Real Property
Real Property Tax Relief, Number of Homestead
Exemptions Granted, Average Reduction in Taxable Value and
Total Reduction in Taxes, by County, Tax Year 2008
Homestead exemption property tax reductions are granted to
homeowners who are at least 65 years of age; permanently and
totally disabled; or to surviving spouses at least 59 years
of age if the deceased had previously received the
exemption.
Before the 2007 tax year, eligibility for the exemption was
limited to taxpayers who earned $26,200 or less, with
benefits tiered according to income. However, starting
with the 2007 tax year (taxes due in 2008), income tests and
tiered benefits no longer apply (although homeowners that
received a higher credit under the program that existed in
tax year 2006 will continue to receive that year’s credit).
Instead, each qualified homeowner receives a credit equal to
the taxes that would otherwise be charged on the first
$25,000 of true value (meaning, $8,750 in taxable value) of
the homestead. In effect, the homestead exemption shields
$25,000 of the true value of an eligible homestead from
property taxation.
In tax year 2008, a total of 813,848 real property homestead
exemptions were granted; the average reduction in taxes was
$420 per homestead; and the total reduction in real property
taxes was $344,615,313.
In comparison to tax year 2007, the number of homestead
exemptions granted increased by 4.9%, the average reduction
in property taxes increased by 3.4%, and the total reduction
in property taxes increased by 8.4%.
Cuyahoga County had the greatest number of homeowners
receiving this tax reduction (99,507) and the largest total
reduction in taxes ($54.2 million). Vinton County had the
least number of homeowners receiving this tax reduction
(1,220) while Noble County had the least total reduction in
taxes ($335,117).
The figures in the first column of this table were compiled
through a survey of county auditors conducted by the Ohio
Department of Taxation. The data in the third column
are from the distribution records of the Revenue Accounting
Division of the Ohio Department of Taxation. This
column shows the actual amounts reimbursed to each county for
the reduction in real property taxes attributable to the
homestead exemption, including reimbursements for refunds
issued by the county to taxpayers that filed "late"
applications for the tax year 2008 homestead exemption.
Calculated administrative fees of $6,892,306 paid to the
county auditors are excluded from Table HE-1.