Nebraska Farm Bureau Urges Legislature to Prioritize Property Tax Reforms to Slow Property Tax Growth

LINCOLN, NEB. - Nebraska Farm Bureau is urging state lawmakers to make property tax reform a top priority in the 2026 legislative session with an emphasis on taking steps to slow the growth in property tax collections. The message was delivered during a January 22 news conference held at the State Capitol during a meeting of the organization's State Board of Directors.

"Property taxes continue to be a top concern for Nebraskans. It's critical that the Legislature act this session to address our state's out of control property tax situation," said Mark McHargue, Nebraska Farm Bureau President.

New data released by the Nebraska Department of Revenue's Property Assessment Division shows that statewide collection of property taxes increased by nearly $286 million in 2025, a more than five percent increase. The hike follows largely flat statewide property tax collections in 2024, after the state took over funding for a significant portion of Nebraska's community colleges once supported by property taxes.

"In one years' time, the growth in statewide property taxes has effectively wiped out the progress that was made with the Legislature's action to remove community colleges from the property tax rolls. It's clear that we have to address the property tax problem at its roots, which means legislative action to slow the growth of property taxes at the local level," said McHargue.

According to McHargue, Nebraskans can simply no longer afford runaway property taxes.

"When we think about tax policy and government spending, we can't ignore Nebraskans' ability to pay. To that point, Nebraskans' median household income doubled from 2000 to 2024. During that same period, property taxes quadrupled. Nebraskans' pocketbooks cannot keep up with the growth in property tax collections by local governments. We must find a way to slow collections down," said McHargue. "That means tightening caps on property tax asking and increasing the thresholds by which local governments are allowed to exceed property tax asking limitations."

McHargue indicated that bills have been introduced on property taxes that would start down the path of slowing property tax collections from which the body could work.

"We appreciate the work the Legislature has done to provide property tax relief to hardworking Nebraskans through credits and other measures, but it's time for the Legislature to step in and use its authorities to slow growth in local collections. Taking steps in that direction would be a "win" for taxpayers and the Legislature this session," said McHargue.

The Nebraska Farm Bureau is a grassroots, state-wide organization dedicated to supporting farm and ranch families and working for the benefit of all Nebraskans through a wide variety of educational, service, and advocacy efforts. Nearly 55,000 families across Nebraska are Farm Bureau members, working together to achieve rural and urban prosperity as agriculture is a key fuel to Nebraska's economy. For more information about Nebraska Farm Bureau and agriculture, visit www.nefb.org.

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