The tax rate is the amount that needs to be charged per $1,000.00 of assessed value on a property to cover local budgets (municipality, school, fire department, library, etc.). The tax rate each municipality, school, fire department, library, etc. applies to the assessed value of a property is the determining factor on how much you pay in taxes. The tax assessed value is only used to determine property taxes. Your mortgage company may use the assessment data in order to estimate your escrow. Otherwise, the tax assessed value is only used by the taxing authority. The higher the assessed value, the higher your property tax bill. The mill rate is the amount of tax payable per dollar of the assessed value of a property. The mill rate is based on "mills.". It is a figure that represents the amount per $1,000 of the assessed value of the property, which is used to calculate the amount of property tax.