Homestead Exemption for Surviving Spouses of Public Service Officers Killed in the Line of Duty, Homestead Exemption for Senior Citizens, Disabled Persons and Surviving Spouses, Enhanced Homestead Exemption for Disabled Veterans and Surviving Spouses
Where to apply in Ohio
Your county auditor decides homestead exemptions and the owner-occupancy credit, using forms set by the Ohio Department of Taxation. You apply to the auditor of the county where the home is (online in many counties, by mail or in person).
The office that handles property in each Ohio county, with its phone number. In some places another office takes exemption applications; the “Where to apply” box above says which.
Homestead Exemption for Senior Citizens, Disabled Persons and Surviving Spouses
Your home is taxed as if it were worth $29,000 less (tax year 2026 amount). Example from Franklin County: a home appraised at $100,000 is billed as if it were worth $71,000. The dollar savings depend on your local tax rate. The $29,000 is raised for inflation each year.
Who qualifies
You own and live in the home as your main residence on January 1, and you are 65 or older by December 31 of the year you apply, OR you are permanently and totally disabled on January 1, OR you are the surviving spouse (59 or older when the spouse died) of someone who was receiving this exemption. Your and your spouse's total income (Ohio modified adjusted gross income) must be $41,000 or less for 2025 to qualify for the 2026 application. People who already had the exemption in tax year 2013 are 'grandfathered' and have no income limit.
Income limit
$41,000 Ohio modified adjusted gross income (applicant plus spouse) for 2025, for applications filed in 2026; adjusted for inflation each year. No limit for owners grandfathered from 2013.
How to apply
File Form DTE 105A with your county auditor (online in many counties, by mail or in person). Bring proof of age (Ohio driver's license or state ID, passport or birth certificate). If disabled and under 65, add Form DTE 105E signed by a physician or psychologist, or a disability certificate from a state or federal agency such as Social Security. If you did not file an Ohio return, include your federal return; if you filed neither, add Form DTE 105H. Grandfathered owners who move add Form DTE 105G.
Apply by December 31 of the year you want the exemption (for real property). You may also file a late application for the previous year together with your current one and get a refund. Law: ORC 323.153(B)
Renewal
One-time. Each January the auditor mails a continuing application; return it only if your income, ownership, occupancy or disability status changed. If you move, you must apply again at the new home.
Enhanced Homestead Exemption for Disabled Veterans and Surviving Spouses
Your home is taxed as if it were worth $58,000 less (tax year 2026 amount). Example: a $100,000 home is billed as if it were worth $42,000. No income limit.
Who qualifies
You own and live in the home as your main residence on January 1, and you are an honorably discharged veteran with a 100% service-connected disability rating, or rated totally disabled based on individual unemployability. A surviving spouse qualifies if the veteran was receiving this exemption in the year of death, the spouse lived in the home then and now owns it; it ends after the spouse remarries.
How to apply
File Form DTE 105I with your county auditor. Include your DD-214 and the VA award letter showing a 100% rating, or a letter showing compensation at the 100% level plus the approval of individual unemployability.
Homestead Exemption for Surviving Spouses of Public Service Officers Killed in the Line of Duty
Your home is taxed as if it were worth $58,000 less (tax year 2026). No income limit.
Who qualifies
You own and live in the home on January 1 and are the surviving spouse of a police officer, firefighter (paid or volunteer), EMT, paramedic or first responder killed in the line of duty. It lasts until you remarry.
How to apply
File Form DTE 105K with your county auditor, with a letter from the officer's pension fund or employer confirming the death was in the line of duty.
Form
DTE 105K
Deadline
Apply by December 31 of the year you want the exemption.
Owner-Occupancy Credit (formerly the 2.5% rollback)
A credit of 5.70% of the taxes from 'qualifying levies' on your primary home in tax year 2026, rising to 8.92% in 2027, 12.15% in 2028 and 15.38% from 2029. It used to be 2.5%. Qualifying levies are unvoted ('inside') millage, voted levies approved at elections before September 29, 2013, and later renewals or substitutes of those levies; newer levies and replacement levies are not reduced. At the same time the separate 10% non-business credit on homes is being phased out (7.5% in 2026, 5% in 2027, 2.5% in 2028, 0% from 2029), so the overall reduction rises only modestly.
Who qualifies
Any owner who lives in the home as their primary residence on January 1. One home per owner and spouse. No age or income test.
How to apply
Apply once with your county auditor (Form DTE 105C, owner-occupancy reduction application). If you bought the home last year, the application is built into the deed-transfer (conveyance) form (ORC 323.153(A)(2)). In Franklin County, owners who do not qualify must file a rental registration or rental exception form instead.
Form
DTE 105C Application for Owner-Occupancy Reduction (from your county auditor)
Deadline
Apply by December 31 of the year you want the credit. Law: ORC 323.153(A)
Renewal
One-time; you must tell the auditor if you stop living in the home. A new owner must apply after a sale.
Law
Ohio Revised Code 323.152(B), 319.302 (as amended by HB 96 and HB 186, 136th General Assembly, 2025-2026)
No. The exemption does not move with you. If you move, apply again at the new home; you must own and live there on January 1, so it starts the next tax year. Grandfathered owners keep that status if they file Form DTE 105G with the new application (Franklin County Auditor FAQ).
Is there a cap on value increases?
No cap on a home's assessed value. Starting tax year 2026, House Bill 335 (2025) limits growth in taxes from 'inside' (unvoted) millage caused by reappraisals to the rate of inflation, and HB 186 limits growth from the 20-mill school floor; these limit tax growth, not your home's value (Fairfield County Auditor summary, January 2026).
Good to know in Ohio
The homestead amounts ($29,000 / $58,000) and the $41,000 income limit are indexed to inflation every year (ORC 323.152(A)(1)(d)).
If you are approved in 2026, the credit shows up on your tax bill due in 2027 (Ohio taxes are paid a year behind).
The owner-occupancy credit rises every year from 2026 to 2029, to 15.38% of taxes from qualifying levies, while the 10% non-business credit on homes phases out to zero (ORC 323.152(B)(2), 319.302(C)(2)).
Savings estimate for Ohio
Roughly what an exemption could save you a year: the value it takes off, times your tax rate.
Eligibility finder for Ohio
Answer a few questions to see which property tax breaks may fit you.
Document checklist for Ohio
Pick the breaks you plan to apply for. You get a checklist of forms, documents, steps and deadlines to print or keep on your phone.
Questions about property tax exemptions in Ohio
Is there a homestead exemption in Ohio?
Yes: the Owner-Occupancy Credit (formerly the 2.5% rollback). A credit of 5.70% of the taxes from 'qualifying levies' on your primary home in tax year 2026, rising to 8.92% in 2027, 12.15% in 2028 and 15.38% from 2029. It used to be 2.5%. Qualifying levies are unvoted ('inside') millage, voted levies approved at elections before September 29, 2013, and later renewals or substitutes of those levies; newer levies and replacement levies are not reduced. At the same time the separate 10% non-business credit on homes is being phased out (7.5% in 2026, 5% in 2027, 2.5% in 2028, 0% from 2029), so the overall reduction rises only modestly. Who qualifies: Any owner who lives in the home as their primary residence on January 1. One home per owner and spouse. No age or income test.
When is the deadline to apply for the homestead exemption in Ohio?
December 31 of the year you want the credit (ORC 323.153(A)).
Do I have to reapply for the homestead exemption every year in Ohio?
One-time; you must tell the auditor if you stop living in the home. A new owner must apply after a sale.
Are there property tax breaks for seniors in Ohio?
Homestead Exemption for Senior Citizens, Disabled Persons and Surviving Spouses: Your home is taxed as if it were worth $29,000 less (tax year 2026 amount). Example from Franklin County: a home appraised at $100,000 is billed as if it were worth $71,000. The dollar savings depend on your local tax rate. The $29,000 is raised for inflation each year.
Do disabled veterans get a property tax exemption in Ohio?
Enhanced Homestead Exemption for Disabled Veterans and Surviving Spouses: Your home is taxed as if it were worth $58,000 less (tax year 2026 amount). Example: a $100,000 home is billed as if it were worth $42,000. No income limit.
Can I move my exemption to a new home in Ohio?
No. The exemption does not move with you. If you move, apply again at the new home; you must own and live there on January 1, so it starts the next tax year. Grandfathered owners keep that status if they file Form DTE 105G with the new application (Franklin County Auditor FAQ).
Is there a limit on how fast my home's taxable value can rise in Ohio?
No cap on a home's assessed value. Starting tax year 2026, House Bill 335 (2025) limits growth in taxes from 'inside' (unvoted) millage caused by reappraisals to the rate of inflation, and HB 186 limits growth from the 20-mill school floor; these limit tax growth, not your home's value (Fairfield County Auditor summary, January 2026).
Where do I apply for property tax exemptions in Ohio?
Your county auditor decides homestead exemptions and the owner-occupancy credit, using forms set by the Ohio Department of Taxation. You apply to the auditor of the county where the home is (online in many counties, by mail or in person).
Think your home’s assessed value is too high? An exemption and an appeal are separate: you can do both.
Median effective tax rate: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2020–2024 5-year estimates, tables B25103 (median real estate taxes paid, owner-occupied homes) and B25077 (median value, owner-occupied homes). The rate is the median tax paid divided by the median home value.