Henry County — New Castle, Knightstown, Middletown, and the eastern Indiana farmland that surrounds them — sits in a corner of the state where the post-industrial reset of the past three decades shaped the local tax base in ways that still echo today. New Castle is the home of the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame and the largest high school gymnasium in the country, both of which orient civic identity even as the underlying property economy has moved on from its mid-century manufacturing peak. The 2026 Form 11 notices arrive in mid-April against the same statewide DLGF cost-table reset pushing AVs upward across Indiana — but Henry County's combination of low base rates, modest sale volume, and an older housing stock produces a 2026 picture closer to the lower-tier rate counties than to the high-growth metro suburbs.
The appeal deadline is June 15, 2026, or 45 days from the mailing date — whichever is later.
Henry County Auditor's Office: 101 South Main Street, New Castle, IN 47362, (765) 529-2800. Property tax payments are due May 12 and November 10, 2026. Assessment questions go through the County Assessor's office; formal appeals (Form 130) file with the Auditor.
What's Driving 2026 Henry County AVs
Three local dynamics are shaping the cycle.
The DLGF Cost-Table Reset on Older Stock
New Castle's housing stock skews older than the state median — a function of the city's mid-century manufacturing-era population peak and the more modest pace of new construction since. The DLGF cost-table reset disproportionately moves the improvement value on older homes because replacement-cost factors and depreciation tables interact in ways that don't always reflect current condition. Owners with pre-1970 New Castle homes should look closely at the improvement-value line on their Form 11.
Manufacturing-Era Industrial and Commercial
Henry County's manufacturing legacy left behind a meaningful inventory of industrial and commercial real estate, some of which has been redeveloped, some of which remains in active use, and some of which sits in transition. These properties are notoriously hard to value, and 2026 reassessments will move some of them meaningfully — in either direction. Owners of C&I parcels should compare the AV change against the property's actual income performance and operating reality.
Eastern Indiana Farmland
Outside New Castle, Henry County is meaningful farm country. The 2026 farmland base rate is $2,120 per acre — unchanged from 2025 — but individual parcel AVs still move based on productivity, soil composition, and influence factors. The pace of farmland sales in eastern Indiana has been notable in recent years; pull comparable transactions before assuming an Ag AV is appealable.
What to Check on Your Henry County Form 11
The general Form 11 walkthrough applies. Henry-specific items:
Property Class Code
Verify Line 5. The class code controls your cap tier: 1% homestead, 2% other residential and farmland, 3% commercial. Mixed-use rural parcels — a residence sitting on actively farmed acreage — frequently get miscoded.
Homestead Status
If you bought in 2025, verify Form HC-10 was filed. Without it, you lose the homestead deduction, the supplemental homestead deduction (now 40% in 2026), and the SB 1 $300 credit on the spring 2026 bill. The auditor's office can fix this in person.
Improvement Value on Older Homes
For New Castle homes 50+ years old, improvement value can outrun what the property would actually trade for — particularly where condition is below the standard for the assigned grade and class. Documented condition issues (roof, mechanical, structural, foundation, deferred maintenance) are appeal-worthy evidence. Photos help.
Land Rate by Neighborhood
Henry's neighborhood codes shifted in some submarkets ahead of this cycle. A land-only spike with little improvement movement usually indicates a code update. Pull the underlying neighborhood sales record to test whether the new rate is supportable.
Henry County Tax Rate Context
Henry County's combined tax rates are below the statewide median — closer to the lower-tier rural counties than the urban or high-growth suburban tier. The county's median effective property tax rate of roughly 0.91% sits below Indiana's median of 0.99% and well below the national median of 1.02%.
For appeal economics: a $10,000 AV reduction translates to roughly $130–$200 of annual tax savings for non-cap-bound parcels. For homesteads near the 1% cap, the cap math compresses the per-AV-dollar payoff. Run the calculation before spending time on a small-dollar appeal.
The New Castle, Knightstown, Middletown Picture
| Area | Character | 2026 considerations |
|---|---|---|
| New Castle (city) | County seat, dense SFR, downtown, basketball-belt civic identity | Cost-table moves on older improvements |
| Knightstown | Smaller incorporated town, residential | Modest moves; cost-table-driven |
| Middletown | Small-town residential, some commercial | Modest moves |
| Rural townships | Ag, rural residential, farms | Farmland base rate drives Ag AV |
| Legacy industrial | Mix of redeveloped, active, and transitional sites | Specialized C&I valuations |
Comparable-sales work in Henry County must respect submarket lines. A New Castle city sale doesn't defend a rural Knightstown-area AV.
SB 1 and What New Castle Homesteads Get
The 2026 spring tax bill — due May 12 in Henry County — will include the 10% supplemental homestead credit, capped at $300, for every qualifying homestead. The supplemental homestead deduction also increases from 35% to 40% of eligible AV.
For a New Castle homestead with a $100K AV, the practical bill-side effect is meaningful: low-rate counties already produce small homestead bills, and the SB 1 credits move them lower still. Walkthrough in the SB 1 explainer.
Henry County Appeal Logistics
Where to File
Form 130 is filed with the Henry County Auditor's Office at the New Castle address above. Hand-delivery and mail are both accepted; appeals are time-stamped on receipt, not postmark. Confirm online filing availability before relying on it.
What to Include
- Completed Form 130 (one per parcel under appeal)
- Stated grounds: market value, assessment error, or uniformity
- 3–5 comparable sales within the same neighborhood code, ideally within the trending window
- Photos for condition-based arguments
- For income property: rent roll and operating statement
- For specialty C&I: operating data and replacement-cost analysis if challenging the cost approach
What Happens After
PTABOA acknowledges within 30 days. Settlement offers commonly arrive 60–90 days after filing if written evidence supports a reduction. Hearings, if needed, schedule out further. Post-decision, the Indiana Board of Tax Review is the escalation within 30 days.
The Lower-Rate County Calculus
Henry County's relatively low combined tax rate means each dollar of AV reduction yields less tax savings than in a high-rate county. That doesn't mean appeals aren't worth filing — it means the threshold for "worth the effort" is higher. A 5% AV overstatement on a $130K New Castle home translates to roughly $85–$130 of annual tax savings; a 15% overstatement translates to $250–$400. Use Property Lookup to estimate the magnitude of your overstatement before deciding.
Decide Early
The optimal Henry County filing window is late April through late May: Form 11 in hand, well before the June deadline, and time to pull supporting documents and engage with the assessor's staff.
If you'd rather not assemble the package, Tax Appeal Automation builds the Form 130 evidence file on contingency.
Find Your Henry County Property
- Henry County overview
- Henry residential parcel data
- Henry commercial parcel data
- Henry industrial parcel data
- Henry agricultural parcel data