Proposal to offer tax relief

Eligible homeowners get an exemption on the first 25,000 of the value of their home.
By MARC KOVAC
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
COLUMBUS -- A proposed expansion of the state's homestead exemption property tax relief program would result hundreds of dollars in annual savings for one in four elderly or disabled homeowners, administration officials said.
Gov. Ted Strickland briefly outlined the plan during his State of the State address, but full details were revealed later in his executive budget.
The change would affect any homeowner 65 or older or who is permanently disabled, increasing the number of Ohioans receiving homestead benefits to 775,000 from 220,000, according to state documents.
How this would work
Eligible homeowners would receive an exemption on the first 25,000 of the value of their home, while "the complex income tests and differing exemption amounts under the current [homestead program, which is administered by county auditors] would be eliminated," state documents say.
Tax Commissioner Rich Levin outlined how the change would affect the owner of a 100,000 home with a tax bill of 1,600.
With the new exemption, the bill effectively would be reduced by 25 percent, or about 400.
The actual total will differ throughout the state, based on the local tax rates.
Statewide, the average reduction would be about 406, according to a spreadsheet compiled by the Ohio Department of Taxation.
Closer to home, a 41,000 house in the Youngstown City School District would see a 407 reduction, to 260 from 667.
Any decrease in property tax collections for schools and local government would be reimbursed through the state's general revenue funds, the governor's budget says.