Property tax help for seniors

If you are an older homeowner, you may qualify for more than the basic homestead exemption. Most states have at least one break that starts at a set age: an extra exemption, a freeze on your home’s value or tax, a way to put off paying, or a credit or refund. Many people who qualify never apply. This guide explains the main kinds, using the rules in our 51 state guides.

The kinds of senior breaks

• Extra exemptions take more value off your home on top of the homestead exemption.
• Freezes hold your home’s taxable value, or your tax, at the level of the year you qualify. Your bill can still change if tax rates change.
• Deferrals let you put off paying some or all of the tax. The tax is not forgiven: it is usually repaid, often with interest, when the home is sold or after you die.
• Credits and refunds give back part of the tax, often based on income, sometimes through the state income tax return.

Examples from our state guides:

• Texas: Age 65 or Older or Disabled Residence Homestead Exemption. An extra $60,000 off your home's value for school district taxes (so $200,000 in all with the general exemption).
• Alaska: Senior Citizen Exemption. The first $150,000 of your home's assessed value is exempt from borough and city property tax.
• Ohio: Homestead Exemption for Senior Citizens, Disabled Persons and Surviving Spouses. Your home is taxed as if it were worth $29,000 less (tax year 2026 amount).

The age

The most common starting age in our state guides is 65, in 42 states. Some breaks start at another age: 55 in California and Kansas; 60 in Washington; 61 in Washington; 62 in California, Georgia, Michigan and Missouri; 67 in Utah; 70 in Massachusetts and South Dakota; 75 in Utah. Read the exact rule: many say you must reach the age by a certain date, such as January 1 or December 31 of the year, and some also cover people with disabilities at any age.

Income limits

Many senior breaks have an income limit, and they count income in different ways: some use household income from all sources including Social Security, others use adjusted gross income or taxable income. Limits often change every year. Some examples:

• Alabama (Total Exemption for Seniors with Low Taxable Income (H-3, Act 48)): Net taxable income of $12,000 or less for you and your spouse, from line 15 of the 2025 federal Form 1040 or 1040-SR. If you do not file a federal return, sign an affidavit that your net taxable income was $12,000 or less.
• Arizona (Senior Property Valuation Protection Option ('Senior Freeze')): 2026 (Maricopa County): 3-year average income from all sources of $47,712 or less for one owner, or $59,640 or less for two or more owners.
• California (Property Tax Postponement Program (State Controller)): Reported as $57,002 or less total household income for the 2026-27 filing period (Inyo County Treasurer release, Aug. 2026).

Some senior breaks have no income limit at all, for example in Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, California and Colorado.

Freezes

States in our guides with a senior freeze on value or tax: Arizona, Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee and Texas. Your state page says when a freeze ends, for example when you sell the home.

Deferrals and credits

Deferrals in our guides: California: Lets you put off paying the current year's property taxes on your home. Colorado: Lets you put off paying the property taxes on your home.

States with a low-income credit or refund in our guides: Connecticut, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Iowa, Kansas and Maine.

A deferral can help if your income is low but your home has gone up in value. Before you sign, ask how interest is charged and what your heirs would owe.

Surviving spouses

Some senior breaks can pass to a surviving spouse who is younger than the starting age. In Alaska: A widow or widower of someone who got this exemption qualifies at age 60. If your spouse had a senior break, ask the office whether you can keep it.

In our research, Nevada and Vermont have no statewide senior break, though other breaks may help.

How to apply

1. Open your state’s page and read the cards marked Seniors and Senior freeze, and any low-income break.
2. Run the eligibility finder with your age and household income. It shows what may fit and why.
3. Gather proof of age (a driver’s license, state ID or birth certificate) and, for income-based breaks, last year’s tax return or benefit statements, as your state’s rule asks.
4. File by the deadline. Income-based breaks often need a new application every year; one-time breaks may still ask you to report changes.

Compare all states in the senior property tax exemptions by state table.