Homestead credit redux
Maryland legislators seem poised to go back to the old way of doling out the homestead property tax credit to homeowners -- automatically rather than by application. They've gotten a lot of complaints about the new law, which is designed to weed out landlords and others getting the credit improperly. (Only owner-occupiers qualify.)
But Tim Wheeler reports today that a significant number of landlords appear to be getting the benefit of the homestead tax break:
A spot check by The Sun of about 90 homes listed online for rent in Baltimore and Howard counties found that 1 in 3 is identified in state records as the owner's principal residence. That means the owners of those rental properties claim to be living there, potentially allowing them to get a Homestead Tax Credit they don't deserve.
State officials say "there's no easy way to check" who's honestly qualifying for the credits, Wheeler reports.
I know some of you folks out there are very interested in this issue. What do you think the state ought to do?
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Comments
Leave sleeping dogs lie.
The property owners insurance company and their potential liability risk is a better tool for rooting out these amateur landlords.
The other aspect is that there are going to be more of them as the housing bubble bursts. Do you want to make your neighbors (hopefully short term) financial straits even worse?
Posted by: MrRational | February 26, 2008 9:22 AM
It's one application, you only do it if it's your assessment cycle, and it's supposed to show up with the other papers, I don't see what the big deal is. If you can't fill out a form, then that's a tax you have to pay.
Is there additional complications I'm missing here?
Posted by: jim | February 26, 2008 4:37 PM