Item 9 - Mailing Address if Different from Above

The purpose of this item on the application form is to assist local offices in determining if an applicant is seeking a credit on a property which is not his or her principal residence.Again, the tax credit law states that a person may receive a credit only for the one dwelling which is the principal residence.

If a different mailing address is filled in by the applicant here, then the local Tax Credit employee must send out form letter (HTC-6) asking the applicant to respond in the space provided as to the reason. The form letter will provide the applicant with the opportunity to explain legitimate reasons for the different address such as instances where the tax bill is being sent to the person's business office or a mortgage institution.

In the counties where summer residences are located, the local tax credit employee should rely on the address on the attached income tax return or the person's driver's license for applicants who visit the Assessment Office.

In any case where a doubt remains after receiving the applicant's response on the form letter, the local tax credit employee should contact his or her central office coordinator for a final determination as whether to process the application or send a denial letter for this reason thereby allowing the applicant to prove the matter before the local Property Tax Assessment Appeals Board if he or she chooses to appeal.

There are several situations in which a Tax Credit applicant can be absent from the home on July 1 and still be legally entitled to a Tax Credit.

The instances in which persons are constructively eligible for the credit although actually absent from the home involve the following conditions:

1. A homeowner, who is otherwise qualified on the basis of income, may receive the credit if he or she does not actually reside in the dwelling for the 6-month minimum residency requirement because of his or her illness or need of special care.
2. The homeowner may receive the credit even if such illness or care results in his or her institutionalization in a private or public nursing home or medical facility.
3. The only restriction on the absence from the home provision is that the dwelling may not be rented to a non-related individual for a period exceeding one year. This restriction does not apply where the dwelling is rented to a member or members of the immediate family, and under such circumstances, the home may be rented to family members indefinitely and still be eligible for a credit each year.

See Section 9-104(j)

The basic purpose of these provisions is to allow any homeowner at least one year in which to get his medical or other special problems straightened out and then return to his own home. During his absence, the homeowner may even rent the dwelling to non-related persons for a period of up to one year.

When a homeowner is unable to return to the home after one year, then he or she is still eligible to receive a credit for subsequent years if the dwelling is rented to members of the immediate family or if the dwelling simply remains vacant. The presumption here is that immediate family members are serving merely as caretakers and there is an active intent on the part of the owner to some day eventually return to the home. Nevertheless, the family member must be paying a reasonable rental amount to the applicant for use of the dwelling and homesite. Given the limited number of such cases, the Tax Credit employee should check with the local Supervisor of Assessments for a "comparable" rental amount for a similar property in that county when the family member fails to provide a reasonable rental amount. In cases where the relative residing in the home makes a payment directly to a nursing home on the applicant's behalf instead of paying actual rent for use of the property, then the amount of the payment shall be treated as the rental amount.