Comins Township, Michigan
Comins Township is a Michigan township in Oscoda County, home to about 1,900 people.
Comins Township sits in the northeast corner of Oscoda County, in the northeastern Lower Peninsula, and it's home to Fairview — the center of one of Michigan's oldest Amish settlements. Amish families came here from Ohio more than a century ago and farm the rolling open land around town, so you'll share the road with horse-drawn buggies and find farm stands, a bulk-foods store, and small family workshops. Fairview is also known, of all things, as the "wild turkey capital of Michigan."
Population
~1,900
Type
township
Home tax rate
~23.4 mills
School districts
1
What would you like to know?
Explore Comins Township
What it's like — the place, local stories, and what's worth knowing about the community.
Get to know it →Moving or buying here?
The property-tax pop-up, the homebuyer calculator, school-district rates, and the local rules to check.
See the practical stuff →Get to know it
About Comins Township
It's a more agricultural pocket than the forested rest of the county — rolling farmland edged by the Huron National Forest and dotted with small lakes — and much of Oscoda County is jack pine, the habitat that makes it the world capital of the Kirtland's warbler. A couple of homegrown attractions sit right in Fairview, including a quarter-scale ridable miniature railway through the pines.
Rural homes here run on private wells and septic systems, so plan to check both before you buy. Property taxes come as separate summer and winter bills, and the township can add special assessments for local improvements. The notes below have the details.
More about Comins Township
Porch Note
Fairview and Oscoda's Amish country
Fairview anchors Oscoda County's Amish community, farm country, small museums, and wild-turkey identity.
Read this note →Porch Note
Oscoda County's jack pine forest and the Kirtland's warbler
Oscoda County's public forest, jack pine habitat, Kirtland's warbler tours, hunting, and trail systems shape rural life here.
Read this note →The practical stuff
Moving or buying in Comins Township
The seller's tax bill may not be your tax bill.
2025 property-tax snapshot
- Primary home (PRE)
- 23.3924 mills - 23.3924 mills
- Other property / non-homestead
- 41.3924 mills - 41.3924 mills
- School districts available
- 1 in Comins Township
One mill means $1 per $1,000 of Taxable Value. Rate rows come from the official 2025 Michigan Treasury report. Last reviewed June 8, 2026.
What these local words mean
- Primary home (PRE)
- A home you own and live in as your main home. PRE stands for Principal Residence Exemption and can lower the school operating tax.
- Non-homestead
- Property that is not treated as the owner's main home, such as a rental, vacation home, or second home.
- Assessor
- The local office that estimates and records property values and exemptions.
- Treasurer
- The local office that collects property tax payments and can confirm bill timing.
Michigan homebuyer tax calculator
See the tax bill after you buy.
Where is the house?
Pick the county, city or township, and school district. We use the official 2025 tax rates published by Michigan Treasury.
Not sure of the school district? Check the property listing. It is usually under "Schools."
Need to double-check the exact parcel? Use the official state estimator at treas-secure.state.mi.us/ptestimator or call the local treasurer. Rates can change across city, township, village, and school district lines, so the exact parcel matters.
What buyers in Comins Township should know
Michigan property taxes start with Taxable Value, not the price you paid for the home. Local millage rates are applied to that number.
While the same owner keeps the home, Proposal A caps how much Taxable Value can rise each year. When the home sells, that cap usually comes off. This is called uncapping.
After uncapping, the buyer's Taxable Value usually moves closer to State Equalized Value, or SEV. SEV is often about half of the home's market value.
Bottom line: a longtime owner may have been taxed on an older, capped number. After you buy, the taxable number may reset higher, and your first full-year tax bill may be much higher than the seller's.
In Comins Township, one school district appears in the rate data. Parcel-specific tax districts can still matter.
For a primary home with PRE, Michigan's main-home exemption, the rate shown here is about 23.4 mills. Without PRE, the non-homestead rate is about 41.4 mills. The calculator uses the exact local rates.
If this will be your main home, make sure the Principal Residence Exemption, or PRE, is handled with the local assessor. PRE is Michigan's main-home property tax exemption. It can remove up to 18 school operating mills. Rentals, vacation homes, and second homes usually use the non-homestead rate instead.
School districts in this area
Fairview Area School
Primary home (PRE) 23.3924 mills · non-homestead 41.3924 mills
Local rules and costs to check
Note-sized practical catches tied to Comins Township: taxes, property rules, permits, local costs, or other things worth checking before you decide.
Porch Note
Well and septic in Oscoda County
Oscoda County buyers should expect private wells and septic systems, with inspections handled by the buyer.
Read this note →Porch Note
Buying in a township? Watch for special assessments on top of your taxes
Michigan township buyers should check for special assessments that can add separate road, sewer, water, lighting, sidewalk, or drain charges.
Read this note →Porch Note
In Michigan, you get two property-tax bills a year — not one
Most Michigan property owners get separate summer and winter tax bills, with local rules deciding what lands on each bill.
Read this note →Nearby places
Other Michigan Porch pages in Oscoda County — handy when you're comparing local tax rates, school districts, or nearby communities.
Next steps
What to check next for Comins Township
Get oriented here, then choose the next practical guide, calculator, or nearby place.
County
Open Oscoda County
See the county page for other cities, townships, villages, local notes, and the county-wide tax snapshot.
Open county page →Calculator
Run a buyer tax estimate
Use the Michigan homebuyer tax calculator if you want to compare a different place or school district.
Open calculator →Tax break
Understand PRE
Learn who qualifies for the primary-home tax break and how the deadlines work.
Read PRE guide →Questions buyers ask
Is this an exact number? +
No. It is a strong estimate based on Michigan's published 2025 tax rates for your area. Your actual bill depends on what the local assessor decides your home is worth, called the SEV. Use this to plan your budget, not to lock in an exact figure.
When will my higher tax kick in? +
The first calendar year after you close. Close in June 2026, and the seller's tax bill usually comes through for 2026. Your new popped-up bill arrives in 2027.
What's PRE? +
PRE is Michigan's primary-home tax break. If you own the home and live there as your main home, it can remove up to 18 mills of local school operating tax from the bill. Rentals, vacation homes, and second homes do not get it. File Form 2368 with the local assessor by June 1 for the summer bill or November 1 for the winter bill.
What are mills? +
Mills are the tax rate. One mill means $1 of tax for every $1,000 of Taxable Value. A 40-mill rate means about $40 per $1,000 of Taxable Value. Different areas have different rates because county, city or township, school, library, public safety, parks, and other local taxes are stacked together.
What's the inflation multiplier? +
It is the yearly number Michigan uses to cap Taxable Value increases while the same owner keeps the home. Think of it as the speed limit for Taxable Value. For the 2026 tax year, the multiplier is 1.027, or 2.7%. When a home sells, that cap usually resets.
Are there ways to avoid the pop-up? +
A few, mostly family transfers. Parent to child, spouse to spouse, sibling to sibling, and some grandparent transfers may avoid the reset if the home stays residential. For family transfers, talk to a Michigan real estate attorney.
Why is my number different from the tax history on a listing? +
Most tax history pages show what the current owner paid. That is often based on a protected, lower taxable value. This calculator estimates what your taxable value becomes after Michigan's uncapping rule.
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