Gretna's City Tax Levy Is One of the Metro's Lowest. Why Do So Many Gretna Addresses Pay More?
Picture two homes in the 68028 zip code, both in Gretna Public Schools. Why would one carry a combined property tax rate about 28% higher than the other?
The answer rarely makes it into a listing description. Gretna's city government levies a low property tax rate. Many of the newer subdivisions with Gretna mailing addresses sit outside city limits, though, in Sanitary and Improvement Districts. A home in one of those districts pays no city levy. It pays an SID levy instead, and that levy depends on how much infrastructure debt the subdivision still owes. In Gretna, the tax rate on a home tracks the age of its subdivision more closely than its address.
The City of Gretna's Fall 2026 Mayor's Newsletter says the city's property tax levy "remains the second-lowest in the Omaha metro area." In Sarpy County's 2025-2026 levy allocation, approved by the Board of Equalization on October 14, 2025, the City of Gretna's total levy is 0.425120 per $100 of valuation. That total is made up of a general levy of 0.156322, an interlocal bond levy of 0.189354 and a street levy of 0.079444.
That rate applies only to parcels inside Gretna's city limits. Sarpy County's SID roster lists dozens of districts in the Gretna area. Among them are Whitetail Creek, Remington Ridge, Aspen Creek, Hills of Aspen Creek, Lincoln Ridge, Windsor West, Giles Point / Mirabel, Cheyenne Ridge, Parkview, Kayda Corner and Highland Trails. Each of these districts sets its own levy.
Nebraska law allows SIDs to build sewer and water systems and public roads and streets. Under Neb. Rev. Stat. 31-727, the people who organize an SID commit to property taxes and special assessments on the benefited real estate to pay for that work. The same statute defines two kinds of SID borrowing. Warrants are short-term, interest-bearing orders repaid from tax and special assessment collections. General obligation bonds are long-term promises to repay principal and interest. The streets in a new subdivision get built first and paid off over time, and the bond levy on each homeowner's bill is how they get paid off.
Sarpy County's tax bill is a stack of levies. A Gretna-area home pays most of the same layers regardless of jurisdiction. The 2025-2026 allocation lists them:
Together those shared layers come to about 1.7109 per $100. The layers above that depend on whether a home is inside the city or in an SID. A home inside the city adds the 0.425120 city levy. A home in an SID adds its SID levy plus the Gretna Suburban Fire District levy of 0.124858. The state's tax district report for Sarpy County shows the same split. Gretna's city-limits district carries no rural fire line, while the Gretna SID districts carry both the Gretna Rural Fire levy and the SID levy.
The table below combines the 2025-2026 components for several named districts. The dollar column applies each combined rate to a hypothetical $400,000 assessed value. It is our own arithmetic from the county's published levies, before any exemption or credit a parcel might receive.
| District | SID levy, 2025-2026 | Combined rate per $100 | On $400,000 assessed value |
|---|---|---|---|
| City of Gretna | none | about 2.136 | about $8,544 |
| SID #291 Whitetail Creek | 0.510000 | about 2.346 | about $9,383 |
| SID #294 Remington Ridge | 0.540000 | about 2.376 | about $9,503 |
| SID #299 Aspen Creek | 0.664578 | about 2.500 | about $10,001 |
| SID #333 Hills of Aspen Creek | 0.880000 | about 2.716 | about $10,863 |
| SID #356 Lincoln Ridge | 0.900000 | about 2.736 | about $10,943 |
The gap between the city row and the Lincoln Ridge row comes to about $2,400 a year on the same assessed value. Over a typical holding period, that difference is large enough to change which of two similarly priced homes costs less to own.
The pattern holds in the state's earlier figures as well. Nebraska Revenue's Sarpy County tax district report, dated November 19, 2024, gives these consolidated rates:
Aspen Creek, SID #299, shows how the gap changes over time. In the November 2024 state report, its levy had two parts. The general levy was 0.167764 and the bond levy was 0.712236, for 0.88 in total. In the 2025-2026 allocation, the general levy is 0.164578 and the bond levy is 0.500000, for a total of 0.664578. Almost all of the drop came from the bond line, the part that repays the subdivision's infrastructure. Using the 2025-2026 components, Aspen Creek's combined rate comes out near 2.500, down from 2.718 in the 2024 report.
The newest districts sit at the other end. In the 2025-2026 allocation, a long run of recently formed Sarpy SIDs levy 0.900000. Gretna-area districts on that list include:
Lower-numbered Gretna-area districts such as Whitetail Creek at 0.51 and Remington Ridge at 0.54 sit much closer to the city's number.
This matters for buyers weighing a home in one of the 0.90 districts against one in a district with a lower levy. Some of the price difference between those homes may come down to where each district is in paying off its debt. Aspen Creek's numbers show that a bond levy can fall as that debt is paid down, and the levy line on a parcel's tax record shows where a district stands today.
The city's levy stays low partly because property tax is a small share of how Gretna pays its bills. The Fall 2026 newsletter says property taxes make up under 10% of the city's total budget, and that sales and motor vehicle tax "brings in $6.5M more than property taxes." The newsletter also points to more of that model coming. A planned $23 million interchange at Highway 6/31 near the coming Buc-ee's is expected to be paid for entirely with state sales tax generated at Buc-ee's. The city expects plans to be finished this winter, with a possible groundbreaking in early spring.
An SID has no share of that retail activity to draw on. Its streets and sewers are paid for by property taxes and special assessments on the homes inside it. That difference in funding sources is the reason for the gap in the table.
Buyers often ask what happens when the city absorbs an SID. State law addresses part of that question. Under Neb. Rev. Stat. 31-766, when a city annexes part of an SID, the district and the city may agree on how to divide assets, liabilities, maintenance, contracts and other obligations, or they may agree to merge. Any such agreement needs district court approval and cannot prejudice bondholders, creditors or contracted employees. After annexation takes effect, the SID may not levy special assessments in the annexed area. Under the statute, any division of an SID's liabilities happens through an agreement that a court has approved and that protects the people the district owes.
We are a real estate team, not attorneys or tax advisors, so treat this as general information rather than legal, tax or financial advice. Confirm how these rules apply to a specific property with the right professional.
No. Many subdivisions listed under Gretna in Sarpy County's SID roster are separate taxing districts, and the county levies each one on its own.
The Gretna SID districts in the state's tax district report include the same Gretna Public Schools levies as the city-limits district.
For sellers in a Gretna-area SID, the levy is one of the first numbers a buyer's agent will compare, so the listing has to show what the buyer gets for it. The Agency Real Estate Group combines staging, professional media and a clear explanation of the tax picture so buyers can see the full cost of owning your home next to its value. Request a Free Staging Consultation, and we will review your district's current levy with you before your home goes on the market.
Stay up to date on the latest real estate trends.
The Agency updated the home and staged it to sell for top dollar.
With the help of the Agency Group, the sellers accepted an offer for $90k more than they purchased it for two years prior.
By adding staging and new lighting, the home was sold with multiple offers at 6K+ asking.
Previously listed with two other agents over a two year period without selling.
Previously listed by another top agent. For being in Elkhorn, at 10 years old.
Although the home was 3 years young, The Agency Group utilized staging.
We specialize in transforming homes with high end staging & photography. List with us today!