Lawmakers Approve Sending Property Tax Relief to Indiana Residents

Indiana lawmakers have approved a bill that will offer some relief to property owners. The bill has now been sent to the governor for final approval, and if approved, it will offer more than $100 million worth of property tax relief to Indiana residents.

Lawmakers Finally Approve The Tax Relief

The Indiana General Assembly unanimously approved House Bill 1499 in the legislative session’s final hours. Now, HB1499 is awaiting final approval from Gov. Eric Holcomb.

More than two weeks ago, Indiana’s Senate rejected the House’s proposal that offers relief to residents from high property tax bills. Lawmakers, however, reversed course last week to offer more than $100 million worth of property tax relief to Indiana residents in compromise provisions.

“We know in our data that we’re going to see, more than likely, a repeat [of elevated bills] again in 2024,” bill author Rep. Jeff Thompson (R-Lizton), said. “This is the time to take care of homeowners in the following years.”

Thompson noted that the bill would offer homeowners about $109 million in relief in the first year. Although not all lawmakers were satisfied with the idea, many still supported it arguing something was better than nothing.

“I’m supporting this because we really have not done anything significant to help homeowners. This is one step in that direction,” Rep. Cherrish Pryor (D-Indianapolis), said.

An analysis by the Association of Indiana Counties and Policy Analytics found that the tax bills in the state were on average 18% more than last year. It must be noted that the legislation, if approved, won’t offer relief with this year’s bills, which is due May 10.

How Does The Bill Offer Property Tax Relief To Indiana Residents?

House lawmakers initially proposed reducing the state’s 1% cap on property taxes. The Senate Republicans, on the other hand, wanted the local governments to select their own relief to make it easier for homeowners to challenge assessments.

Although neither of the proposed provisions made it to the final bill, it does offer property tax relief to Indiana residents in other ways. Talking about how House Bill 1499 offers relief, if approved, it would expand a supplemental deduction that is presently set to a flat 25%.

Homeowners with a property value of less than $600,000 would get assessed value deductions of 35% for taxes this year, 40% for 2024, 37.5% for 2025 and 35% for those due afterward. On the other hand, homeowners with a property value of more $600,000 would witness smaller deductions.

Moreover, the bill raises the income eligibility for senior citizens (age 65 and older) property tax deductions by linking the caps to the cost-of-living increases. The assessed value limit of the home for homeowners 65 and older would be capped at $24,000.

A point to note is that the savings for each homeowner would vary because of the difference in property tax rates for each community.

This article originally appeared on ValueWalk

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