Indiana senior property tax relief starts with the Over-65 Credit, worth up to $150 a year to homeowners 65 or older, and a Circuit Breaker Credit that limits yearly tax increases to 2 percent. The Over-65 Credit's income limit is adjusted gross income of $60,000 or less on a single return or $70,000 or less on a joint return, as the state's application form sets it. A 2025 law converted the old Over-65 Deduction to the first credit and raised the Over-65 Circuit Breaker Credit's income thresholds, and a 2026 law added a residency requirement to the Over-65 Credit. File with your county auditor by January 15 of the year the taxes are first due and payable.

In This Guide

Indiana Senior Property Tax Relief at a Glance

Program What it does Who qualifies How to claim
Over-65 Credit $150 a year off your tax bill, reduced if a co-owner is under 65, unless you own it only with your spouse Age 65+ by December 31 of the prior year, or a surviving spouse 60+, not remarried, whose spouse was 65+ at death; reside on the property (an absence in a nursing home or hospital is not a ground for denial); owner or contract buyer for at least one year; AGI $60,000 single return / $70,000 joint return State Form 43708 to the county auditor by January 15 of the year the taxes are first due
Over-65 Circuit Breaker Credit Limits the year-over-year tax increase to 2%, as county auditors describe it Age 65+ by December 31 of the prior year; homestead standard deduction last year and this year; separate COLA-adjusted income test: AGI $61,680 single / $71,960 married for 2026 pay-2027 Same form, same January 15 deadline
Homestead Standard Deduction Removes $48,000 of assessed value from the tax calculation for the 2025 assessment date (2025 pay-2026) and $40,000 for the 2026 assessment date (2026 pay-2027); phases down to $0 by the 2030 assessment date Not senior-specific; ask your county auditor about homestead eligibility File with county auditor
Supplemental Homestead Credit One-tenth of your tax liability, up to $300 a year, per the Hamilton County Auditor Homeowners who have applied and qualified for the Standard Deduction Applied automatically, per Hamilton County; confirm with your auditor

Who Qualifies for the Over-65 Credit

State Form 43708, the state's application, sets the credit at $150. If you own or are buying the home with joint tenants or tenants in common and not all of them are at least 65, the credit is reduced by the fraction of owners who are under 65. That reduction does not apply when the home is owned only by you and your spouse. The Hamilton County Auditor describes the credit as worth up to $150 annually, and the Marion County Auditor as a $150.00 credit on the tax bill.

Where these rules come from. The Indiana Department of Local Government Finance calls this the Over 65 Credit, and the Marion County Auditor's page calls it the over 65 or surviving spouse credit. The amount above and the conditions below are the ones on the Department's application, State Form 43708 (Application for Senior Citizen Property Tax Benefits), which covers this credit and the Circuit Breaker Credit. Where a county auditor's page words a condition differently, that is noted.

The conditions:

  1. Age. At least 65 on or before December 31 of the year before the year in which you claim the credit. The Hamilton County page words it the same way; Marion County's page says 65 or older by the end of the year in which you are applying.
  2. A surviving-spouse route. The form lets a surviving spouse who has not remarried apply instead at 60 or older on or before that December 31, provided the spouse who died was at least 65 at the time of death and the survivor meets the other conditions. Marion County's page states the same route.
  3. Ownership. You must have been the owner or contract buyer for at least one year before you claim the credit, and still own or be buying the home on the date you claim it. A contract must be recorded and must make you responsible for the property taxes.
  4. Residency, new for 2026. The person claiming the credit must reside on the real property, mobile home, or manufactured home that will receive the credit. The Department reports that HEA 1210 added this requirement, retroactively effective January 1, 2026, and that an individual may not be denied the credit because he or she is absent from that home while in a nursing home or hospital.
  5. Income. Adjusted gross income may not exceed $60,000 on a single return, $70,000 on a joint return, or $70,000 for you and everyone who shares ownership as joint tenants or tenants in common. It is measured for the calendar year two years before the taxes are first due: the form's example is that to receive the credit for Pay 26, your 2024 AGI had to be below the limit. Marion County's page words the income year as the prior year, and counts the income of your spouse and of everyone else who owns or is buying the home under a recorded contract with you.

If you are widowed and under 65. Under the form's terms, a 61-year-old unremarried widow whose husband was 65 when he died would not have to wait until she is 65, provided she meets the other conditions.

If the owner is in a nursing home. A parent who owns the home and is staying in a nursing home cannot be denied the credit because of that absence. The protection as the Department states it names a nursing home or hospital. If your parent has moved anywhere else, ask the county auditor how the residency requirement applies.

If you bought recently or share ownership. The form requires at least one year as owner or contract buyer. If you share ownership with someone under 65, expect the reduced credit described above, unless you own the home only with your spouse.

If the home is in a trust or a company. The Department reports that HEA 1210, retroactively effective January 1, 2026, entitles a trust to the Over-65 Credit for a home it owns and an individual occupies, if the county auditor determines that the individual has a beneficial interest in the trust, or the right to live there rent free under a qualified personal residence trust the individual created, and otherwise qualifies. The Marion County Auditor's page says property owned by an LLC, partnership or corporation is not eligible. That is Marion County's wording, so ask your own auditor, and an estate attorney, before you retitle the home.

The $60,000 and $70,000 limits above are the Over-65 Credit's own income test. They are not the same as the income limits on the Over-65 Circuit Breaker Credit described below, which are adjusted every year by the Social Security cost-of-living adjustment. Each credit is tested on its own terms, so apply for both by name.

A $150 credit may not sound large against a full tax bill, but it comes off the tax bill itself, and it is separate from the Circuit Breaker Credit. It reaches you only if you file for it. State Form 43708 must be filed with the county auditor, or postmarked, by January 15 of the calendar year in which the property taxes are first due and payable.

How the Over-65 Circuit Breaker Credit Limits Tax Increases

For a homeowner on a fixed income, a sudden jump in assessed value can feel like a threat to staying in the home. This credit does something different: it puts a ceiling on how much your property tax bill can rise in a given year.

The two county auditors describe its effect as a 2 percent limit. The Hamilton County Auditor says the credit prevents property tax liability on qualified homestead property from increasing by more than 2 percent over the previous year's tax liability, and the Marion County Auditor says your taxes will increase no more than 2 percent each year. On the state form, the credit equals your tax liability minus the previous year's liability multiplied by 1.02. So if assessed values jump, this credit is what holds the increase to that limit.

The Over-65 Circuit Breaker Credit is a separate program with a separate income test. The Department's April 2026 memo states that the Circuit Breaker Credit's income thresholds are adjusted every year by the Social Security cost-of-living adjustment under Ind. Code 6-1.1-20.6-8.5. To qualify, you must be at least 65 on or before December 31 of the year before you claim it. You must also have qualified for the homestead standard deduction in the preceding year (or have been married at death to a spouse who did) and qualify for it on the same home this year. Income is measured two years back: the Hamilton County Auditor's example is that someone applying in 2026 for taxes due in 2027 must apply by January 15, 2027 and show 2025 AGI within the limit. The $60,000 (single) and $70,000 (married) base applied to 2025 pay-2026 bills; for 2026 pay-2027 bills the Indiana Department of Local Government Finance instructs county officials to use $61,680 for single individuals and $71,960 for married couples.

The practical effect: a senior who is house-rich but cash-poor is protected from a tax shock in a hot real estate market. On the county auditors' description, the tax on a qualified homestead rises no more than 2 percent over the previous year.

Indiana Homestead Deduction and Other Breaks to Ask About

Three more breaks are worth checking in the same call to the auditor.

Homestead Standard Deduction. For all homeowners, the deduction is $48,000 for the 2025 assessment date (2025 pay-2026 tax bills) and $40,000 for the 2026 assessment date (2026 pay-2027 tax bills), amounts a 2026 Indiana Department of Local Government Finance memo lists under Ind. Code 6-1.1-12-37(c). Under the same list it falls to $30,000 for the 2027 assessment date, $20,000 for 2028, $10,000 for 2029 and $0 for 2030 and every year after, so match the figure to the bill you are looking at. Confirm the amount applied to your own bill with your county auditor.

Supplemental Homestead Credit. The Hamilton County Auditor's page states that a person who has applied and qualified for a Standard Homestead Deduction will also see a Supplemental Homestead Credit, valued at one-tenth of their tax liability up to $300 a year and applied automatically to qualifying parcels. On that description, the application that matters is the one for the deduction. If the deduction is already in place from a prior year, ask your auditor to confirm the supplemental credit is showing on your bill too.

Disabled veteran deductions and credits. Indiana has separate property tax relief for disabled veterans, a state benefit administered through county auditors and claimed on the veteran's homestead. Our guide to the Indiana disabled veteran property tax exemption covers who qualifies. Ask the auditor how a veteran benefit and the senior credits apply together before you file for both.

What Changed in 2025

Indiana's General Assembly passed Senate Enrolled Act 1 in 2025 and rewrote how the state protects senior homeowners from rising property taxes.

Before the Act, Indiana offered an Over-65 Deduction. The Hamilton County Auditor's page states that Senate Enrolled Act 1-2025 discontinued that deduction and converted it to a credit, which the Indiana Department of Local Government Finance calls the Over 65 Credit. The Act also changed a second, separate credit that already existed. The Department's April 2026 memo states that it increased the base income thresholds of the Over-65 Circuit Breaker Credit, from $30,000 and $40,000 to $60,000 (single) and $70,000 (married) as of pay-2026.

The rules moved again in 2026. The Department reports that HEA 1210, retroactively effective January 1, 2026, added a residency requirement to the Over-65 Credit, covered above.

The shift from a deduction to a credit matters in practice. A deduction reduces the assessed value your tax is figured on. A credit reduces the actual tax bill dollar-for-dollar.

The Indiana Department of Local Government Finance deductions and credits page is the state's hub for these credits. It says that to obtain a new deduction or credit, a taxpayer must submit an application to the county auditor.

How to Apply for Indiana Senior Property Tax Relief

Applications go to your county auditor, not the state. Both senior credits use one state form: State Form 43708, Application for Senior Citizen Property Tax Benefits, which the Department's deductions and credits page links as the Over 65 Credit and Over 65 Circuit Breaker Credit Form.

The deadline is January 15 of the calendar year in which the taxes are first due and payable: the form must be filed or postmarked by then. The Hamilton County Auditor states the same deadline for the Over-65 Credit, and the Marion County Auditor for any deduction or credit application. To have a credit applied to your 2026 pay-2027 bill, that means filing with the county auditor by January 15, 2027. Confirm the date with your own auditor.

1
Step 1

Find your county auditor's office

Search your county name plus "auditor Indiana" for contact information and office hours, or start from the Indiana Department of Local Government Finance deductions and credits page. Ask how the office takes applications.

2
Step 2

Ask what to bring

The Over-65 Credit's conditions cover age, ownership, residency and adjusted gross income. Ask the office what proof of each it wants with the application.

3
Step 3

Apply for the Over-65 Credit and the Over-65 Circuit Breaker Credit

Ask for both by name on State Form 43708.

4
Step 4

Check the Homestead Standard Deduction

Ask the auditor to confirm it is on file for your home.

Once your application is in effect, the form says no other filing is necessary unless a change in the property or in your situation would affect the credit. Since 2026 the person claiming the Over-65 Credit must reside on the property, though an absence while in a nursing home or hospital is not a ground to deny it.

Managing a parent's finances? Property tax relief is one way to cut the cost of keeping the home. If selling or renting it is on the table, read our guide on selling or renting your home for senior care.

Planning to stay in the home? See how a reverse mortgage for senior care works before you count on home equity to pay for care.

Frequently Asked Questions

What replaced the old Over-65 Deduction in Indiana?

A credit. The Hamilton County Auditor's page states that Senate Enrolled Act 1-2025 discontinued the Over-65 Deduction and converted it to a credit, the Over-65 Credit, worth $150 a year under the state's application form. The same Act raised the base income thresholds of the Over-65 Circuit Breaker Credit, a separate credit that already existed and that county auditors describe as a 2 percent limit on annual tax increases.

Do I need to reapply for the senior credits every year?

No, not while you stay eligible. A new credit takes an application to the county auditor. After that, the Department reports that Ind. Code 6-1.1-51.3-1(h) does not require someone who received the Over-65 Credit and remains eligible the next year to file again, and State Form 43708 says no other filing is necessary unless a change in the property or applicant would affect the credit. If you become ineligible for the Over-65 Credit, you must notify the auditor of the county where the property is located within 60 days. Eligibility turns on conditions that can change, such as your income and, since 2026, whether you still reside on the property. An absence while in a nursing home or hospital is not a ground to deny that credit.

What happens if my income goes above the limit?

The two credits have separate income tests, so it is possible to lose one and keep the other. The Over-65 Credit uses an adjusted gross income limit of $60,000 (single return) or $70,000 (joint return), as the state's application form sets it. The Over-65 Circuit Breaker Credit's limit is adjusted each year by the Social Security cost-of-living adjustment, and for 2026 pay-2027 bills it is $61,680 (single) and $71,960 (married). If you are close to either limit, check with your county auditor before you assume you are out.

Can I get both the Over-65 Credit and the Circuit Breaker Credit?

They are two separate credits, each with its own income test, so apply for both and let the auditor rule on each. One is the $150 credit; the other is the 2 percent limit on annual tax increases.

Does the Homestead Standard Deduction phase out for seniors?

It is not a senior-specific change: the deduction is phasing down for all homeowners. It is $48,000 for the 2025 assessment date (2025 pay-2026 tax bills) and $40,000 for the 2026 assessment date (2026 pay-2027 tax bills), then $30,000, $20,000 and $10,000 for the 2027 to 2029 assessment dates and $0 from 2030. Confirm the amount applied to your own bill with your county auditor.

I turned 65 in December. Do I still qualify?

Yes, though timing matters. The state form requires that you be at least 65 on or before December 31 of the year before the year in which you claim the credit, and the Hamilton County Auditor words it the same way. The Marion County Auditor says 65 or older by the end of the year in which you are applying. Because those wordings differ, confirm with your county auditor which year you can first claim.

Can a surviving spouse claim the credit before turning 65?

Yes, if you meet the form's terms. State Form 43708 lets a surviving spouse who has not remarried apply at 60 or older on or before December 31 of the year before the claim year, provided the spouse who died was at least 65 at the time of death and the survivor otherwise meets the eligibility requirements. The Marion County Auditor, whose page calls the program the over 65 or surviving spouse credit, states the same route.

The other conditions, including the income limit and the residency and ownership rules, still apply. Ask your county auditor about the surviving-spouse route by name, not only about the over-65 credit.

Learn More

FinancialHow to Pay for Senior Care in IndianaHow to pay for senior care in Indiana in 2026: real costs, Medicare's limits, Medicaid PathWays, VA Aid and Attendance, and long-term care insurance. FinancialIndiana Retirement Income TaxNo, Indiana doesn't tax Social Security, and military retirement is fully deductible. See the 2026 state rate and which deductions reach other income. FinancialSenior Property Tax Relief by StateWhich states freeze property taxes for seniors, where low-income seniors can owe none, and how exemptions, credits and deferrals work, plus a guide per state. FinancialHow to Pay for Senior CareHow to pay for senior care: what it costs nationally and how Medicaid, Medicare, VA benefits, and private pay each fit. Who qualifies, what's covered, in 2026. FinancialSelling or Renting Your Home for Senior CareSelling or renting the home to pay for senior care: the capital-gains exclusion, SSI and Medicaid home rules, rent-vs-sell, and the step-up in basis. FinancialReverse Mortgages for Senior CareHow a reverse mortgage (FHA HECM) can pay for senior care, why it fits in-home care and a remaining spouse, and why it rarely works for a nursing home.

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The information on Brevy.com is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional legal, financial, or medical advice. Rules vary by state and program and change frequently. Always verify with the relevant agency or a qualified professional. Brevy is not a law firm, financial advisor, or healthcare provider.

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