Ohio Property Tax Assistance: Homestead, CAUV, and Owner Credit

Ohio’s property tax assistance programs can knock hundreds or thousands of dollars off an annual bill, but only if you know which ones fit your situation and apply on time. The main options are the Homestead Exemption for seniors, permanently disabled residents, and certain veterans and surviving spouses; a 2.5% owner-occupancy credit available to anyone living in the home they own; the Current Agricultural Use Value program for working farmland; and delinquent tax payment contracts for homeowners who have fallen behind. Each has its own form, deadline, and eligibility test.

Homestead Exemption for Seniors and Disabled Homeowners

The Homestead Exemption is the most valuable break in the lineup. It removes a fixed dollar amount of your home’s appraised value from the tax rolls, so the reduction shows up directly on your bill. The program is set out in Ohio Revised Code Sections 323.151 through 323.159.¹

Who Qualifies

You can apply if you are at least 65 years old or permanently and totally disabled. The age test uses January 1 of the application year as the measuring date, so you qualify if you turned 64 before that date.¹ You must own the home and use it as your primary residence. A surviving spouse of someone already receiving the exemption at death can continue it, provided the surviving spouse was at least 59 when the qualifying person died.²

How Much Comes Off Your Home’s Value

For 2026, the standard exemption removes $29,000 of appraised value from taxation. Your prior-year Ohio adjusted gross income (yours plus your spouse’s) must be $41,000 or less.³ Both figures adjust yearly for inflation.

Veterans with a 100% service-connected disability rating and surviving spouses of first responders killed in the line of duty get an enhanced exemption of $58,000 with no income limit.³ Disabled veterans submit their DD-214 and a VA award letter in place of income documentation.

The 2.5% Owner-Occupancy Credit

Anyone who owns and lives in an Ohio home as a primary residence can claim a 2.5% reduction on taxes charged by qualifying levies. There is no age or income requirement, so essentially every owner-occupant should have it on their bill.⁴ The credit applies to voter-approved levies funding schools, parks, fire departments, and similar local services.

You and your spouse can claim the credit on only one Ohio home. Auditors cross-check residency against state tax filings and voter registration. If an auditor determines you claimed the credit on a property you weren’t entitled to, you owe back every improperly received reduction plus interest, and a conviction for willful falsification bars you from the program for three years.⁵

Current Agricultural Use Value for Farmland

Working farmland often has market value well above what it earns as a farm. The Current Agricultural Use Value (CAUV) program taxes qualifying land on its agricultural productivity rather than its development potential, which can drop a farm’s assessed value dramatically. The requirements are set out in Ohio Revised Code Section 5713.30.⁶

Land totaling at least ten acres that has been used exclusively for commercial agriculture during the three calendar years before you apply qualifies under the standard track. Covered activities include crop production, livestock, aquaculture, timber, nursery stock, and beekeeping. Parcels under ten acres can still qualify if the farming activity generated an average gross income of at least $2,500 per year over the previous three years.⁶

Applications go to the county auditor between the first Monday in January and the first Monday in March.⁷ The window is easy to miss, especially for buyers who close mid-year and assume they can file whenever.

One caution before you enroll. If the land is later converted to a non-agricultural use, or you simply fail to reapply, the county imposes a recoupment charge equal to the tax savings from the previous three years.⁸ On a large parcel taxed at agricultural rates for years, that clawback can be significant, and anyone considering a sale to a developer should build the cost into the numbers.

Manufactured Home Owners

Manufactured home owners who meet the age, disability, or surviving-spouse requirements can claim the Homestead Exemption using Form DTE 105H alongside the standard DTE 105A. The same income limits and exemption amounts apply.³ Whether your home is taxed under the depreciation schedule or as real estate depends on when it was titled, but that does not change your eligibility for the exemption itself.⁹

How to Apply

Each program uses its own form, all available from your county auditor:

Homestead Exemption: Form DTE 105A. You’ll need your parcel number, date of birth, Social Security number, proof of age, an Ohio driver’s license or state ID for residency, and income information from your state return. Disability applicants include a certificate from a licensed physician or a state or federal agency.¹⁰
Owner-Occupancy Credit: Form DTE 105C. You declare under penalty of perjury that the property is your primary residence.⁴
CAUV: An initial application filed with the county auditor between the first Monday in January and the first Monday in March of the year you want the agricultural valuation to take effect.⁷

Deadlines

The Homestead Exemption application deadline is December 31 of the tax year you want the reduction to apply to.¹¹ The owner-occupancy form carries the same December 31 deadline.⁴ CAUV has a much tighter window, closing on the first Monday in March. File in the county where the property is located, in person or by mail.

Renewal

Once you’re approved for the Homestead Exemption, you don’t reapply every year. In January the auditor mails you a continuing application, Form DTE 105B. You only need to return it if you no longer own the home, no longer live there, your disability status changed, or your income exceeded the limit.¹² Otherwise the exemption continues automatically. Failing to report a disqualifying change triggers the same repayment-plus-interest consequence as an improper claim.

If You’ve Fallen Behind on Property Taxes

Ohio also offers help on the collection side. Once taxes go delinquent, interest accrues on the unpaid balance daily. For 2026 the certified interest rate is 7% annually, and the rate resets each year based on the federal short-term rate plus three percentage points.¹³

If you own and live in residential property, or own agricultural land, you are entitled to at least one opportunity to enter a delinquent tax contract with the county treasurer, provided no tax lien certificate or foreclosure judgment has been issued against the property.¹⁴ These contracts stretch payments over up to five years, with a minimum two-year term if you request one. The treasurer decides the number and size of installments.

A payment plan becomes void if you miss an installment or let your current-year taxes slip. Entering a new contract after that requires the treasurer’s permission, which is discretionary.¹⁴ Call the treasurer’s office before the balance grows large enough to trigger foreclosure proceedings.

Challenging Your Property’s Valuation

Even with every exemption in place, an inflated appraisal can push your bill higher than it should be. Ohio lets you challenge the assessed value by filing a Complaint Against the Valuation of Real Property, Form DTE 1, with the county auditor. The deadline is March 31 of the year following the tax year in question, or the closing date for first-half tax collection, whichever is later.¹⁵

The Board of Revision responds to concrete evidence of market value: a recent arm’s-length sale price, a qualified appraisal as of January 1 of the tax year, or total construction costs on newer homes. A real estate agent’s market analysis and the insured value can support your case. What the Board will not consider is the percentage your taxes went up, or the gap between your valuation and a neighbor’s.¹⁶

Under Ohio Revised Code Section 5715.19 you must present all evidence in your possession that affects the property’s value at this stage; holding evidence back can prevent you from introducing it later without a showing of good cause.¹⁷ If the Board rules against you, you have 30 days to appeal to either the Ohio Board of Tax Appeals or the county Court of Common Pleas.

1
Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code 323.151 – Valuation of Homestead Property Definitions
2
Ohio Department of Taxation. DTE 105A – Homestead Exemption Application for Senior Citizens, Disabled Persons and Surviving Spouses
3
Summit County Fiscal Office. Homestead Exemption
4
Ohio Department of Taxation. DTE 105C – Application for Owner-Occupancy Tax Reduction
5
Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code 323.153 – Application for Reduction in Real Property Taxes
6
Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code 5713.30 – Agricultural Land Definitions
7
Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code 5713.31 – County Auditor to Value Land for Real Property Tax Purposes
8
Williams County Ohio. Frequently Asked Questions – CAUV
9
Wayne County Auditor. Manufactured Homes
10
Ohio Department of Taxation. DTE 105A – Homestead Exemption Application for Senior Citizens, Disabled Persons and Surviving Spouses
11
Cuyahoga County. Homestead Exemption
12
Ohio Department of Taxation. Real Property Tax – Homestead Means Testing
13
Ohio Department of Taxation. Annual Certified Interest Rates
14
Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code 323.31 – Delinquent Tax Contract With Treasurer
15
Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code 5715.19 – Complaint Against Valuation
16
Lake County Auditor. Board of Revision Department
17
Ohio Department of Taxation. DTE 1 – Complaint Against the Valuation of Real Property