Frequently Asked Questions
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On the Homestead Tax Credit Application
Please cl
ick the link below:
You can find out if you have already filed an application by looking up your property in our Real Property database select your county then enter your address.
You should file another application using one of the methods below.
Because of assessment increases and because of the low assessment caps adopted by the county governments, many homeowners in the State have been receiving substantial homestead credits each year on their property tax bills.
New purchasers of properties will be mailed a homestead application by the Department once the new deed is recorded and our records have been updated.
The reason why the application process was needed is because some property owners were improperly receiving the credit on vacation homes and rented properties. County and municipal governments were losing tax revenues needed to provide important services to their residents.
Legislation enacted by the 2007 session of the General Assembly requires homeowners to submit a one-time application in order to continue their eligibility for the homestead tax credit. The homestead credit limits the amount of assessment increase on which a homeowner will pay property taxes in that tax year on the one property actually used as the owner’s principal residence. See Section 9-105 Tax-Property Article of the Maryland Annotated Code.
If you no longer use your residential property as your one principal legal residence or if you know of someone else no longer residing in his or her property, this information may be reported by sending an e-mail or telephoning your local Assessment Office
The Department has a 30-year history of receiving and absolutely protecting confidential Social Security numbers and income tax return information received from hundreds of thousands of homeowners applying for the Homeowners’ Tax Credit Program based on income. These same protections and additional protections will be provided to protect the confidentiality of Social Security numbers supplied on homestead tax credit applications. For those homeowners who submit applications electronically, the Department’s website is an “encrypted” protected site that uses the unique 8-digit security "Access Number” and scrambles the individual Social Security numbers. For those homeowners who submit a paper application, there is a series of administrative procedures and protections under federal law that the Department follows in accordance with the strict non-disclosure and safeguard activities required of the agency because of our receipt of federal income tax information.
