How to Reduce Your Taxes
There are several property tax rollbacks (or reductions) that property owners can receive:
1) House Bill 920 (tax reduction factor) became law in 1976. It provides a credit against all voted tax millage. Since inflation causes property values to increase, additional credits are applied to voted tax levies so property owners are not paying more than the amount of taxes the levy was originally voted to collect. The only increased revenue taxing districts receive from voted levies is from the added value of new construction.
2) Statewide, every agricultural or residential (class A) property receives a 10% reduction in property taxes.
3) Owner-occupied home-sites on agricultural and residential properties are entitled to an owner occupancy rollback. On your tax bill, this is shown as Owner Occupancy Credit.
DTE form 105c.pdf - Owner occupancy tax reduction
4) Homeowners 65 years old or permanently and totally disabled may be eligible for the homestead exemption program. This program could reduce the taxes owed (the Homestead Exemption Program is funded by the State of Ohio). You must file for this exemption on or before December 31st.
5) If an agricultural property is eligible for enrollment in the Current Agricultural Use Value (CAUV) Program, its taxable value will be decreased according to the State’s valuation table. Properties are appraised based on production rates calculated by the State of Ohio, not on the land’s market value.
To be eligible, properties must be devoted to commercial agricultural use. You must have crops, animals, and/or commercial timber on at least 10 acres, or 11 acres with home site. You may have someone else farm your property. If you have less than 10 acres, or 11 acres with a home site the properties must have the potential for producing an average yearly gross income, from agricultural production, of at least $2,500. The actual reduction in value is dependent upon the property’s soil type, region, slope and erosion factors.
You may file an initial CAUV application in the County Auditor’s office between the first Monday in January and the first Monday in March. The application is available on our website or you may call our office at 419-784-3111 or 1-800-675-3953 to obtain the form. There is a one-time $25.00 initial filing fee for signing up. You must renew the application every year in January for no charge.
Failure to renew your application will result in the loss of the value reduction and may result in recoupment of the previous three years of tax savings.
If you still have questions about your property’s estimated market value, please call your Defiance County Auditor at 784-3111 or toll-free at 1-800-675-3953
Information on this site is believed to be accurate but not guaranteed. The Defiance County Auditor disclaims any liability for errors or omissions.