Some counties help older Ohioans pay their property taxes, including up to $10,000
Several counties have decided to help older Ohioans who are struggling to pay property taxes, the bane of many people living in the Buckeye State.
Cuyahoga County, for example, lowered the age requirement to help those who are behind on their property taxes.
According to Signal Cleveland, people aged 67 or older can now qualify for up to $10,000 in assistance in 2026. The news source said that the money can be used to help pay current taxes, late or delinquent taxes, foreclosure fees and tax lien certificates.
In addition to being at least 67 years old on Jan. 1, 2025, the Tax Assistance Program requires a person to own a house in the county, have an active certified tax delinquency and a household income under $70,000, which does not include Social Security benefits.
A certified tax delinquency is a tax bill that hasn’t been paid for a full tax collection cycle. Taxpayers in that status should have received multiple bills notifying them of their delinquency.
The news source reported that the funds can be used to pay certified delinquent, late or current property taxes; costs related to a pre-existing foreclosure; and pre-existing tax lien certificates. Those who get into the program and are more than $10,000 behind must agree to pay the balance under a delinquent tax payment contract, which can run up to 60 months.
They would also be required to attend housing counseling and use EasyPay — an installment payment program — to pay future taxes. Those who previously applied for the program will not be eligible to reapply.
There is no deadline for the program, but only those who qualify and apply first will receive the money.
According to Signal Cleveland, the Taxpayer Assistance Program has awarded $1 million in aid to 150 seniors in 2025, and the reduced age requirement could make an additional 1,700 people eligible.
Other Ohio counties also helped struggling Ohioans by adopting an expanded homestead exemption and an expanded owner-occupancy credit, Cleveland.com reported.
Among the counties that adopted the expanded homestead exemption were Lake, Lorain, Medina, Knox, Holmes, Miami, Erie, Butler, and Pickaway. Among the counties that adopted the expanded owner-occupancy credit were Lake, Erie, Lorain, and Richland.
Ohioans have been consistently trying to either lower their property taxes or abolish them altogether, as Ohio.News previously reported.
As a result, Ohio lawmakers began introducing and passing reforms to cut property taxes for Ohioans.
