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An article in today's Sun reports that this year, those who have not
applied for the homestead tax credit will lose it.<br>
<br>
The homestead tax credit limits increases in your effective
assessment to 4% per year compounded for City and CVCBD tax purposes
and to 10% compounded for State tax purposes. It applies to any
owner occupied principal residence. However, a married couple may
not receive the homestead tax credit for two different properties
(but I suspect that there is an exception here if they are legally
separated). On the other hand, a person may claim the homestead tax
credit for his/her own principal residence and may have his/her name
on the deed of another property which receives the homestead tax
credit as long as the second property is the principal residence of
another owner who is not the first person's spouse. For example, I
receive the homestead tax credit on my own residence, and my son was
eligible to receive it on his residence even while my name was on
his deed as a co-owner (in order to get a better mortgage rate).<br>
<br>
If you own your home and if it is your principal residence, it is
important that you make sure that you have filed the form to
receive the homestead tax credit. Otherwise, you may pay a lot more
in real estate taxes than you need to.<br>
<br>
To check if you have already filed the form, go to this web site:
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://sdatcert3.resiusa.org/rp_rewrite/">http://sdatcert3.resiusa.org/rp_rewrite/</a><br>
Use the pull down menu to put in Baltimore City, and then click on
"Street Address." Put in your address (and for the street, leave
out north, south, etc., and leave out street or avenue). For
example, if you live on North Calvert Street, just put in calvert
(it does not matter whether you capitalize or not). And for East
27th Street, just put it 27th.<br>
<br>
You will get a page showing your assessment. At the bottom of the
page, it will show whether you have been approved for the homestead
tax credit. In my own case, it shows that the homestead tax credit
was approved 4/30/2008. That is about when the State first asked
people to file the form either by snail mail or online, and I filed
online.<br>
<br>
If you have not been approved for it, go to this web page:
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://sdathtc.resiusa.org/homestead/">https://sdathtc.resiusa.org/homestead/</a><br>
Here, you can use the pull down menu to put in Baltimore City,
click on "Continue," and fill out the form. It will ask for your
social security number and other information to make it possible for
the State Department of Assessments and Taxation to check that
neither you nor your spouse if any have any other property receiving
the homestead tax credit.<br>
<br>
In my own case, without the homestead tax credit, I would have paid
almost twice what I did pay in real estate taxes on my last tax
bill. My effective assessment and my tax will go up 4% for the City
and CVCBD taxes and 10% for the State tax, but that will still be a
lot less than my tax would be without the homestead tax credit.<br>
<br>
<b>Do not get caught paying more than you have to.<br>
<br>
</b>I have included some community leaders in this email in case
they want to forward my advice to their constituents. And I know
that City Council Member Mary Pat Clarke very much encouraged her
constituents to file the form when it was first sent out by the
State.<br>
<br>
BTW, I just checked some of my nearest neighbors, and almost all
have filed the form. I did find one couple who had not filed, and
I will notify them in a separate email.<br>
<br>
Steve<br>
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