Ohio Homestead Exemption and Property Tax Relief: 2026 Income Limit, Amounts and New Credits

Ohio has three main ways to lower the property tax bill on the home you live in: the homestead exemption for older and disabled homeowners, the owner-occupancy credit for anyone living in a home they own, and newer credits passed by the legislature in 2025. You apply through your county auditor.

The homestead exemption

The homestead exemption doesn’t take a fixed dollar amount off your bill. Instead, it removes part of your home’s market value from taxation. For tax year 2025, paid in 2026, that’s $29,000 of value [1]. What that saves you depends on your local tax rates; the Lorain County Auditor puts typical savings at $400 to $450 a year [3].

Who qualifies

You must own the home and live in it as your main residence on January 1 of the year you apply, and either:

• be 65 or older by the end of that year, or
• be totally and permanently disabled as of January 1 [2].

Disability can be shown with Social Security paperwork or a physician’s statement on form DTE 105E [2].

The income limit

For applications in 2026, total household income must be $41,000 or less in 2025 [2]. The auditor looks at your Ohio adjusted gross income (line 3 of the state return) plus any Ohio business income deduction [2]. Your spouse’s income counts. Social Security income doesn’t, though many pensions do [2].

Disabled veterans with a 100% disability rating, and certain surviving spouses, get the enhanced exemption: twice the value, $58,000 for tax year 2025, with no income limit [1][3].

How to apply

File form DTE 105A with your county auditor, along with any income addendum the auditor asks for [2]. In Lorain County, new applicants can file from the first Monday in January through December 31, and the application counts as filed when the auditor’s office receives it, not when it’s postmarked [3]. Check your own county’s dates.

The owner-occupancy credit

Any Ohioan who owns and lives in their home on January 1 can get the owner-occupancy credit, regardless of age or income. It lowers the tax on certain levies. An owner and spouse can get it on only one home [4][5].

The credit only applies to levies passed before 2014; newer levies don’t get it [4]. Ask your auditor whether you already have it. If not, file form DTE 105C by December 31 of the year you’re applying for [5].

What changed in 2025 and 2026

The Ohio legislature passed several property tax changes in 2025. Two affect homeowners directly:

• Bigger owner-occupancy credit, no more non-business credit. In December 2025 the state began merging the separate non-business credit into the owner-occupancy credit. The change phases in over several years. By tax year 2029, the owner-occupancy credit will save 15.38% on pre-2014 levies, and the non-business credit will be gone [4].
• The Inflation Cap Credit. House Bill 186 created a new credit starting with second-half 2026 tax bills. It limits growth in school taxes to the rate of inflation, but only in school districts at the state’s 20-mill floor . It’s applied automatically; you don’t have to apply [6][7].

Where to get help

Your county auditor’s office handles the homestead exemption and the owner-occupancy credit, and can tell you which reductions are already on your bill.