Union County is Indiana's smallest mainland county by population — Liberty as the county seat, roughly 7,000 residents, four townships, and a tax base that leans heavily on residential and agricultural parcels because there's little commercial or industrial scale to spread the levy across. The 2026 Union County Budget Order was issued December 30, 2025, locking in tax rates for the year, and Form 11 notices typically arrive by mid-May.
The notable feature of Union County's rate structure is that Liberty's median tax rate sits at the top end among Indiana counties — recent reporting puts it near 1.80% — driven by the small population sharing the cost of county-level services. For homestead owners protected by the 1% circuit breaker cap, the high rate doesn't directly translate into the bill. But for non-homestead parcels (rentals, second homes, ag land, commercial), the rate-side multiplier dominates the bill calculation, and the 2026 Form 11 cycle is the only opportunity to push back on the AV side.
Union County 2026 calendar. Budget Order issued December 30, 2025. Form 11 notices typically mail by mid-May. Spring tax due May 10, 2026; fall installment due November 10, 2026. Form 130 appeal deadline: June 15, 2026, or 45 days after the Form 11 mailing date.
Why Union County's Rate Is High
The arithmetic of small-county property tax is straightforward: a fixed cost base — courthouse, sheriff, jail, EMS, basic county services — has to be covered by a small AV pool. When the levy is divided across the certified net AV of the county, the resulting rate runs above the state median.
That structural feature is unlikely to change. What 2026 owners can change is the AV-side variable on individual parcels — the input the rate gets multiplied against. An AV reduction on a non-homestead Union County parcel produces meaningful bill savings precisely because the rate it gets multiplied against is high.
Union County's Submarkets
1. Liberty (Town of)
The county seat. Standard small-town residential plus the courthouse-square commercial corridor. Town overlay produces the highest combined rate within the county.
2. Brownsville and College Corner
Smaller communities. Standard rural-residential housing stock with quieter sales activity than Liberty.
3. Brookville Lake Adjacency
The eastern edge of Union County sits adjacent to the Brookville Lake area (the lake itself is in Franklin County, but spillover residential and recreational property reaches into Union). Lake-adjacent parcels carry premium land coefficients tied to access and proximity.
4. Rural and Agricultural
The bulk of Union County's land area. Farmland base-rate movement — set statewide by the DLGF — drives the AV here.
What to Verify on a Union County Form 11
The statewide Form 11 walkthrough covers the basics. Union-specific items:
Acreage Breakdown on Rural Parcels
The split between tillable, woods, residential homesite, and outbuildings determines per-acre rate application. On smaller-county rural parcels, stale acreage breakdowns are particularly common and worth verifying line by line.
Productivity Index on Tillable Acreage
The DLGF-set per-acre value depends on the productivity index applied to the parcel. Productivity-index updates flow through to AV directly.
Liberty Town Coding
A property near the Liberty town boundary that gets miscoded into or out of the town overlay carries a different rate stack. Verify the town-coding line item on the Form 11 against the physical address.
Brookville Lake Coefficients
Lake-adjacent parcels carry land coefficients reflecting access and proximity. A coefficient that updated incorrectly between cycles can produce a sharp land-side AV swing.
Homestead Status on 2025 Closings
Confirm with the Union County Auditor that any 2025 closing posted a homestead deduction and the SB 1 $300 homestead credit before the 2026 roll closed.
Older Liberty Housing Stock
Liberty's housing stock includes substantial pre-1970 inventory. The cost-table valuation assumes typical condition; documented condition deficiencies (foundation, systems, exterior) support a Form 130 reduction.
Union County By the Numbers
| Metric | Union County |
|---|---|
| County seat | Liberty |
| Approximate population | ~7,000 |
| Townships | 4 |
| 2026 Budget Order issued | December 30, 2025 |
| Liberty median tax rate (reported) | ~1.80% |
| Spring tax due | May 10, 2026 |
| Fall tax due | November 10, 2026 |
Filing a Union County Form 130
The Union County Assessor's office at the courthouse in Liberty accepts Form 130 petitions. Practical filing notes:
- One Form 130 per parcel.
- State your grounds clearly. Market value (with comparable sales), property condition (with photos), or assessment error (acreage, class code, productivity index, town coding).
- For ag parcels, lead with productivity-index and acreage-breakdown analysis.
- For Liberty-area residential parcels, comparable sales from inside the same neighborhood code carry the most weight — recognizing that comparables can be thin in a small-population county.
- Hand-deliver or certified mail near the deadline. Postmark does not control receipt.
- Track acknowledgment within 30 days.
- Pay during pendency. Indiana law requires payment of the prior year's tax × current rate while a petition is open.
Full process detail in the statewide appeal guide.
SB 1 Homestead Credit on Union County Bills
The 10% / $300 supplemental homestead credit is the new spring 2026 line item below the cap calculation — for properly-filed homesteads only. For a representative Liberty-area homestead near the local median:
- AV ~$110K, homestead deductions applied
- Post-cap bill ~$1,000
- 10% credit: $100
- Final spring + fall obligation: ~$900 split across two installments
For non-homestead parcels — Brookville Lake-adjacent second homes, rentals, and farmland — the credit does not apply, and the high local rate makes those parcels the strongest appeal candidates in the county.
When to Appeal in Union County
Strongest 2026 appeal candidates:
- Non-homestead parcels — high rate × high AV × no cap protection × no SB 1 credit means AV reductions deliver the biggest dollar savings.
- Ag parcels with acreage-breakdown or productivity-index errors.
- Brookville Lake-adjacent parcels with coefficient changes.
- Older Liberty housing stock with documented condition deficiencies.
- Town-coding errors on parcels near the Liberty boundary.
Property Lookup shows the comparable-sales and parcel context for any Union County property. Tax Appeal builds the petition package on contingency.
Find Your Union County Property
- Union County overview
- Union residential parcel data
- Union agricultural parcel data
- Union commercial parcel data