23,000 in Valley apply for property tax break

The deadline to apply is Oct. 1
for savings to be included on
January tax bills.

By MARC KOVAC

VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT

COLUMBUS — More than 23,000 eligible homeowners in Mahoning, Trumbull and Columbiana counties have signed up for an expanded property tax break, according to an informal survey of auditors conducted earlier this month by the Ohio Department of Taxation.

Adding disabled and aged property owners in those counties who already were eligible for the Homestead Exemption, the number climbs to more than 40,000.

Statewide, 592,175 have completed the paperwork for the tax break, which will save the average Ohio homeowner about $400 annually.

The total includes about 368,000 new applications and 224,000 current property owners.

The totals were compiled after a survey of county auditors. Ohio Tax Commissioner Richard A. Levin said the results indicate that about two-thirds of eligible homeowners have taken advantage of the expanded exemption.

The deadline to apply is Oct. 1 for savings to be included on January tax bills.

“The response has been tremendous,” Levin said. “Everywhere I go, taxpayers ask how a friend or a family member can sign up. The Homestead Exemption means real property tax relief for homeowners, and people are responding.”

Under prior law, the exemption was based on income and other eligibility requirements, with a formula used to determine actual tax savings.

Who’s eligible

Under the new provisions included in the state’s two-year operating budget, the tax cut now is open to all seniors age 65 and older or who will turn 65 this year.

Certified totally or permanently disabled residents as of Jan. 1 of this year or surviving spouses of qualified homeowners who are at least 59 when their spouse died, also are eligible, according to the Ohio Department of Taxation.

The change means about 775,000 Ohioans now qualify, compared with 220,000 under the old formula, the department said.

The exemption reduces the market value of homeowners’ primary residences by $25,000. Total savings will vary by community based on current tax rates.

Additional information about the Homestead Exemption is available on the Ohio Department of Taxation Web site, online at www.tax.ohio.gov.

The Mahoning County Auditor’s Office will accept Homestead Exemption applications at the Canfield Fair.

Go to the Government Building near the Grandstand. Applications will be taken each day there from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Bring one form of identification. Homeowners who already received the reduction do not need to reapply.

mkovac@dixcom.com