Authorize temporary property tax credit for certain homesteads

As Introduced

136th
General Assembly

Regular
Session
H. B. No. 266

2025-2026

Representatives Lorenz, Gross

Cosponsors: Representatives Fischer,
Deeter, Hall, T., Brennan

To
amend sections 323.152, 323.153, and 323.156 of the Revised Code
to
authorize a temporary property tax credit for certain continuously
owned homesteads.

BE
IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:

Section
1.
That
sections 323.152, 323.153, and 323.156 of the Revised Code be amended
to read as follows:

Sec.
323.152.
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)
,
and (C)

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.

(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, as adjusted under division (A)(1)(d) of this section;

(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)
The tax commissioner shall adjust the total income threshold
described in division (A)(1)(b)(iii) and the reduction amounts
described in divisions (A)(1)(c)(i), (A)(2), and (A)(3) 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 or
reduction amount for the current tax year, as applicable;

(iii)
Add the resulting product to the total income threshold or the
reduction amount, as applicable, 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 each adjustment
to each county auditor not later than the first day of December each
year. The certified total income threshold amount applies to the
following tax year for persons described in division (A)(1)(b)(iii)
of this section. The certified reduction amount applies to the
following tax year. The commissioner shall not make the applicable
adjustment in any calendar year in which the amount resulting from
the adjustment would be less than the total income threshold or the
reduction amount for the current tax year.

(2)(a)
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, as adjusted under division (A)(1)(d) of this section, 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), (2)(b), or (3) of
this section. The reduction applies to only one homestead owned and
occupied by a disabled veteran.

(b)
Real property taxes on a homestead owned and occupied, or a homestead
in a housing cooperative occupied, by the surviving spouse of a
disabled veteran shall be reduced for each year an application for
exemption is approved. The reduction shall equal to the amount of the
reduction authorized under division (A)(2)(a) of this section.

The
reduction is in lieu of any reduction under section 323.158 of the
Revised Code or division (A)(1), (2)(a), or (3) of this section. The
reduction applies to only one homestead owned and occupied by the
surviving spouse of a disabled veteran. A homestead qualifies for a
reduction in taxes under division (A)(2)(b) of this section beginning
in one of the following tax years:

(i)
For a surviving spouse described in division (L)(1) of section
323.151 of the Revised Code, the year the disabled veteran dies;

(ii)
For a surviving spouse described in division (L)(2) of section
323.151 of the Revised Code, the first year on the first day of
January of which the total disability rating described in division
(F) of that section has been received for the deceased spouse.

In
either case, the reduction shall continue through the tax 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, as adjusted under division (A)(1)(d) of this section, 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)

Division
(C) of this section applies to the first tax year ending or, in the
case of a manufactured or mobile home on the manufactured tax list,
beginning on or after the effective date of this amendment, and the
following four tax years, and to a person who, for one or more years
immediately preceding the first day of the tax year or, in the case
of a manufactured or mobile home on the manufactured tax list, the
first day of the preceding tax year, has either:

(1)
Continuously owned and occupied a homestead or continuously occupied
a homestead in a housing cooperative; or

(2)
Continuously owned and occupied a manufactured or mobile home while
domiciled in this state.

Real
property taxes on any homestead, including a homestead in a housing
cooperative, and manufactured home taxes on any manufactured or
mobile home, owned and occupied by a person to whom division (C) of
this section applies shall be reduced by three hundred dollars for
each year for which an application for the reduction has been
approved, provided that the resulting tax liability shall not be less
than zero.

(D)

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)
(E)

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)
(F)

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.

Sec.
323.153.
(A)
To obtain a reduction in real property taxes under division (A)
or

,

(B)
,
or (C)

of section 323.152 of the Revised Code or in manufactured home taxes
under division (B)
or
(C)
of
section 323.152 of the Revised Code, the owner shall file an
application with the county auditor of the county in which the
owner's homestead is located.

To
obtain a reduction in real property taxes under division (A)

or (C)

of section 323.152 of the Revised Code, the occupant of a homestead
in a housing cooperative shall file an application with the nonprofit
corporation that owns and operates the housing cooperative, in
accordance with this paragraph. Not later than the first day of March
each year, the corporation shall obtain applications from the county
auditor's office and provide one to each new occupant. Not later than
the first day of May, any occupant who may be eligible for a
reduction in taxes under division (A)
or
(C)
of
section 323.152 of the Revised Code shall submit the completed
application to the corporation. Not later than the fifteenth day of
May, the corporation shall file all completed applications, and the
information required by division (B) of section 323.159 of the
Revised Code, with the county auditor of the county in which the
occupants' homesteads are located. Continuing applications shall be
furnished to an occupant in the manner provided in division (C)(4) of
this section.

(1)
An application for reduction based upon a physical disability shall
be accompanied by a certificate signed by a physician, and an
application for reduction based upon a mental disability shall be
accompanied by a certificate signed by a physician or psychologist
licensed to practice in this state, attesting to the fact that the
applicant is permanently and totally disabled. The certificate shall
be in a form that the tax commissioner requires and shall include the
definition of permanently and totally disabled as set forth in
section 323.151 of the Revised Code. An application for reduction
based upon a disability certified as permanent and total by a state
or federal agency having the function of so classifying persons shall
be accompanied by a certificate from that agency.

An
application by a disabled veteran or the surviving spouse of a
disabled veteran for the reduction under division (A)(2)(a) or (b) of
section 323.152 of the Revised Code shall be accompanied by a letter
or other written confirmation from the United States department of
veterans affairs, or its predecessor or successor agency, showing
that the veteran qualifies as a disabled veteran.

An
application by the surviving spouse of a public service officer
killed in the line of duty for the reduction under division (A)(3) of
section 323.152 of the Revised Code shall be accompanied by a letter
or other written confirmation from an employee or officer of the
board of trustees of a retirement or pension fund in this state or
another state or from the chief or other chief executive of the
department, agency, or other employer for which the public service
officer served when killed in the line of duty affirming that the
public service officer was killed in the line of duty.

An
application for a reduction under division (C) of section 323.152 of
the Revised Code shall be accompanied by documentation sufficient to
prove that the applicant meets all qualifications for that reduction.

An
application for a reduction under division (A)

or (C)

of section 323.152 of the Revised Code constitutes a continuing
application for a reduction in taxes for each year in which the
dwelling is the applicant's homestead

or, if applicable, the manufactured or mobile home is occupied by the
applicant
.

(2)
An application for a reduction in taxes under division (B) of section
323.152 of the Revised Code shall be filed only if the homestead or
manufactured or mobile home was transferred in the preceding year or
did not qualify for and receive the reduction in taxes under that
division for the preceding tax year. The application for homesteads
transferred in the preceding year shall be incorporated into any form
used by the county auditor to administer the tax law in respect to
the conveyance of real property pursuant to section 319.20 of the
Revised Code or of used manufactured homes or used mobile homes as
defined in section 5739.0210 of the Revised Code. The owner of a
manufactured or mobile home who has elected under division (D)(4) of
section 4503.06 of the Revised Code to be taxed under division (D)(2)
of that section for the ensuing year may file the application at the
time of making that election. The application shall contain a
statement that failure by the applicant to affirm on the application
that the dwelling on the property conveyed is the applicant's
homestead prohibits the owner from receiving the reduction in taxes
until a proper application is filed within the period prescribed by
division (A)(3) of this section. Such an application constitutes a
continuing application for a reduction in taxes for each year in
which the dwelling is the applicant's homestead.

(3)
Failure to receive a new application filed under division (A)(1) or
(2) or notification under division (C) of this section after an
application for reduction has been approved is prima-facie evidence
that the original applicant is entitled to the reduction in taxes
calculated on the basis of the information contained in the original
application. The original application and any subsequent application,
including any late application, shall be in the form of a signed
statement and shall be filed on or before the thirty-first day of
December of the year for which the reduction is sought. The original
application and any subsequent application for a reduction in
manufactured home taxes shall be filed in the year preceding the year
for which the reduction is sought. The statement shall be on a form,
devised and supplied by the tax commissioner, which shall require no
more information than is necessary to establish the applicant's
eligibility for the reduction in taxes and the amount of the
reduction, and, except for homesteads that are units in a housing
cooperative, shall include an affirmation by the applicant that
ownership of the homestead was not acquired from a person, other than
the applicant's spouse, related to the owner by consanguinity or
affinity for the purpose of qualifying for the real property or
manufactured home tax reduction provided for in division (A)
or

,

(B)
,
or (C)

of section 323.152 of the Revised Code. The form shall contain a
statement that conviction of willfully falsifying information to
obtain a reduction in taxes or failing to comply with division (C) of
this section results in the revocation of the right to the reduction
for a period of three years. In the case of an application for a
reduction in taxes for persons described in division (A)(1)(b)(iii)
of section 323.152 of the Revised Code, the form shall contain a
statement that signing the application constitutes a delegation of
authority by the applicant to the tax commissioner or the county
auditor, individually or in consultation with each other, to examine
any tax or financial records relating to the income of the applicant
as stated on the application for the purpose of determining
eligibility for the exemption or a possible violation of division (D)
or (E) of this section.

(B)
A late application for a tax reduction for the year preceding the
year in which an original application is filed, or for a reduction in
manufactured home taxes for the year in which an original application
is filed, may be filed with the original application. If the county
auditor determines the information contained in the late application
is correct, the auditor shall determine the amount of the reduction
in taxes to which the applicant would have been entitled for the
preceding tax year had the applicant's application been timely filed
and approved in that year.

The
amount of such reduction shall be treated by the auditor as an
overpayment of taxes by the applicant and shall be refunded in the
manner prescribed in section 5715.22 of the Revised Code for making
refunds of overpayments. The county auditor shall certify the total
amount of the reductions in taxes made in the current year under this
division to the tax commissioner, who shall treat the full amount
thereof as a reduction in taxes for the preceding tax year and shall
make reimbursement to the county therefor in the manner prescribed by
section 323.156 of the Revised Code, from money appropriated for that
purpose.

(C)(1)
If, in any year after an application has been filed under division
(A)(1) or (2) of this section, the owner does not qualify for a
reduction in taxes on the homestead or on the manufactured or mobile
home set forth on such application, the owner shall notify the county
auditor that the owner is not qualified for a reduction in taxes.

(2)
If, in any year after an application has been filed under division
(A)(1) of this section, the occupant of a homestead in a housing
cooperative does not qualify for a reduction in taxes on the
homestead, the occupant shall notify the county auditor that the
occupant is not qualified for a reduction in taxes or file a new
application under division (A)(1) of this section.

(3)
If the county auditor or county treasurer discovers that an owner of
property or occupant of a homestead in a housing cooperative not
entitled to the reduction in taxes under division (A)
,

or

(B)
,
or (C)

of section 323.152 of the Revised Code failed to notify the county
auditor as required by division (C)(1) or (2) of this section, a
charge shall be imposed against the property in the amount by which
taxes were reduced under that division for each tax year the county
auditor ascertains that the property was not entitled to the
reduction and was owned by the current owner or, in the case of a
homestead in a housing cooperative, occupied by the current occupant.
Interest shall accrue in the manner prescribed by division (B) of
section 323.121 or division (G)(2) of section 4503.06 of the Revised
Code on the amount by which taxes were reduced for each such tax year
as if the reduction became delinquent taxes at the close of the last
day the second installment of taxes for that tax year could be paid
without penalty. The county auditor shall notify the owner or
occupant, by ordinary mail, of the charge, of the owner's or
occupant's right to appeal the charge, and of the manner in which the
owner or occupant may appeal. The owner or occupant may appeal the
imposition of the charge and interest by filing an appeal with the
county board of revision not later than the last day prescribed for
payment of real and public utility property taxes under section
323.12 of the Revised Code following receipt of the notice and
occurring at least ninety days after receipt of the notice. The
appeal shall be treated in the same manner as a complaint relating to
the valuation or assessment of real property under Chapter 5715. of
the Revised Code. The charge and any interest shall be collected as
other delinquent taxes.

(4)
Each year during January, the county auditor shall furnish by
ordinary mail a continuing application to each person receiving a
reduction under division (A)

or (C)

of section 323.152 of the Revised Code. The continuing application
shall be used to report changes in total income, ownership,
occupancy, disability, and other information earlier furnished the
auditor relative to the reduction in taxes on the property. The
continuing application shall be returned to the auditor not later
than the thirty-first day of December; provided, that if such changes
do not affect the status of the homestead exemption or the amount of
the reduction to which the owner is entitled under division (A)
or
(C)
of
section 323.152 of the Revised Code or to which the occupant is
entitled under section 323.159 of the Revised Code, the application
does not need to be returned.

(5)
Each year during February, the county auditor, except as otherwise
provided in this paragraph, shall furnish by ordinary mail an
original application to the owner, as of the first day of January of
that year, of a homestead or a manufactured or mobile home that
transferred during the preceding calendar year and that qualified for
and received a reduction in taxes under division (B) of section
323.152 of the Revised Code for the preceding tax year. In order to
receive the reduction under that division, the owner shall file the
application with the county auditor not later than the thirty-first
day of December. If the application is not timely filed, the auditor
shall not grant a reduction in taxes for the homestead for the
current year, and shall notify the owner that the reduction in taxes
has not been granted, in the same manner prescribed under section
323.154 of the Revised Code for notification of denial of an
application. Failure of an owner to receive an application does not
excuse the failure of the owner to file an original application. The
county auditor is not required to furnish an application under this
paragraph for any homestead for which application has previously been
made on a form incorporated into any form used by the county auditor
to administer the tax law in respect to the conveyance of real
property or of used manufactured homes or used mobile homes, and an
owner who previously has applied on such a form is not required to
return an application furnished under this paragraph.

(D)
No person shall knowingly make a false statement for the purpose of
obtaining a reduction in the person's real property or manufactured
home taxes under section 323.152 of the Revised Code.

(E)
No person shall knowingly fail to notify the county auditor of
changes required by division (C) of this section that have the effect
of maintaining or securing a reduction in taxes under section 323.152
of the Revised Code.

(F)
No person shall knowingly make a false statement or certification
attesting to any person's physical or mental condition for purposes
of qualifying such person for tax relief pursuant to sections 323.151
to 323.159 of the Revised Code.

Sec.
323.156.
(A)
Within thirty days after a settlement of taxes under divisions (A)
and (C) of section 321.24 of the Revised Code, the county treasurer
shall certify to the tax commissioner one-half of the total amount of
taxes on real property that were reduced pursuant to section 323.152
of the Revised Code for the preceding tax year. The commissioner,
within thirty days of the receipt of such certifications, shall
provide for payment to the county treasurer, from the general revenue
fund, of the amount certified, which shall be credited upon receipt
to the county's undivided income tax fund, and an amount equal to two
per cent of the amount by which taxes were reduced, which shall be
credited upon receipt to the county general fund as a payment to the
county auditor and treasurer for the costs of administering the
exemption provided under sections 323.151 to 323.159 of the Revised
Code.

(B)
On or before the second Monday in September of each year, the county
treasurer shall certify to the tax commissioner the total amount by
which the manufactured home taxes levied in that year were reduced
pursuant to
division

divisions

(B)

and
(C)
of
section 323.152 of the Revised Code, as evidenced by the certificates
of reduction and the tax duplicate certified to the county treasurer
by the county auditor. The commissioner, within ninety days after the
receipt of such certifications, shall provide for payment to the
county treasurer, from the general revenue fund, of the amount
certified, which shall be credited upon receipt to the county's
undivided income tax fund, and an amount equal to two per cent of the
amount by which taxes were reduced, which shall be credited upon
receipt to the county general fund as a payment to the county auditor
and treasurer for the costs of administering the exemption provided
under sections 323.151 to 323.159 of the Revised Code.

(C)
Immediately upon receipt of funds into the county undivided income
tax fund under this section, the auditor shall distribute the full
amount thereof among the taxing districts in the county as though the
total had been paid as taxes by each person for whom taxes were
reduced under sections 323.151 to 323.159 of the Revised Code.

Section
2.
That
existing sections 323.152, 323.153, and 323.156 of the Revised Code
are hereby repealed.

Section
3.
Section
323.152 of the Revised Code is presented in this act as a composite
of the section as amended by both H.B. 33 and S.B. 43 of the 135th
General Assembly. The General Assembly, applying the principle stated
in division (B) of section 1.52 of the Revised Code that amendments
are to be harmonized if reasonably capable of simultaneous operation,
finds that the composite is the resulting version of the section in
effect prior to the effective date of the section as presented in
this act.