Residential Property Tax Relief Programs

[X] Income increases due solely to Social Security cost-of-living adjustments will not disqualify claimants from receiving rebates. This provision expires on December 31, 2016.

[X] Program has only been approved in Rapid City No person who receives a property tax refund or a retail sales and service tax refund or a real property tax assessment freeze may be denied a property tax reduction under this chapter because of such refund or freeze.

[X] Effective 1 July 2016, maximum eligible income changed to $26,941 & removed "A claimant's household income is decreased by $1,000 for a dependent" from eligibility criteria. Enacted by L. 2016, c. 375, § 1

[X] The deferral must be paid back in the following situations: 1) if the claimant dies, unless the continuing spouse elects to continue the deferral; 2) if the property is sold or the title is transferred; 3) if the taxpayer moves for reasons other than ill health; 4) if the taxpayer begins to rent the property or otherwise receives income from it; 5) if the location of the tax-deferred mobile home has moved either within the county or to another county; or 6) if the mortgage, deferred taxes, and accrued interest exceed the market value of the real property. The actual value of the property is the most recent appraisal by the county assessor as of the time the claim for deferral is submitted to the county treasurer.

[X] As used for this exemption, the term “permanently and totally disabled” means the inability to perform substantial gainful employment by reason of a medically determinable impairment, either physical or mental, that has lasted or is expected to last for a continuous period of 12 months or more, or result in death.

[X] Effective October 9, 2015, the combined disposable incomes for claimants in 2016 and subsequent collection years are increased by $5,000. This was enacted in 2015 Wash. 3rd Sp. Sess. Laws ch. 30 § 2 (SSB 5186). Regular property tax is the property tax levied by or for a taxing district which is subject to the aggregate tax limitations.

[X] The benefit base and income eligibility amounts will be adjusted annually based on the annualized cost-of-living adjustments for Social Security retirement benefits, to be applied to the application period.

[X] Income is defined as federal adjusted gross income, less deductions for certain medical and funeral expenses, business losses, early withdrawal penalties, and alimony. Income also includes social security and similar benefits, as well as most non-taxable income. The state tax commission shall file with the county recorder of the county in which the property is located a notice of lien for deferred property taxes. The lien for deferred taxes and interest shall not be a first and prior lien, but shall take its priority from the date and time of filing of the notice of lien. A deferral of property tax payments shall terminate on the earlier of: (a) voluntary payment of the full amount of deferred tax and interest to the state tax commission; (b) the death of the qualified claimant. In the case of more than one qualified claimant, the death of the last surviving qualified claimant; (c) a sale or other transfer of title to the property or any part of the property except a transfer of title to a surviving spouse of a deceased qualified claimant; (d) the property no longer qualifies for the exemption due to residential improvements; (e) a determination by the state tax commission that the deferral of property tax payments was erroneously granted to a person who is not a qualified claimant or in regard to property that is not qualified property.

[X] Qualifying individuals are eligible for relief so long as they have not claimed any other property tax exemption other than the Exemption for Mortgages and Contact Deductions, the Homestead Standard Deduction, the Supplemental Homestead Tax Credit, or the Deduction to Comply with Fertilizer Storage Rules. If the resident shares ownership with other individuals as joint tenants or tenants in common and all the tenants are not at least 65 years old, the deduction shall be reduced by an amount equal to the deduction multiplied by a fraction. The numerator of the fraction is the number of tenants who are not at least 65 years of age, and the denominator is the total number of tenants.

[X] The limitation of value does not apply to a change in valuation resulting from any physical improvements made to the property during the year immediately prior to the tax year or a change in the permitted use or zoning of the property during the year immediately prior to the tax year; or a residential property in the 1st tax year that is valued for property taxation purposes. “Disabled” means a person who has been determined to be blind or permanently disabled with medical improvement not expected or who is determined to have a permanent total disability pursuant to the Workers' Compensation Act.

[X] The property shall be immediately revalued at fair market value by the assessor and placed on the assessment rolls in the year it was sold. Any owner entitled to the special assessment who is unable to occupy the homestead due to damage or destruction caused by a disaster or emergency declared by the governor shall be entitled to keep the special assessment level prior to its damage or destruction on the repaired or rebuilt homestead provided the repaired or rebuilt homestead is reoccupied by the owner within 5 years following the disaster. If the property owner receives a homestead exemption on another homestead during the same 5 year period, the damaged or destroyed property shall not be entitled to keep the special assessment level, and the land and buildings shall be assessed in that year at the percentage of fair market value. In addition, the owner must also maintain the homestead exemption to qualify for the special assessment level. Effective 1 January 2011, under certain conditions extensions of up to2 additional years to the "return and reoccupy" provision may be granted and up to 3 one-year extension, after that. Those who qualify due to age criteria are not required to reapply annually. All others must have income verified annually.

[X] Taxpayers must calculate the credit authorized in this section prior to calculating the refundable credit for taxes in excess of 4% of household income. Applicants must choose between three programs for a given tax year: the Senior Citizens' Tax Credit, the Refundable Property Tax Credit for Property Taxes Exceeding 4% of Income, or the Senior Citizen Property Tax Relief Credit.

[X] The property may not be sold or transferred unless the taxes have been paid with interest. Upon the demise of the property owner, legal heirs have first priority to said property provided that they pay in full all back taxes and interest. If the heir is a surviving spouse, the spouse may enter into a tax deferral and recovery agreement with the board of assessors.

[X] Local governments have a broad range of options available in designing a relief program. As a result, no two programs are identical.

[X] In order to apply for the Property Tax Refund Credit, a claimant shall fill out the forms required by the Department. No claim with respect to property taxes or with respect to rent shall be allowed or paid unless the claim is actually filed on or before 15 April for the next preceding calendar year. The department may, upon request, grant for a period of not to exceed six months an extension of time for filing the claim.

[X] Effective 1 July 2016 eligibility criteria and characteristics of eligible property were changed. Enacted by L. 2015, c. 309 Taxes become payable upon: (a) the death of a claimant; (b) when the property is sold or no longer inhabited as a homestead (unless reasons of health prevent the owner from occupying the property as a homestead); or (c) when the qualifying disability ends. If income rises above the eligibility threshold, the amount of taxes for which the deferral is allowed shall decline by $0.50 for every $1.00 of income above the threshold. The deferral may be continued after the property is condemned by the Department of Transportation.

[X] Deferrals may be extended in the event the claimant dies. Extensions cannot exceed 5 years, and interest will continue to accrue.

[X] The homeowner must have legal title or beneficial title in equity of the property, and they also must make a good faith effort to make the property their permanent residence. The homestead exemption does not extend to residents claiming permanent residence in other states. A homestead damaged by misfortune or calamity that is uninhabitable on 1 January may qualify for the exemption if (a) the homeowner is otherwise qualified for a homestead exemption and (b) the homeowner intends to rebuild or repair the property within 3 years. Failure to rebuild or repair within 3 years constitute an abandonment of the property as a homestead. Exemptions shall be applied as follows: $25,000 homestead exemption; $50,000 homestead exemption (if applicable); exemptions for widows/widowers, blind, and disabled persons; disabled ex-servicemembers and surviving spouses; local-option low-income senior exemption up to $50,000; and the veterans percentage discount.

[X] For the purposes of this benefit income is defined as Missouri adjusted income and increased to reflect the following: social security and railroad retirement; veteran payments and benefits unless the claimant or spouse is a 100% disabled as a result of military service; all other public and private pensions and annuities; public relief, public assistance, and unemployment benefits received; SSI, TANF and/or child support payments received; non-business losses; wages, dividends, and interest; and rental income. “Disabled” is defined as the inability to engage in any substantial gainful activity by reason of any medically determinable physical or mental impairment which can be expected to result in death or which has lasted or can be expected to last for a continuous period of not less than twelve months. A claimant shall not be required to be gainfully employed prior to such disability to qualify for a property tax credit. A claimant shall not be allowed a property tax credit if the claimant filed a valid claim for a credit Homestead Preservation tax credit in the year following the year for which the property tax credit is claimed.

[X] The blind and disabled are no longer identified separately under this program but can apply for the Regular Circuit Breaker program.

[X] Effective 23 May 2016, the credit is paid to the first $23,500 of property market value. This is a reduction from $25,000 of market value. This was enacted in 2016 Tenn. Pub. Acts ch. 1065, § 2 (SB 1796). The base amount is set by the general appropriations act.

[X] Applications must be filed yearly with the local assessors. In calculating personal estate values, cemetery plots, wearing apparel, and household furniture and effects are excluded.

[X] Effective 1 July 2016 the state statutes related to real property tax (§§246-1 to 246-63) were repealed. County ordinances remain in effect.

[X] Effective 7 November 2016 the credit may be up to $1,500, in accordance with 2016 Ma. Laws Ch. 218 § 127 This credit is given in addition to any property tax exemption or abatement to which the individual would otherwise be entitled. A city or town, by vote of its legislative body, subject to its charter, may adjust the exemption in this clause by: (1) allowing an approved representative, for persons physically unable, to provide such services to the city or town; or (2) allowing the maximum reduction of the real property tax bill to be based on 125 volunteer service hours in a given tax year, rather than $1,000.

[X] Qualified homeowner may elect either this program or the program for homestead exemption. An otherwise qualifying owner does not lose the benefit of this circuit breaker because of a temporary absence from his or her permanent residence for reasons of health, or because of an extended absence while confined to a rest home or nursing home, so long as the residence is unoccupied or occupied by the owner's spouse or other dependent. If the owner transfers the property, dies, or ceases to use the property as a permanent residence, the last three years of deferred taxes prior to a disqualifying even will become due and payable with interest on the date of the disqualifying event.

[X] All deferred taxes and interest are payable if: the taxpayer dies, or someone other than the taxpayer becomes the property’s owner, or the property is no longer occupied as the taxpayer’s primary residence, or the property is moved out of the State. In the latter-most case, all owed monies are due 5 days before moving. In all other instances, all owed monies are due within 45 days of the date of notice for payment. A municipality that has adopted the program under this section may discontinue it through the same procedure by which the program was adopted; however, any taxes deferred under the program continue to be deferred under the conditions of the program on the date it was ended.

[X] Any real estate that is owned and used as a homestead by the surviving spouse of a veteran who died from service-connected causes while on active duty as a member of the United States Armed Forces and for whom a letter from the United States Government or United States Department of Veterans Affairs or its predecessor has been issued certifying that the veteran who died from service-connected causes while on active duty is exempt from taxation if the veteran was a permanent resident of this state on January 1 of the year in which the veteran died.

[X] The statute was amended in 2009 to assure that the assessment freeze set out in Amendment 79 is applied to the lower assessed value.

[X] The claimant may not remarry.

[X] The program income thresholds refer to a taxpayer's adjusted gross income from his or her federal income tax return. Effective 1 January 2017, for the taxable years commencing 2017, and 2018, this property tax credit shall be allowed only for a Connecticut resident who is 65 years of age or older before the close of the applicable taxable year, or who claims one or more dependents for the federal income tax for the applicable taxable year. in accordance with the 2017 (June Spec. Sess.) Conn. Pub. Acts. no. 17-2 § 644. "Income" is income from all sources including but not limited to wages, pensions and disability benefits. Social security benefit adjustments, military retirement benefits, sale of local and state bonds among others are not counted as income.

[X] The exemption applies to homesteads of cover members of the military on active duty orders within the United States An applicant can receive either an elderly or disabled exemption but cannot receive both.

[X] Senior homeowners who qualify for the property tax relief program cannot also apply for the homestead refund.

[X] Homeowners may qualify for the exemption on a replacement homestead if they met the 10 year residency requirement on the previous homestead which was destroyed by natural disaster or was claimed by the government via eminent domain. No more than one exemption can be allowed per single dwelling unit of residential property. Eligible residence includes property has been purchased by or transferred to a trust, a corporate partnership, or any other legal entity solely for estate planning purposes and is the maker of the trust or a principal of the corporate partnership or other legal entity; Applications must be filed before July 15th. Forms are available beginning in January but not after August 15.

[X] Applicants who apply for assessment freezes are still eligible for property and sales tax rebates if they qualify for that benefit.

[X] Retroactively effective 1 January 2017, the requirements to be considered a surviving spouse were expanded. Enacted by 2017 Utah Laws ch. 391. The renter’s credit may be claimed only for rent that does not constitute a “rental assistance payment.”

[X] Property is revalued to full market value upon the sale or transfer of the property. If the owner is no longer eligible because income exceeds the HUD limit, the value of the property is then subject to the 3% cap increase for that year. Passage of ballot measure in the November 2012 election reduced the homestead growth limit to 3%. See tax limits for full description of limit.

[X] If the market value on the property increases as a result of improvements, the tax level to be paid will increase proportionally. As of 1 October 2017, this program has been adopted by 23 counties and 32 cities. Chattanooga and Crossville have adopted the freeze in 2017.

[X] Under the volunteer program, any benefits received are not considered income.