One row in Chikaming Township's 2026 land value study records a parcel on Lakeside Road that sold in early 2025 for $793,188. The township's assessed value for that parcel at the time of sale was $147,800, or 18.63% of the price.
A buyer reading the seller's tax history on that home was looking at a figure tied to an assessment worth less than a fifth of what they paid. That buyer's next bill, though, won't be set by the sale price either. In Michigan the tax bill after a purchase lands on a third number, set by the township assessor. For a second home in Lakeside, it also carries a school levy that the previous owner may never have paid.
Three Numbers, and the Listing Shows the Wrong One
Three different values sit around every Lakeside closing, and only one of them decides the buyer's taxes.
- The seller's taxable value. Under Proposal A of 1994, taxable value is capped while one owner holds the property. That capped figure is what produces the tax line in a listing.
- The purchase price. Michigan law says it does not control the result. MCL 211.27(6) reads:
"the purchase price paid in a transfer of property is not the presumptive true cash value of the property transferred"
- The state equalized valuation. Property is assessed at 50% of true cash value. After a transfer, "the property's taxable value for the calendar year following the year of the transfer is the property's state equalized valuation for the calendar year following the transfer."
The third number is the one that matters, and the assessor builds it with the same valuation method used for comparable property across the township. Your closing price feeds into that method as one data point among many. Michigan Treasury's page on changes in ownership and uncapping confirms that a qualifying transfer uncaps taxable value in the calendar year after the transfer. It also notes that certain conveyances are exempt from the definition of a transfer.
How Long a Cap Can Run
The gap between the seller's bill and the buyer's grows with how long the seller has owned the home. Apart from additions and losses to the property, a capped taxable value can rise each year by no more than the inflation rate multiplier. For 2026 the State Tax Commission set that multiplier at 1.027, a 2.7% ceiling, in Bulletin 14 of 2025, dated November 18, 2025. The bulletin's formula takes prior taxable value, subtracts losses, multiplies by 1.027 and then adds additions.
Values in Chikaming have not been rising that slowly. Berrien County's 2026 worksheet for the township shows total taxable value based on SEV going from $909,098,162 in 2025 to $971,236,323 in 2026, an increase of about 6.8%. That total includes new construction and losses, so it doesn't measure appreciation alone. It is still well above a 2.7% cap. A family that has held a Lakeside cottage for decades carries a taxable value that has fallen further behind the assessor's view of the market every year. When they sell, the buyer's taxable value resets to the SEV and the old cap no longer applies.
Timing matters too. A buyer who closes this fall uncaps in 2027. Treasury's multiplier archive does not yet list a 2027 figure, so the cap that will apply in later years is still unpublished.
The Lakefront Ledger
The township's 2026 ECF study shows how far assessments and prices drift apart along the water. The residential group coded 4201 is made up of sales on Lake Avenue, Lakeshore Road, Meadow Lane and Pier Street, recorded between May 2023 and September 2024.
| Sale | Sale price | Assessed when sold | Ratio | Township's current appraisal |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lake Ave, 2024 | $7,000,000 | $1,771,100 | 25.30% | $5,647,704 |
| Meadow Ln, 2023 | $3,175,000 | $821,700 | 25.88% | $3,237,315 |
| Lakeshore Rd, 2023 | $2,800,000 | $992,400 | 35.44% | $3,270,368 |
| Lakeshore Rd, 2024 | $1,394,000 | $697,000 | 50.00% | $1,241,299 |
Across the whole group the study reports a sale ratio of 35.70 and an economic condition factor of 1.025. Assessment is supposed to sit at 50% of true cash value, so a ratio in the mid-30s shows assessments running well behind the prices buyers were paying.
The appraisal column matters most for this post. In two of these sales the township's current appraisal sits below the price paid, by more than $1.3 million on the Lake Avenue home. On the earlier Lakeshore Road sale it sits about $470,000 above. None of these appraisal figures is a taxable value. After a transfer, taxable value becomes the following year's SEV, and assessment is set at 50% of true cash value as the assessor determines it. The appraisals show that the assessor's valuation works independently of the deed price. "Assessed when sold" is not the same thing as taxable value either, and a seller's capped taxable value can be lower still. On the 4201 sales, the seller's bill and the buyer's eventual bill come from separate calculations.
Inland, the picture repeats. The township's 4101 residential group, with sales from May 2023 through March 2025, reports a sale ratio of 34.10 and an ECF of 1.205.
The 18 Mills That Follow a Second Home
The reset only covers half of the change. A homeowner who occupies the property as a principal residence can claim the Principal Residence Exemption, which exempts it from local school operating millage of up to 18 mills. Under Treasury's definition, a second home does not qualify. If the seller lived in the house full time and claimed the exemption, their bill left out a levy a weekend owner will pay.
Michigan's 2025 total property tax rate table, the latest complete statewide table, lists two school districts inside Chikaming Township:
| Chikaming Township, 2025 | Principal residence | Non-homestead |
|---|---|---|
| River Valley School District | 21.4012 mills | 39.4012 mills |
| New Buffalo Area Schools | 20.6906 mills | 38.6906 mills |
A mill is one dollar per $1,000 of taxable value. At the 2025 River Valley rates, every $100,000 of taxable value works out to about $2,140 a year as a principal residence and about $3,940 as a second home. Both districts show the same 18-mill difference. Because a Chikaming address can fall in either district, the parcel's school district belongs on the due diligence list next to the survey and the inspection. The township assessor's office points owners to online parcel information for that lookup.
On the 2026 township side, Chikaming's rate request lists 0.3460 mills allocated operating, 1.8245 public safety, 0.6010 voted operating, 0.3323 library and 0.9291 road. Those add up to 4.0329 mills, which is the township's share and not the all-in rate.
The Paperwork Around a Closing
Once a buyer understands the reset, the deadlines that follow a Lakeside closing make more sense.
- Property Transfer Affidavit. Treasury's Form 2766 must be filed by the new owner with the city or township assessor within 45 days of the transfer. It is how the assessor learns the property changed hands.
- Principal Residence Exemption. For a buyer who will live in the home as a principal residence, Treasury's PRE claim requirements set a filing date on or before June 1 for the summer levy or on or before November 1 for the winter levy. A second home does not qualify.
- Board of Review. Chikaming's assessor says assessment appeals go to the March Board of Review, with possible further appeal to the Michigan Tax Tribunal.
Ballot measures are the other moving part. Berrien County's unofficial proposal list for the November 3, 2026 election contains no Chikaming Township or River Valley Schools millage question. River Valley's May 5, 2026 proposal authorized up to 8 mills for 2026 through 2032. Its ballot language said only 0.4 mill was expected to be levied in 2026, to restore rollback losses, according to the county's May proposal list. WSJM reported that the River Valley operating millage proposal was approved.
A Few Questions Buyers Ask
Does the bill change the first winter after closing? Uncapping takes effect in the calendar year after the transfer, so a 2026 closing shows up in the 2027 taxable value.
Does my price become the new value? No. Statute says the purchase price is not presumed to be true cash value. The new taxable value is the following year's SEV, set by the assessor.
Is there an official way to estimate? Michigan Treasury publishes a Property Tax Estimator alongside its uncapping resources.
This post is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Confirm how these rules apply to your purchase with a qualified tax professional or the Chikaming Township assessor.
When we advise on a Lakeside purchase, we start from the assessor's numbers, the parcel's school district and the non-homestead rate, and we don't treat the seller's tax line as a guide. If you're weighing a home here and want that analysis done before you write an offer, talk with Rob and Chris at Shoreline Advice.
