The property tax figure on a Saugatuck-area listing describes the seller's tax position, and in Michigan a sale usually ends it. Most sales count as a transfer of ownership, and in the calendar year after one, the home's capped taxable value resets to its state equalized value, or SEV. A buyer who will not live there full time also loses the exemption from up to 18 mills of school operating tax. Allegan County's own assessment roll shows how much ground that reset covers in this market. In the City of Saugatuck, residential taxable value is about 55% of residential SEV. No other jurisdiction around it shows a gap that wide.
The number on the listing sheet comes from years of capped growth
Under Proposal A of 1994, taxable value can rise each year by no more than the lesser of 5% or inflation, however fast the market moves. For 2026, Michigan Treasury set that multiplier at 1.027, a 2.7% ceiling, in Bulletin 15 of 2025. When lakeshore values climb faster than that, a long-term owner's taxable value falls further behind the assessment each year.
A sale wipes out that accumulated gap. Michigan Treasury explains that a transfer of ownership causes taxable value to uncap in the calendar year after the transfer. The statute lists certain conveyances that are exempt. For a closing in late 2026, the seller's 2026 bill stays as issued, and the reset shows up on the 2027 bill.
That means two buyers can look at the same listing tax figure and owe very different amounts. It depends on how long the seller owned the home, and in this market a long hold is common enough to show up in county totals.
Saugatuck's roll carries the widest gap in the area
The 2025 Allegan County Equalization Report lists residential SEV and residential taxable value for every local unit. Divide one by the other and you get the share of assessed value that is actually being taxed.
| 2025 residential class | SEV | Taxable value | Taxable as share of SEV |
|---|---|---|---|
| City of Saugatuck | $375,406,900 | $208,282,285 | about 55% |
| Saugatuck Township | $761,435,100 | $476,056,458 | about 63% |
| City of the Village of Douglas | $348,333,300 | $223,212,338 | about 64% |
| Allegan County total | $8,807,897,150 | $5,538,292,862 | about 63% |
Each share is an average across every home in the unit. Recently sold homes sit close to 100% because they have just uncapped, so homes that have been held for many years sit well below the average to bring it down to 55%. The listings where a buyer is most likely to be surprised are exactly those long-held homes, and a downsizing seller's longtime family cottage is a typical example.
The gap keeps getting wider. A University of Michigan CLOSUP case study published in September 2026 found that in nearby Fennville, the ratio of taxable value to equalized value fell from 80.9% in 2018 to 61.3% in 2025, with the steepest change after 2020. The City of Saugatuck's 2025 figure is already lower than Fennville's.
What the reset does to a bill, per $100,000 of SEV
The 2025 statewide total rate table lists the City of Saugatuck at 37.8409 mills for a principal residence and 55.8409 mills for a non-homestead property. That 18-mill difference is the school operating tax. The Principal Residence Exemption removes up to 18 mills, but only for the owner's true, fixed, permanent home.
Take a City of Saugatuck home carrying $100,000 of SEV, with taxable value at the city's 55% average. The arithmetic below uses 2025 rates.
| Scenario | Taxable value | Millage | Annual tax |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seller, principal residence, capped | $55,500 | 37.8409 | about $2,100 |
| Buyer, principal residence, uncapped | $100,000 | 37.8409 | about $3,784 |
| Buyer, second home, uncapped | $100,000 | 55.8409 | about $5,584 |
Losing the cap raises the bill by roughly 80%. Losing the exemption on top of that brings the second-home buyer to about 2.7 times what the seller paid. Scale the figures to the actual SEV on the parcel card. The ratio between the rows stays the same.
These totals still leave out some charges. The table's companion figures, which include ad valorem special assessment millage, put the city at 40.7409 and 58.7409 mills. Allegan County also notes that its levy report excludes most special assessments, tax administration fees, delinquent interest and penalties, so the charges on a specific parcel need their own check.
One mailing address, several different rates
A Saugatuck address can fall in any of three taxing units, and in the township the school district changes the rate again. Here are the 2025 totals from the same Treasury table:
- City of Saugatuck, Saugatuck Public Schools: 37.8409 PRE, 55.8409 non-homestead
- City of the Village of Douglas, Saugatuck Public Schools: 37.6825 PRE, 55.6825 non-homestead
- Saugatuck Township, Saugatuck Public Schools: 28.1642 PRE, 46.1642 non-homestead
- Saugatuck Township, Fennville Public Schools: 29.6073 PRE, 47.6073 non-homestead
- Saugatuck Township, Hamilton Community Schools: 28.3425 PRE, 46.3425 non-homestead
The roughly 9.7-mill difference between the city and the township's Saugatuck Public Schools area works in the opposite direction from the cap gap. The township's base is closer to fully taxed, but its rate is lower. On a $100,000 uncapped SEV used as a second home, the township figure is about $4,616 and the city figure is about $5,584. Neither effect appears on the seller's bill, so a fair comparison of two listings begins with each parcel's SEV and the millage row that applies to it.
What the November 3 ballot adds
Each local millage is charged per $1,000 of taxable value, so it lands on the uncapped base once a sale resets it. The Allegan County ballot proposals for the November 3, 2026 general election include three that touch Saugatuck-area parcels.
Saugatuck Public Schools is asking to borrow up to $49,500,000. The money would go to a new community recreation center building, a new early childhood education center, school additions, a partial remodel of the middle school/high school auditorium, technology, buses and athletic facilities. The estimated 2027 levy is 1.31 mills, which the ballot language describes as "-0-mills net increase over the prior year's levy." The estimated average over the life of the bonds is 1.92 mills, and the term runs up to 25 years. Countywide, the Allegan Conservation District is seeking a renewal of 0.0943 mill for 2027 through 2032. Saugatuck Township's road proposal would restore its rolled-back road and infrastructure rate from 0.9204 to 0.9967 mill for 2027 through 2031.
None of these questions changes the uncapping mechanism. That decision belongs to Lansing.
Three measures in Lansing would rewrite the reset
The Legislature has three proposals pending that would change how uncapping works. Their status as of the latest legislative record:
- House Bill 5872 of 2026 would modify taxable value for transferred property under MCL 211.27a. It passed the House 57 to 46 on May 20, 2026, and was referred to the Senate Committee on Government Operations on June 2, 2026.
- House Joint Resolution T of 2026 proposes a constitutional amendment eliminating uncapping for certain property owned and used as a principal residence. It was introduced and referred to the House Committee on Government Operations on April 22, 2026.
- House Bill 4014 of 2025 would exempt transfers of certain property to certain individuals from uncapping. It passed the House on March 18, 2025, and was referred to the Senate Finance, Insurance, and Consumer Protection Committee on March 20, 2025.
As described, HJR T reaches only principal residences. A buyer planning a seasonal home would keep both parts of the reset under that version.
Quick answers
When does the new taxable value appear? In the calendar year after the transfer of ownership. A closing this fall would show it on the 2027 bill.
Where can I find a parcel's SEV? The local assessor's office for the city, village or township can provide it. The 2025 Allegan County Equalization Report shows the totals for each unit, and Treasury links a Property Tax Estimator from its ownership page.
Are 2026 rates different from the figures above? The figures here come from the 2025 rate table and the 2025 equalization report. Ask the local treasurer's office for current rates on the specific parcel.
This post is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Confirm your own situation with the assessor, a tax professional or an attorney before relying on any of these figures.
When we prepare an offer on Saugatuck, Douglas or township waterfront, the seller's bill is where our tax conversation starts, not where it ends. Andrea Crossman Group pulls the parcel's SEV and the millage row that actually applies to it, so your carrying-cost estimate reflects the year after closing. Discover Lakeshore Living.
