Homestead Exemption
Property Tax Relief for Senior Citizens & THe Disabled
The Homestead Exemption allows for senior citizens and disabled homeowners to reduce their property tax bills by exempting $28,000 of the market value of their homes from local property tax. For disabled veterans, the exemption is $56,000 of the market value of their homes.
Homestead applications for real estate are accepted until December 31st for the year in which you are applying. Applications for manufactured home owners must be submitted by the first Monday in June for the year in which you are applying.
Homestead applications for real estate are accepted until December 31st for the year in which you are applying. Applications for manufactured home owners must be submitted by the first Monday in June for the year in which you are applying.
Real Property Exemption Qualifications
To qualify for the program, a homeowner must:
Note: Homeowners who received a homestead exemption credit for tax year 2013 will not be subject to the income requirement even if they move to another Ohio residence.
You may be required to present evidence of age and Ohio adjusted gross income. If the property is being purchased under a land contract, is owned by a life estate or by a trust, or the applicant is the mortgagor of the property, you may be required to provide copies of any contracts, trust agreements, mortgages or other documents that identify the applicant's eligible ownership interest in the home.
If you do not file an Ohio income tax return, adjusted gross income includes compensation, rents, interest, fees and most other types of total income. Certain Social Security and disability benefits are not included in adjusted gross income. If you are unsure of what income is included, contact our office. You may be required to produce evidence of income.
- Own and occupy the home as their primary place of residence as of January 1 of the year for which they apply; and
- Have a total income (for both the applicant and the applicant's spouse) that does not exceed the amount set by the law, which is adjusted annually for inflation. "Total income" is defined as the adjusted gross income for Ohio income tax purposes. For the current (2025) application period the maximum allowed is $40,000 total income in 2024. For late (2024) applications, the maximum allowed is $38,600 total income in 2023.
- Be 65 years of age, or turn 65, by December 31 of the year for which they apply; or
- Be totally and permanently disabled as of January 1 of the year for which they apply, as certified by an agency that has this authority; or
- Be the surviving spouse of a person who was receiving the homestead exemption at the time of death and where the surviving spouse was at least 59 years old on the date of death.
Note: Homeowners who received a homestead exemption credit for tax year 2013 will not be subject to the income requirement even if they move to another Ohio residence.
You may be required to present evidence of age and Ohio adjusted gross income. If the property is being purchased under a land contract, is owned by a life estate or by a trust, or the applicant is the mortgagor of the property, you may be required to provide copies of any contracts, trust agreements, mortgages or other documents that identify the applicant's eligible ownership interest in the home.
If you do not file an Ohio income tax return, adjusted gross income includes compensation, rents, interest, fees and most other types of total income. Certain Social Security and disability benefits are not included in adjusted gross income. If you are unsure of what income is included, contact our office. You may be required to produce evidence of income.
Current Application
If you qualify for the homestead exemption for the first time this year (for real property) or for the first time next year (for manufactured homes), check the box for Current Application on the front of the form.
Late Application
If you also qualified for the homestead exemption for last year (for real property) or for this year (for manufactured homes) on the same property for which you are filing a current application, but you did not file a current application for that year, you may file a late application for the missed year by checking the late application box on the front of the form. You may only file a late application for the same property for which you are filing a current application.
Definition of Surviving a Spouse
An eligible surviving spouse must (1) be the surviving spouse of a person who was receiving the homestead exemption by reason of age or disability for the year in which the death occurred, and (2) must have been at least 59 years old on the date of the decedent's death.
Permanent Disability
Permanent and totally disabled means a person who has, on the first day of January of the year for which the homestead exemption is requested, some impairment of body or mind that makes him/her unfit to work at any substantially remunerative employment which he/she is reasonably able to perform and which will, with reasonable probability, continue for an indefinite period of at least 12 months without any present indication of recovery, or who has been certified as totally and permanently disabled by an eligible state or federal agency.
