Ohio Homestead Act & Credit
- In Ohio, residents and nonresidents must pay real property taxes based on the assessment value of their homes. Although tax rates vary by locality, Ohio law limits taxation at 1 percent of a resident's taxable value of his home. In 1970, Ohio residents voted to lower real estate property taxes. The Ohio "tax rollback" program, also known as the "homestead exemption," allows low-income disabled and low- to middle-class elderly residents receive a reduction in their tax liabilities. Twenty years later, in 1990, Ohio residents voted to expand the homestead exemption program to allow surviving spouses who previously qualified for the exemption to receive the property tax benefits after their spouses died. In 2007, the legislature extended it to all elderly and disabled residents and surviving spouses, regardless of their income.
- The Ohio homestead exemption, also called House Bill 119, allows qualified homeowners to reduce their tax liabilities by up to $25,000. The property tax credit is not a cash-back program. Instead, homeowners are able to exempt up to $25,000 of true property value from their annual assessments. As such, a homeowner who qualifies for a $25,000 tax exemption through House Bill 119 can reduce his property assessment value by $25,000. Thus, if his home is assessed at $100,000, he will only be subject to real property taxes on $75,000 of his assessment value ($100,000 minus $25,000).
- A homeowner claiming the homestead exemption must be the owner of her homestead and she must use it as her primary residence. Elderly and disabled homeowners qualify for the Ohio homestead exemption. Elderly residents must be age 65 or older. Disabled residents must be permanently and totally disabled. A resident with a qualified disability must be unable to work because of her disability and provide proof of her disability. When a previously qualified homeowner passes away, her surviving spouse qualifies for her exemption if he is at least 59. Only residents with an annual income of less than $26,000 qualified for the exemption before the Ohio General Assembly passed House Bill 119. Since 2007, there is no longer an income limit.
- To apply for a homestead exemption, a homeowner must complete the "Homestead Exemption Application for Senior Citizens, Disabled Persons and Surviving Spouses," on the first Monday in June and January. Since Ohio real estate taxes are due semiannually, homeowners must claim the exemption semiannually. Additionally, disabled residents must also complete Ohio Tax Form DTE 105E, Certificate of Disability for the Homestead Exemption.