CITY OF DETROIT: City Urges Eligible Detroiters To Apply For Homeowner Property Tax Exemption Program by Dec. 9

By Press release submission

Dec 8, 2019

City of Detroit issued the following announcement.

City urges eligible Detroiters to apply for Homeowner Property Tax exemption program by Dec. 9 deadline

Eligible homeowners can receive 50% or full exemption from paying property taxes
Workshops still available today through Monday at locations across City

The city of Detroit is encouraging residents who may be eligible for a poverty tax exemption (PTE) to apply before this year’s deadline, which is Monday, December 9.

Depending on the household income, a homeowner can receive either a 50% or 100% exemption on their property taxes for each year they are eligible and apply. The December 9 deadline applies to the current year property taxes only. Residents must reapply annually to main eligibility.

Having PTE also is a requirement under the proposed “Pay as You Stay” program city and county officials announced recently and is making its way through the State Legislature. If approved by the Legislature and the Governor, the program would eliminate all penalties and interest on back taxes for income-eligible residents and significantly reduce their monthly payment to get current on their tax bills.

“Making sure eligible homeowners are aware of and apply for a PTE is key to our strategy to ensure Detroiters struggling with their property tax bill can stay in their homes,” said Chief Financial Officer Dave Massaron. “Having a PTE also will help these individuals be eligible for the proposed Pay As You Stay program.”

Officials expect to approve the largest number ever of PTEs this year – well over 6,000 – however thousands more are likely eligible. Over the past two years, the City has increased its efforts to notify eligible residents of the PTE. In 2014, for example, the city approved 3,800 PTEs and the numbers have increased annually since then.

PTEs are granted only for the current tax year and can provide either a 50% or a 100% exemption from paying 2019 property taxes based on the following guidelines:

No. In Household Max Income

100% Exemption Max Income

50% Exemption12345678

	$16,753		$19,303
	$20,246		$22,754
	$22,442		$25,034
	$26,104		$28,671
	$29,420		$32,068
	$33,740		$36,439
	$38,060		$40,724
	$42,380		$44,923

How to Apply for a Poverty Tax Exemption: The deadline for applying a PTE is 4:30 p.m. EST on Monday, December 9. Applications are available online at https://detroitmi.gov (search for “HPTAP”).

Applications also may be requested to be sent by mail by call 313-224-3035 or by sending an email to assessorspecialprocessing@detroitmi.gov.

Workshops to help residents with their PTE application are still being held at the following dates, times and locations:

Thursday,December 5th		Central Detroit Christian 10 am - 2 pm , 1550 Taylor St., 313-873-0064 Focus: Hope 11 am - 3pm, 1400 Oakman Blvd., 313-494-4802
Friday, December 6th		Southwest Economic Solutions 10am - 12pm, 2826 Bagley St.,313-297-0074
Saturday, December 7th		Detroit Association of Women's Club 10am - 12pm, 5461 Brush St., 313-873-1727
Monday,December 9th		Eastside Community Network 2pm - 6pm , 4401 Conner,313-331-3273 Black Caucus Foundation 9am - 12pm, 2470 Collingwood St.,313-285-9234 UCHC 9am -12pm, 2727 Second Ave. Suite 313, 313-963-3310

PTE is part of an overall effort to keep Detroiters in their homes

Working closely with the Wayne County Treasurer, United Community Housing Coalition, the Quicken Loans Community Fund and others, the city has helped to significantly reduce tax foreclosures of occupied homes by more than 90% in the past five years. This has been a multi-layered approach:

Led the effort in 2014 to pass HB 4882 to allow delinquent taxpayers to enter into payment plans and avoid foreclosure. 15,000 homeowners signed up in the first year alone.
Completed the first citywide residential property reassessment since the 1950s to ensure home assessments are fair and reflect market values. The vast majority of Detroit homeowners saw their property assessments - and property tax bills - drop as a result.
Launched the Make It Home/Right Of Refusal program with the United Community Housing Coalition and Quicken Loans, which allows tenants in non-owner occupied properties to buy back homes at risk of foreclosure for $1,000. Since 2017, 1,142 properties have been removed from the foreclosure auction through this program.
Supported Neighbor to Neighbor door-to-door canvassing to every household in Detroit at risk of foreclosure.
Expanded efforts to get eligible Detroiters to apply for the Homeowners Property Tax Assistance Program to receive a poverty tax exemption (PTE), which would eliminate or cut in half their property tax bill.

Understanding that the payment plans through the County treasurer’s office were difficult for many to afford, the city and others recently proposed the Pay As You Stay program, which is currently being considered in Lansing. “Pay as You Stay” is a simple, three-part plan:

Once you enroll, all interest, penalties and fees would be eliminated.
To reduce an undue burden on homeowners, the balance due would be limited to back taxes only or 10% of a home’s taxable value – whichever is less.
The remaining balance would be paid back over three years at zero percent interest.