Rush County sits east of Indianapolis in the central Indiana farmland belt — Rushville as the county seat, and a property economy built primarily around small-town residential, modest commercial along the courthouse square, and active farmland through the surrounding townships. The county's population is roughly 17,000 and has been stable for decades. The 2026 Form 11 notices arrive in mid-April against the same statewide DLGF cost-table reset pushing AVs upward across Indiana, and Rush owners are seeing the same upward pressure on improvement values that residential owners across the state are encountering.
The appeal deadline is June 15, 2026, or 45 days from the mailing date — whichever is later.
Rush County Treasurer's Office: Rush County Courthouse, 101 East Second Street, Room 213, Rushville, IN 46173, (765) 932-2386. The 2025 pay 2026 tax rate sheet was published in February 2026. 2026 due dates: first installment delinquent after May 11, 2026; second installment delinquent after November 10, 2026.
What's Driving 2026 Rush County AVs
Three local dynamics shape the cycle.
The DLGF Cost-Table Reset
The statewide cost-table update — the same one driving the 12% statewide AV growth in the prior cycle — affects every county. Rushville's residential housing stock will see across-the-board improvement-value movement, with the largest percentage swings on older properties. Rush has meaningful pre-1970 housing stock that's particularly sensitive to cost-table updates.
Active Farmland
Outside Rushville, Rush County is meaningful farm country. The 2026 farmland base rate is $2,120 per acre — unchanged from 2025 — but parcel AVs still move based on productivity, soil composition, and influence factors. Rush County's central Indiana location means its farmland productivity factors are toward the higher end of the state's range.
Indianapolis-Adjacent Residential Pressure
Rush County's western edge lies within commuting distance of the Indianapolis metro. Residential parcels in the western townships — particularly those near state highways feeding into the metro — have seen modest sale-price pressure as buyers look beyond the immediate donut counties for affordability. This shows up in 2026 land-rate adjustments more than in improvement values.
What to Check on Your Rush County Form 11
The general Form 11 walkthrough applies. Rush-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 on actively farmed acreage — frequently get miscoded.
Homestead and SB 1 Credit
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.
Improvement Value on Older Stock
Rushville's older housing stock is sensitive to cost-table-driven improvement value moves. Documented condition issues are appeal-worthy evidence.
Farmland Productivity Factors
For active-farming owners, the highest-yield check is the productivity ratings and influence factors on the record card. If drainage tile, erosion, flooding, or land-use changes have altered productivity since the last survey, that's appealable evidence.
Rush County Tax Rate Context
Rush County's combined tax rates run modestly below the statewide median. The county's median effective property tax rate of approximately 0.92% sits below Indiana's median of 0.99% and below the national median of 1.02%.
For appeal economics: a $10,000 AV reduction translates to roughly $150–$220 of annual tax savings for non-cap-bound parcels. For Rushville's median home (around $133,700), the math typically supports an appeal at any clearly demonstrable 10%+ AV overstatement.
The Rushville and Surrounding Townships Picture
| Area | Character | 2026 considerations |
|---|---|---|
| Rushville | County seat, dense SFR, courthouse square | Cost-table moves on older improvements |
| Western townships | Indianapolis-commuter-adjacent rural residential | Land rate pressure from metro spillover |
| Central townships | Active farmland, rural residential | Farmland base rate drives Ag AV |
| Eastern townships | Active farmland, sparser residential | Productivity-factor-driven Ag movement |
SB 1 and the 2026 Spring Bill
The reform package signed in 2025 takes effect on the spring 2026 tax bill (due May 11):
- 10% supplemental homestead credit, capped at $300 per qualifying homestead.
- Supplemental homestead deduction increases from 35% to 40% of eligible AV.
- Business personal property exemption rises to $1M in 2026 (and $2M in 2027).
For a Rushville homestead with a $130K AV, the practical bill-side effect of these reforms is meaningful — the credits and the increased supplemental deduction together move the bill measurably. Walkthrough in the SB 1 explainer.
Rush County Appeal Logistics
Form 130 is filed with the Rush County Assessor's Office at the Rushville courthouse. Hand-delivery and mail are both accepted; appeals are time-stamped on receipt, not postmark.
Include with your filing:
- Completed Form 130 (one per parcel)
- Stated grounds: market value, error, or uniformity
- 3–5 comparable sales within the same neighborhood code
- Photos for condition-based arguments
- For farmland: current productivity data, soil-survey updates, drainage or land-use change documentation
- For income property: rent roll and operating statement
PTABOA acknowledges within 30 days. Settlement offers commonly arrive 60–90 days after filing if written evidence supports a reduction. Post-decision, the Indiana Board of Tax Review is the escalation within 30 days.
The Indianapolis-Adjacent Submarket
Rush County's western edge is part of a broader pattern: as the immediate Indianapolis donut counties (Hamilton, Hendricks, Johnson, Boone) have seen sustained sale-price growth, secondary commuter counties further out — including Rush, Shelby, and Hancock — have absorbed some of the affordability-driven demand. For 2026 assessments, this shows up as land-rate adjustments in the western Rush townships rather than dramatic improvement-value swings.
For owners considering a rental property purchase in Rush County's western townships, the underwriting math has shifted in the past several years and is worth refreshing against current data rather than assuming a pre-pandemic baseline.
Decide Early
The optimal Rush County filing window is late April through late May: Form 11 in hand, well before the June deadline, and time to pull supporting documents.
If you'd rather not assemble the package, Property Lookup compares your parcel to recent sales, and Tax Appeal Automation builds the Form 130 evidence file on contingency.
Find Your Rush County Property
- Rush County overview
- Rush residential parcel data
- Rush commercial parcel data
- Rush industrial parcel data
- Rush agricultural parcel data