On March 7, 2017 and June 27, 2017, respectively, the Montgomery County Council enacted Bills 42-16 and 13-17 to provide a property tax credit for elderly individuals and retired veterans. Individuals eligible to receive the tax credit are either: (i) individuals sixty-five years old or older (birthday on or before June 30, 1953) who have lived in the same dwelling in Montgomery County, which is assessed for no more than Six Hundred and Fifty Thousand Dollars, for at least forty years (deed must be dated on or before June 30, 1978); or (ii) individuals sixty-five years old or older that are retired members of the uniformed services of the United States as defined in 10 U.S.C. §101, the military reserves, or the national guard and own a dwelling in Montgomery County, for which the tax credit is sought, that is assessed for no more than Five Hundred Thousand Dollars. It is important to note that Montgomery County considers the assessment of the dwelling to be the assessment of the improvements and the land.

The credit is available for five consecutive years and is twenty percent of the Montgomery County property tax imposed on the dwelling.

The eligible individual must file an initial application and supporting documentation with the Montgomery County Department of Finance, Division of Treasury, on or before April 1 of the tax year (tax years start on July 1). However, a short application must also be filed before April 1 for each of the subsequent four tax years of the tax credit. Properties owned by a trust may also eligible for the tax credit, but require the filing of an affidavit.  

Opinions and conclusions in this post are solely those of the author unless otherwise indicated. The information contained in this blog is general in nature and is not offered and cannot be considered as legal advice for any particular situation. The author has provided the links referenced above for information purposes only and by doing so, does not adopt or incorporate the contents. Any federal tax advice provided in this communication is not intended or written by the author to be used, and cannot be used by the recipient, for the purpose of avoiding penalties which may be imposed on the recipient by the IRS. Please contact the author if you would like to receive written advice in a format which complies with IRS rules and may be relied upon to avoid penalties.

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