Effective: January 15, 2021
Latest Legislation: House Bill 17 - 133rd General Assembly
In addition to the reduction in taxes required under section 319.302 of the Revised Code, taxes shall be reduced as provided in divisions (A) and (B) of this section.
(A)(1)(a) Division (A)(1) of this section applies to any of the following persons:
(i) A person who is permanently and totally disabled;
(ii) A person who is sixty-five years of age or older;
(iii) A person who is the surviving spouse of a deceased person who was permanently and totally disabled or sixty-five years of age or older and who applied and qualified for a reduction in taxes under this division in the year of death, provided the surviving spouse is at least fifty-nine but not sixty-five or more years of age on the date the deceased spouse dies.
(b) Real property taxes on a homestead owned and occupied, or a homestead in a housing cooperative occupied, by a person to whom division (A)(1) of this section applies shall be reduced for each year for which an application for the reduction has been approved. The reduction shall equal one of the following amounts, as applicable to the person:
(i) If the person received a reduction under division (A)(1) of this section for tax year 2006, the greater of the reduction for that tax year or the amount computed under division (A)(1)(c) of this section;
(ii) If the person received, for any homestead, a reduction under division (A)(1) of this section for tax year 2013 or under division (A) of section 4503.065 of the Revised Code for tax year 2014 or the person is the surviving spouse of such a person and the surviving spouse is at least fifty-nine years of age on the date the deceased spouse dies, the amount computed under division (A)(1)(c) of this section. For purposes of divisions (A)(1)(b)(ii) and (iii) of this section, a person receives a reduction under division (A)(1) of this section or under division (A) of section 4503.065 of the Revised Code for tax year 2013 or 2014, respectively, if the person files a late application for that respective tax year that is approved by the county auditor under section 323.153 or 4503.066 of the Revised Code.
(iii) If the person is not described in division (A)(1)(b)(i) or (ii) of this section and the person's total income does not exceed thirty thousand dollars, as adjusted under division (A)(1)(d) of this section, the amount computed under division (A)(1)(c) of this section.
(c) The amount of the reduction under division (A)(1)(c) of this section equals the product of the following:
(i) Twenty-five thousand dollars of the true value of the property in money;
(ii) The assessment percentage established by the tax commissioner under division (B) of section 5715.01 of the Revised Code, not to exceed thirty-five per cent;
(iii) The effective tax rate used to calculate the taxes charged against the property for the current year, where "effective tax rate" is defined as in section 323.08 of the Revised Code;
(iv) The quantity equal to one minus the sum of the percentage reductions in taxes received by the property for the current tax year under section 319.302 of the Revised Code and division (B) of section 323.152 of the Revised Code.
(d) Each calendar year, the tax commissioner shall adjust the total income threshold described in division (A)(1)(b)(iii) of this section by completing the following calculations in September of each year:
(i) Determine the percentage increase in the gross domestic product deflator determined by the bureau of economic analysis of the United States department of commerce from the first day of January of the preceding calendar year to the last day of December of the preceding calendar year;
(ii) Multiply that percentage increase by the total income threshold for the current tax year;
(iii) Add the resulting product to the total income threshold for the current tax year;
(iv) Round the resulting sum to the nearest multiple of one hundred dollars.
The commissioner shall certify the amount resulting from the adjustment to each county auditor not later than the first day of December each year. The certified amount applies to the following tax year for persons described in division (A)(1)(b)(iii) of this section. The commissioner shall not make the adjustment in any calendar year in which the amount resulting from the adjustment would be less than the total income threshold for the current tax year.
(2) Real property taxes on a homestead owned and occupied, or a homestead in a housing cooperative occupied, by a disabled veteran shall be reduced for each year for which an application for the reduction has been approved. The reduction shall equal the product obtained by multiplying fifty thousand dollars of the true value of the property in money by the amounts described in divisions (A)(1)(c)(ii) to (iv) of this section. The reduction is in lieu of any reduction under section 323.158 of the Revised Code or division (A)(1) or (3) of this section. The reduction applies to only one homestead owned and occupied by a disabled veteran.
If a homestead qualifies for a reduction in taxes under division (A)(2) of this section for the year in which the disabled veteran dies, and the disabled veteran is survived by a spouse who occupied the homestead when the disabled veteran died and who acquires ownership of the homestead or, in the case of a homestead that is a unit in a housing cooperative, continues to occupy the homestead, the reduction shall continue through the year in which the surviving spouse dies or remarries.
(3) Real property taxes on a homestead owned and occupied, or a homestead in a housing cooperative occupied, by the surviving spouse of a public service officer killed in the line of duty shall be reduced for each year for which an application for the reduction has been approved. The reduction shall equal the product obtained by multiplying fifty thousand dollars of the true value of the property in money by the amounts described in divisions (A)(1)(c)(ii) to (iv) of this section. The reduction is in lieu of any reduction under section 323.158 of the Revised Code or division (A)(1) or (2) of this section. The reduction applies to only one homestead owned and occupied by such a surviving spouse. A homestead qualifies for a reduction in taxes under division (A)(3) of this section for the tax year in which the public service officer dies through the tax year in which the surviving spouse dies or remarries.
(B) To provide a partial exemption, real property taxes on any homestead, and manufactured home taxes on any manufactured or mobile home on which a manufactured home tax is assessed pursuant to division (D)(2) of section 4503.06 of the Revised Code, shall be reduced for each year for which an application for the reduction has been approved. The amount of the reduction shall equal two and one-half per cent of the amount of taxes to be levied by qualifying levies on the homestead or the manufactured or mobile home after applying section 319.301 of the Revised Code. For the purposes of this division, "qualifying levy" has the same meaning as in section 319.302 of the Revised Code.
(C) The reductions granted by this section do not apply to special assessments or respread of assessments levied against the homestead, and if there is a transfer of ownership subsequent to the filing of an application for a reduction in taxes, such reductions are not forfeited for such year by virtue of such transfer.
(D) The reductions in taxable value referred to in this section shall be applied solely as a factor for the purpose of computing the reduction of taxes under this section and shall not affect the total value of property in any subdivision or taxing district as listed and assessed for taxation on the tax lists and duplicates, or any direct or indirect limitations on indebtedness of a subdivision or taxing district. If after application of sections 5705.31 and 5705.32 of the Revised Code, including the allocation of all levies within the ten-mill limitation to debt charges to the extent therein provided, there would be insufficient funds for payment of debt charges not provided for by levies in excess of the ten-mill limitation, the reduction of taxes provided for in sections 323.151 to 323.159 of the Revised Code shall be proportionately adjusted to the extent necessary to provide such funds from levies within the ten-mill limitation.
(E) No reduction shall be made on the taxes due on the homestead of any person convicted of violating division (D) or (E) of section 323.153 of the Revised Code for a period of three years following the conviction.