Homestead exemption property tax reductions are granted to homeowners who are at least 65 years of age; permanently and totally disabled; or to surviving spouses at least 59 years of age if the deceased had previously received the exemption. For tax year 2019, each qualified homeowner received a credit equal to the taxes that would otherwise have been charged on the first $25,000 of true value of their homestead. In effect, the homestead exemption exempted $25,000 of the true value of an eligible homestead from property taxation. Veterans who had received a 100 percent permanent total disability rating or a total disability rating for a service-connected disability or combination of service-connected disabilities were exempt from the income threshold and were eligible to receive a homestead credit equal to the taxes that would otherwise have been charged on the first $50,000 of the true value of their homestead.

Eligibility for new exemptions is limited to qualifying taxpayers (by age) and Ohio adjusted gross income. The income threshold is annually adjusted for inflation and is $32,800 for tax year 2019.

The following table shows the number of homestead exemptions granted, the average reduction in property taxes, and the total reduction of property taxes in each county. The data presented in the table were compiled from a survey of county auditors conducted by the Ohio Department of Taxation*.

Based on survey results, it is estimated that a total of 764,393 real property homestead exemptions were granted; the average reduction in taxes was $504 per homestead; and the total reduction in real property taxes was $385,017,996. One county did not submit tax year 2019 data for this report; the most recent available was used in place. 

In comparison to tax year 2018, the number of homestead exemptions granted decreased by 3.1%, the average reduction in property taxes decreased by 1.0%, and the total reduction in property taxes decreased by 2.1%. 

Cuyahoga County had the greatest number of homeowners receiving this tax reduction, 82,484, and the largest total reduction in taxes, $55,792,306. Noble County had the least number of homeowners receiving this tax reduction, 964, and the least total reduction in taxes, $265,564.

Note: The figures in the first column of this table, Number of Homestead Exemption Recipients, were compiled through a survey of county auditors conducted by the Ohio Department of Taxation. The data in the third column, Total Reduction in Real Property Taxes, are from the distribution records of the Revenue Accounting Division of the Ohio Department of Taxation.  This column shows the actual amounts reimbursed to each county for the reduction in real property taxes attributable to the homestead exemption.

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