Word of tax credit spreads

Those eligible should contact their county auditor’s office.

STAFF REPORT

COLUMBUS — Last year, due in large part to excellent outreach by state agencies and county auditors throughout Ohio, nearly 97 percent of those eligible for the expanded Homestead Property Tax Exemption applied for and received the credit on their 2007 tax bill.

Those individuals do not need to reapply to receive the credit in 2008.

Eligible Ohioans — senior citizens and permanently and totally disabled adults — who did not apply for the credit in 2007 have until June 2 to do so for this year.

The 2008 application includes a box, “Late application for prior year,” that taxpayers may check to claim the exemption for the 2007 tax year as well.

“We are grateful to all the individuals throughout the state who have helped spread the word so that most seniors and people with disabilities can benefit from the Homestead Extension,” said Barbara E. Riley, director of the Ohio Department of Aging. “But, we will not rest until all eligible Ohioans are making the most of this valuable tax credit.”

Expansion of the exemption was a key component of the two-year state budget bill proposed by Gov. Ted Strickland and enacted by the Ohio General Assembly last year.

It allows all Ohio citizens age 65 and older, and permanently and totally disabled Ohioans, regardless of income, to exempt $25,000 of the market value or the home they owned and lived in on Jan. 1 from property taxes. Certain surviving spouses of homeowners may also qualify.

Savings will vary from community to community but are expected to average $400 per homeowner this year.

Taxpayers signing up now and applying the credit to 2007 may receive a corrected first-half tax bill, have the entire tax savings applied to the second-half bill, or receive a refund in the form of a check later this year, depending on when they apply.

For more information and to apply for the exemption, contact your county auditor’s office. A list of county auditor contacts and the application form are available on the Ohio Department of Taxation’s Web site tax.ohio.gov.