BY: MARY STEURER
BISMARCK, N.D. (North Dakota Monitor) – About 138,000 North Dakota households applied for up to $500 off their residential property taxes by the Monday night deadline, Tax Commissioner Brian Kroshus said.
“It was finished with a rush of applications coming in right at the end,” he said.
Lawmakers created the program in 2023 to provide blanket property tax relief for homeowners across the state.
The office doesn’t have solid numbers on how many North Dakotans qualified, but Kroshus previously estimated the figure to be roughly 150,000 households. Most residents who own and occupy homes in North Dakota were eligible to apply.
In the coming months, the Office of State Tax Commissioner will communicate with North Dakota county governments with information about which property owners in their communities applied.
“They’ll each receive their own dataset, if you will,” Kroshus said. “They’ll be assisting in vetting the applications, as well.”
Homeowners who provided an email address with their applications can expect to receive notice this summer that their application was approved.
The agency will also be implementing a “lookup tool” that will allow people to monitor the status of their applications online. It’ll be a few months before that’s ready, though, Kroshus said.
The Office of State Tax Commissioner began accepting applications for the credit in January. Originally, applications were expected to close Feb. 1, but the agency postponed the deadline to Monday to give residents more time to apply.
Approved applicants will receive a discount on their 2024 property tax bills.
The office advertised the program through the mail, as well as media interviews and advertisements, Kroshus said.
The Legislature set aside $100 million for the so-called primary residence credit in North Dakota’s 2023-2025 state budget. Since the credit is funded by the state, it won’t affect local property tax collections.
The program is one of several cuts to income and property taxes adopted by the Legislature during the 2023 session.
The package, estimated at roughly $515 million, also expanded an existing property tax credit for elderly and disabled homeowners. That program, called the homestead credit, was formerly only available to North Dakotans with annual incomes of $42,000 or less. Lawmakers in 2023 raised that ceiling to $70,000.
Other North Dakota tax relief programs include assistance for disabled veterans, low-income renters and owners of farm residences. Visit the Office of State Tax Commissioner’s website for more information.
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