastern county line). That three-state proximity gives Dearborn a uniquely diversified buyer pool — and a uniquely complicated set of comparable sales considerations for assessment appeals. Only Indiana-side sales count as comparables for Indiana property tax purposes.
For investors evaluating Dearborn County rental property, the underwriting question is whether to position for Cincinnati-commuter demand in Lawrenceburg, Aurora, and Bright, or for local Dearborn County demand in the unincorporated areas farther from the Ohio River.
Filing Logistics
Dearborn County's Treasurer is located at 165 Mary Street, Lawrenceburg, IN 47025. Form 130 appeals are filed at the Assessor's Office at the same County Administration Building complex. In-person filing or certified mail with return receipt are the safest options.
Property Lookup shows your AV alongside neighborhood-coded Indiana-side comparable sales, and Tax Appeal Automation builds the Form 130 package on contingency.
When to Engage
With Dearborn County Form 11 notices mailing April 24, the optimal filing window opens almost immediately. The deadline is June 15, but PTABOA caseload spikes in the final two weeks. Filing between May 1 and May 25 gives you time to engage with assessor staff before the deadline rush.
Find Your Dearborn County Property
- Dearborn County overview
- Dearborn residential parcel data
- Dearborn commercial parcel data
- Dearborn agricultural parcel data