A new credit that would cap property tax increases at 2 percent for qualifying senior citizens has been flying under the radar, despite a quickly approaching deadline of Dec. 31.
The auditor's offices in Porter and Lake counties, which are charged with processing the applications for the Over 65 Circuit Breaker Credit, reported limited or no interest among seniors.
Mike Wieser, finance director for the Lake County auditor's office, was under the false impression the application deadline was next year and Porter County Auditor James Kopp referred all questions to a slide show that he said was provided to him just recently by the Indiana Department of Local Government Finance.
Mary Jane Michalak, director of communications for the DLGF, said notice of the new tax credit was sent out to county auditors in June as part of a larger report on property tax legislation.
The new tax credit is part of the massive tax overhaul legislation known as House Bill 1001 that was signed into law in March, Michalak said.
The credit is available to any homeowner at least 65 years of age on or before Dec. 31, who has an individual adjusted gross income of no more than $30,000 or a combined income with a spouse of up to $40,000, Michalak said. The gross assessed value of the house must be less than $160,000.
The credit assures that qualified homeowners will not face a property tax increase of more than 2 percent between any given years, she said.
The protection comes in addition to the statewide property tax caps of 1.5 percent and 1 percent due to take effect for all homeowners next year and in 2010 respectively, said state Rep. Ed Soliday, R-Valparaiso.
If a home has a gross assessed value of $100,000, the statewide cap set to take effect next year would result in a tax bill of no more than $1,500, he said.
Where this extra protection for seniors would kick in is if the person's bill for 2009 came in less than $1,500 and then their assessed valuation jumped up resulting in a bill the following year that falls within the 1 percent cap, but more than 2 percent than their previous bill, Soliday said. The senior tax credit would cap that increase at 2 percent no matter the growth in the assessed valuation.
"This deals with rapidly advancing AV's (assessed valuations)," he said.
