Property Tax Updates Due to COVID-19 for All 50 States

Stimulus checks have been sent by the federal government, and extensions on income tax filings have been granted. But what about your real estate taxes?

If you live in one of 16 states, you may be eligible for real estate tax deferral or relief.  Real estate taxes can be confusing, so we’ve included a table below covering every state along with a link to the real estate tax data and/or COVID-19 programs.

Sixteen states (or some of their municipalities) offer at least one type of COVID-19-related real property tax break:

1. Deadline extension to pay the real estate tax itself
2. The waiving of interest, fees and penalties for late payments up to a certain date

The states are Alaska, California, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, Mississippi, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Washington, West Virginia and Wisconsin.

Table of Contents

• Explaining the Chart
• Who Qualifies for Payment Extensions and Penalty Waivers?
• Why No Breaks in Many States?
• What to Do If You Cannot Pay
• Notable States
• Special Relief Program Deadline Extensions
• Why Deadline Extensions for Special Relief Programs?
• $1,320 – The Amount of Potential Savings in Idaho

For more information on how to read the chart below, go to the section “Explaining the Chart.”

Explaining the Chart

• Each state, tax break or not, has at least one included URL to useful information.
• States that don’t have either type of tax break may still offer filing extensions for relief, refund and homestead programs. More on this after the table.
• The chart explains whether the tax break is a deferral or tax relief. Deferral means the payment deadline has been extended. Tax relief means that the interest and penalties for late filings have been waived or suspended.

The situation isn’t clear-cut in states such as Illinois and Washington where each municipality decides how to address real estate taxes. Some tips on reading the table:

• State: Name of state
• COVID-19 Tax Relief for Housing/Real Estate? The answer here is usually “No” or “Varies.” The chart does not consider other types of property such as vehicles. It’s also COVID-19-specific, so regular programs such as homestead exemptions and tax reduction for senior citizens aren’t included. These programs may have filing extensions, though. Check with your locality.
• Regular Deadline to Pay Real Estate Taxes: This column lays out each state’s normal deadline for tax payments. One or two dates are given for many states, but municipalities in these states may offer installment programs to ensure the tax is fully paid on time.
• Tax Deferral? New Date to Pay? Any information in this column briefly explains the tax deferral and the new deadline to pay. An answer of “n/a” means this column doesn’t apply to the state in question.
• Tax Relief? New Date to Pay? Any information in this column briefly explains the type of tax relief and when it expires. An answer of “n/a” means this column doesn’t apply to the state in question.

Let’s look at Connecticut as an example since it offers both types of tax breaks.

• State: Connecticut
• COVID-19 Tax Relief for Housing/Real Estate? Yes (managed by the municipality) “Yes” means that every municipality in the state offers some type of break.
• Regular Deadline to Pay Real Estate Taxes: Varies This type of answer means that payment deadlines vary depending on where you live in the state. Installment payments may be common.
• Tax Deferral? New Date to Pay? 90 days after original due date for municipalities opting into the deferral program; Hartford is one of the municipalities limiting deferral to people with 20% or more decreases in income due to COVID-19. Some municipalities opted for blanket deferrals.
• Tax Relief? New Date to Pay? July 1 extension, Low-interest rate program for delinquent real estate taxes applies to amounts due before July 1 but only if the entire delinquency is paid by July 1. The state mandated that its municipalities choose one or both programs: a deferral program and a low-interest rate program on delinquencies. Municipalities choosing the deferment program could set eligibility criteria. Hartford chose at least a 20% household income reduction due to COVID-19. Many state municipalities such as Ellington, Fairfield and Glastonbury chose blanket deferrals. Ridgefield and Groton are among the localities that chose both the deferral and low-interest rate programs.

Who Qualifies for Payment Extensions and Penalty Waivers?

You must pay your real property taxes directly to qualify for payment extensions and penalty waivers—regardless of the state.

• You do not qualify if you pay into an escrow account along with your monthly mortgage payment (about 44% of homeowners). If this fits you and you need help, contact your lender or mortgage servicer as soon as possible.
• You qualify if your mortgage is paid off and you pay taxes directly.
• You qualify if you have a mortgage and opted not to keep real property taxes in an escrow account.
• Many folks qualifying are 65 and older. They’re more likely to have their homes paid off.

Why No Breaks in Many States?

• Real estate taxes help fund essential public services such as schools, trash pickup, water, sewer lines and emergency services. No real estate taxes may mean severely slashed services.
• Some states already allow for monthly payment plans or collect real property taxes three or four times a year. The payment coming up should not be as big a burden for homeowners in these states than if they paid once or twice a year.
• Many states or localities do not charge high interest rates or high fees/penalties for late filings until a few months have passed, if that. For them, extending deadlines or waiving penalties may not be worth the extra administrative overhead when the average delinquent homeowner in the state pays only, say, $30 extra for filing late.
• In some states, payment deadlines cannot be extended without an executive order from the governor or from an act of the legislature. The legislatures in many states are in recess, and governors face many considerations when weighing executive orders.

What to Do If You Cannot Pay

Get in touch with the assessor’s office in your locality as soon as possible to apply for any new COVID-19 programs. Do that even if your state apparently isn’t giving any real property tax breaks. Things change every day. At a minimum, you’ll be able to find out the interest rate and any fees/penalties for late payments.

Localities encourage taxpayers who have the money for partial payments to go ahead and pay what they can. It reduces how much they owe later in penalties and helps keep the locality funding essential services.

• In some places, you can file late and still be covered by a grace period. You might not be delinquent for a month or two.
• Payment plans are possible in some localities.
• Many localities have existing programs (before COVID-19) to make it more affordable to pay real property taxes.

Notable States

California: Each county manages property tax collection, and taxpayer advocate groups asked Governor Gavin Newsom to do a blanket 90-day extension of property taxes due. That extension did not happen, so the counties are still handling tax collection. Los Angeles County, where 25% of Californians live, allows taxpayers to request penalty waivers for late payments due to COVID-19. Other counties offering waivers include Riverside and San Bernardino.

Connecticut: The state mandated that its municipalities choose one or both programs: a deferral program and a low-interest rate program on delinquencies. Municipalities choosing the deferment program could set eligibility criteria. Hartford chose at least a 20% household income reduction due to COVID-19. Many state municipalities such as Ellington, Fairfield and Glastonbury chose blanket deferrals. Ridgefield and Groton are among the localities that chose both the deferral and low-interest rate program.

Florida: The state set an April 15 extension to pay taxes due March 31. That deadline has passed already, and any late charges apply. Similarly, West Virginia extended deadlines to May 1, which has already passed.

Illinois, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Washington: More states where real property tax breaks hinge on where exactly you live. Take Illinois. Sangamon County taxes normally due June 12 can be paid through September 12. Kane, DuPage and McHenry counties opted for no late fees for a certain amount of time, but the eligibility criteria varies. In Wisconsin, the Milwaukee city treasurer’s office noted that it already offers a 10-month interest-free payment plan. In Ohio, only these counties offer real property tax breaks: Belmont, Cuyahoga, Delaware, Franklin, Geauga, Montgomery, Monroe, Paulding and Washington.

Special Relief Program Deadline Extensions

States such as Idaho don’t offer COVID-19 real property tax breaks, but they do offer deadline extensions to file for programs such as property tax reduction and homestead exemptions. So do counties in states not offering tax breaks (for example, Fairfax County in Virginia).

Why Deadline Extensions for Special Relief Programs?

These types of programs mostly focus on lower-income senior citizens, widow(er)s, parentless children under 18 years old, people who are blind and some people (including veterans) with disabilities, among others. Idaho spells out its eligibility here for its Circuit Breaker program. The filer’s income for 2019 must have been less than $31,280.

Many people filing for homestead, tax break or tax reduction programs get help in person from the assessor’s office and must submit a number of forms.

• Closed offices are one reason for the extension—no in-person help available.
• Another is the fact that federal and state income tax deadlines have been postponed. Many programs require the filer’s most recent income tax return (or some other proof of income).

$1,320 – The Amount of Potential Savings in Idaho

Through Idaho’s Circuit Breaker, which got a COVID-19-specific filing extension, taxpayers can get their bills lowered by as much as $1,320. The potential savings for someone who would otherwise have missed a filing deadline could equal $1,320.