Income eligibility ceiling imposed

Staff report

YOUNGSTOWN

An income-eligibility ceiling has been imposed for senior-citizen home- stead property tax reductions for tax year 2014.

However, Mahoning County Auditor Michael V. Sciortino said homeowners qualifying for and receiving the homestead exemption for tax year 2013 or earlier will continue to receive the reduction regardless of income.

This year’s application period has closed, but homeowners who were eligible under the old law may apply for the exemption for tax year 2013 between Jan. 7 and June 2, 2014.

The exemption is for people 65 and older or permanently and totally disabled who own and occupy their homes.

To qualify for the reduction in tax year 2014, otherwise eligible taxpayers must also have an adjusted gross income at or below $30,000 annually, with that amount indexed to inflation each year.

The income-eligibility ceiling is among several changes to property-tax reductions and how they are calculated for tax year 2014, which are contained in the state’s new budget.

Homeowners who now receive the exemption must apply anew if they move to a different house or to a condominium, but they will not be subject to the income-eligibility ceiling at their new address.

For more information, call the county auditor’s office at 330-740-2010.