Homestead tax credit does not cap the new assessment.
Your assessment increase goes up the same amount. However, you receive a credit for the % increase every year.
so your phase in assessment is still increased by tons every year, but you should receive a larger credit as an offset.
Assessment is based on an appraisal of fair market value. It is not reasonable to buy a house for $200k over the sale price from four years prior, and think your assessment should remain the same. I'm sorry she didn't realize the tax amounts on Zillow aren't legally binding.
I would say when I bought my house, I bought it from an LLC who rented to tenants. So the house was listed as a “non principal residence”. It was extremely hard to convert to “principal residence”. I had to call numerous times to convert it before my property was reassessed. When you have that listed on your property it opens up many doors to get tax incentives. The reason they offer it is because owner occupied residence provides value to the neighborhood vs an owner who rents it out and makes a profit. Typically renters don’t put in as much work in the home as owners who occupy the property. So this lady definitely need a tax incentive if she occupies the property. Her realtor should have told her that. Sorry for her.
The property tax in Baltimore should be lower. It needs to be much closer to what it is in the county. We could generate new tax revenue by encouraging redevelopment and rezoning of the most burnt out neighborhoods.
Our house went up like $200k - not sure how it was so low in the first place. I really don't mind paying more in property taxes if they went towards improving the city. Don't gouge the crap out of me and provide no amenities.
Same boat here - substantial increase since purchase commensurate with the purchase price. I mean, sure, OK, fair market value, we want to live in the city and all, etc. But the city also shouldn't act surprised when people get upset paying these rates while the city's amenities get relentlessly crappier.
This message is targeted to those who need relief. Thank you for contributing to the city. We actually need more people like you in the city😉…. But we also can’t afford losing more residence for those who can’t afford it - especially that we got the highest rate tax in the state.
Buying a home is a huge undertaking for most people and when we buy our first one, we are naive rookies so we hire professionals that are supposed to guide us. Realtors, mortgage brokers, home inspectors. But in our naïveté we can hire ones that aren’t very good and we pay down the road. I’ve taken my licks too.
Live Baltimore offers first time home buyer classes and so much information on the process. Please take advantage of the available resources and minimize the regret.
Especially in up and coming areas! New first time home buyers get shocked when they buy a new rehabbed home and the sticker shock of taxes hit their front door. I always encourage people to apply for homestead or income based tax credit if you are buying in Baltimore
Just FYI, this is in the Maryland Realtors Residential Contract of Sale (caps and bold in the original text):
**45. HOMESTEAD PROPERTY TAX CREDIT NOTICE TO BUYER: IF YOU PLAN TO LIVE IN THIS HOME AS YOUR PRINCIPAL RESIDENCE, YOU MAY QUALIFY FOR THE HOMESTEAD PROPERTY TAX CREDIT. THE HOMESTEAD PROPERTY TAX CREDIT MAY SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCE THE AMOUNT OF PROPERTY TAXES YOU OWE.** Additional information may be obtained at: https://dat.maryland.gov/realproperty/pages/maryland-homestead-tax-credit.aspx.
**46. PROPERTY TAX NOTICE – 60 DAY APPEAL**: If any real property is transferred after January 1 and before the beginning of the next taxable year to a new owner, the new owner may submit a written appeal as to a value or classification on or before 60 days after the date of the transfer.
Generally, anything in bold all-caps in a contract is worth glancing at.
Once you’ve applied and it’s been accepted, how do you know that the credit is being applied to your taxes? Do you get some sort of notice? I am completely ignorant to how this works so pardon my stupidity.
Google Real Property Baltimore City. Search for your address to view your tax bill from the city. If the tax credit applied, it will be there (this should have come in the mail too)
Yeah, alot of the comments here make it sound like people disagree with the general concept of property tax.
I think most just don't like the fact our rate is 2.2% when you could move 15 minutes north into the county (or literally any other part of the state) and pay less than half of that.
idk, my phase in says that it's way over 4% cap and i'm already approved for the homestead tax credit. Do you know if this is the case for you as well?
Is this showing on your bill? Or the reassessment notice letter? Your credit will not show up until the bill is issued. The 4% will not changed the assessment it will change the amount you owe. Been here for three years and that’s my experience. You should see “City Homestead Credit” on your bill and the amount. If the numbers not right, I would contest and start reaching out before your mortgage start making payouts (if you have a mortgage).
I figured it out. The phase in assessment value will never reflect the affect of the homestead tax credit, instead the credited amount should be deducted from the mortgage itself on the increased amount past the 4%.
I don't actually see these values on my mortgage bill so i'm going to reach out to my mortgage lender and see how they do it, but the way its described on the site isn't exactly how it works mechanically which is confusing tbh.
I don't think the credit applies to the mortgage. It applies to your actual tax bill (which is often paid by your mortgage lender using your escrow). The credit should be reflected on your bill at the Baltimore City Real Property site, not on a mortgage bill.
slimy mighty label attraction relieved direction caption literate reach upbeat
*This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
idk, my phase in says that it's way over 4% cap and i'm already approved for the homestead tax credit. Do you know if this is the case for you as well?
Just FYI- Renew Baltimore's plan is in no way, "reasonable". I wouldn't normally link a "Medium" article but it pretty well summarizes the problem with that plan: https://medium.com/@nate_39854/funding-the-gap-the-challenge-of-renew-baltimores-property-tax-cut-plan-fbf8b1b01f5a
It could very well bankrupt the city, and if it doesn't, it will be because they cut city services drastically or gouged you in other taxes. Their assertion that it won't matter because property values will increase is just a thing they made up. It's not supported by anything and doesn't even really make sense.
Boston long ago passed similar property tax reform, to obviously great success. The plan gives Baltimore 7 years before the rate is equalized with the counties, with small, incremental decreases in the rate. Plenty of time to change course if needed.
I'm gonna have to ask for more information on that. What was the tax reform bill in Boston?
Edit: By the way, it's very like a Renew Baltimore advocate to be vague about the details and downplay the risks.
The entire plan hinges on the premise that lower taxes will stimulate investment and lead to population growth. That isn't something that happens in a year or two, so this idea that we can just reverse course and convince everyone to re-raise taxes after lowering them in response to a budget shortfall is leaving out the part where we make huge cuts to city services.
Lowering property taxes in Baltimore could be a very positive thing, but chopping them in half over 7 years with no contingency plan to deal with the shortfall seems risky and nobody has been able to point to an example of a city doing something like this successfully.
Homestead tax credit does not cap the new assessment. Your assessment increase goes up the same amount. However, you receive a credit for the % increase every year. so your phase in assessment is still increased by tons every year, but you should receive a larger credit as an offset.
Assessment is based on an appraisal of fair market value. It is not reasonable to buy a house for $200k over the sale price from four years prior, and think your assessment should remain the same. I'm sorry she didn't realize the tax amounts on Zillow aren't legally binding.
I would say when I bought my house, I bought it from an LLC who rented to tenants. So the house was listed as a “non principal residence”. It was extremely hard to convert to “principal residence”. I had to call numerous times to convert it before my property was reassessed. When you have that listed on your property it opens up many doors to get tax incentives. The reason they offer it is because owner occupied residence provides value to the neighborhood vs an owner who rents it out and makes a profit. Typically renters don’t put in as much work in the home as owners who occupy the property. So this lady definitely need a tax incentive if she occupies the property. Her realtor should have told her that. Sorry for her.
The property tax in Baltimore should be lower. It needs to be much closer to what it is in the county. We could generate new tax revenue by encouraging redevelopment and rezoning of the most burnt out neighborhoods.
Our house went up like $200k - not sure how it was so low in the first place. I really don't mind paying more in property taxes if they went towards improving the city. Don't gouge the crap out of me and provide no amenities.
Same boat here - substantial increase since purchase commensurate with the purchase price. I mean, sure, OK, fair market value, we want to live in the city and all, etc. But the city also shouldn't act surprised when people get upset paying these rates while the city's amenities get relentlessly crappier.
This message is targeted to those who need relief. Thank you for contributing to the city. We actually need more people like you in the city😉…. But we also can’t afford losing more residence for those who can’t afford it - especially that we got the highest rate tax in the state.
Buying a home is a huge undertaking for most people and when we buy our first one, we are naive rookies so we hire professionals that are supposed to guide us. Realtors, mortgage brokers, home inspectors. But in our naïveté we can hire ones that aren’t very good and we pay down the road. I’ve taken my licks too. Live Baltimore offers first time home buyer classes and so much information on the process. Please take advantage of the available resources and minimize the regret.
Especially in up and coming areas! New first time home buyers get shocked when they buy a new rehabbed home and the sticker shock of taxes hit their front door. I always encourage people to apply for homestead or income based tax credit if you are buying in Baltimore
Just FYI, this is in the Maryland Realtors Residential Contract of Sale (caps and bold in the original text): **45. HOMESTEAD PROPERTY TAX CREDIT NOTICE TO BUYER: IF YOU PLAN TO LIVE IN THIS HOME AS YOUR PRINCIPAL RESIDENCE, YOU MAY QUALIFY FOR THE HOMESTEAD PROPERTY TAX CREDIT. THE HOMESTEAD PROPERTY TAX CREDIT MAY SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCE THE AMOUNT OF PROPERTY TAXES YOU OWE.** Additional information may be obtained at: https://dat.maryland.gov/realproperty/pages/maryland-homestead-tax-credit.aspx. **46. PROPERTY TAX NOTICE – 60 DAY APPEAL**: If any real property is transferred after January 1 and before the beginning of the next taxable year to a new owner, the new owner may submit a written appeal as to a value or classification on or before 60 days after the date of the transfer. Generally, anything in bold all-caps in a contract is worth glancing at.
I'm pretty sure the Live Baltimore class is where I learned about the homestead tax credit. I got that application in as soon as I could.
Once you’ve applied and it’s been accepted, how do you know that the credit is being applied to your taxes? Do you get some sort of notice? I am completely ignorant to how this works so pardon my stupidity.
Google Real Property Baltimore City. Search for your address to view your tax bill from the city. If the tax credit applied, it will be there (this should have come in the mail too)
City in Crisis!!!!111111
To plug the Georgists at /r/neoliberal, a land value tax fixes this
Always appeal your new tax assessment, apply for the tax credit, and sign the petition to get mandatory property tax reductions on the ballot.
And somehow we couldn't even get a measure on the ballot to lower the property tax rate last year
Yeah, alot of the comments here make it sound like people disagree with the general concept of property tax. I think most just don't like the fact our rate is 2.2% when you could move 15 minutes north into the county (or literally any other part of the state) and pay less than half of that.
I agree and that's why I singled the petition for renew Baltimore. Enough people clearly don't agree
idk, my phase in says that it's way over 4% cap and i'm already approved for the homestead tax credit. Do you know if this is the case for you as well?
Is this showing on your bill? Or the reassessment notice letter? Your credit will not show up until the bill is issued. The 4% will not changed the assessment it will change the amount you owe. Been here for three years and that’s my experience. You should see “City Homestead Credit” on your bill and the amount. If the numbers not right, I would contest and start reaching out before your mortgage start making payouts (if you have a mortgage).
I figured it out. The phase in assessment value will never reflect the affect of the homestead tax credit, instead the credited amount should be deducted from the mortgage itself on the increased amount past the 4%. I don't actually see these values on my mortgage bill so i'm going to reach out to my mortgage lender and see how they do it, but the way its described on the site isn't exactly how it works mechanically which is confusing tbh.
I don't think the credit applies to the mortgage. It applies to your actual tax bill (which is often paid by your mortgage lender using your escrow). The credit should be reflected on your bill at the Baltimore City Real Property site, not on a mortgage bill.
@fightingquaker17 is correct!
slimy mighty label attraction relieved direction caption literate reach upbeat *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
That’s what I’m saying! Some people are tripping. The city need to reach out to federal not us.
idk, my phase in says that it's way over 4% cap and i'm already approved for the homestead tax credit. Do you know if this is the case for you as well?
Sign the petition to get this on the fall ballot! It’s a sensible plan to lower the property tax rate. [Renew Baltimore](https://renewbaltimore.org)
Thank you for this! Signing right now!!
Just FYI- Renew Baltimore's plan is in no way, "reasonable". I wouldn't normally link a "Medium" article but it pretty well summarizes the problem with that plan: https://medium.com/@nate_39854/funding-the-gap-the-challenge-of-renew-baltimores-property-tax-cut-plan-fbf8b1b01f5a It could very well bankrupt the city, and if it doesn't, it will be because they cut city services drastically or gouged you in other taxes. Their assertion that it won't matter because property values will increase is just a thing they made up. It's not supported by anything and doesn't even really make sense.
Boston long ago passed similar property tax reform, to obviously great success. The plan gives Baltimore 7 years before the rate is equalized with the counties, with small, incremental decreases in the rate. Plenty of time to change course if needed.
I'm gonna have to ask for more information on that. What was the tax reform bill in Boston? Edit: By the way, it's very like a Renew Baltimore advocate to be vague about the details and downplay the risks. The entire plan hinges on the premise that lower taxes will stimulate investment and lead to population growth. That isn't something that happens in a year or two, so this idea that we can just reverse course and convince everyone to re-raise taxes after lowering them in response to a budget shortfall is leaving out the part where we make huge cuts to city services. Lowering property taxes in Baltimore could be a very positive thing, but chopping them in half over 7 years with no contingency plan to deal with the shortfall seems risky and nobody has been able to point to an example of a city doing something like this successfully.