Michigan Senior Property Tax Relief: Up to $1,900, Renters Too

Michigan senior property tax relief starts with the Homestead Property Tax Credit, a refundable credit of up to $1,900 for tax year 2025 that renters can claim too.1 You claim it on your state income-tax return, on Form MI-1040CR, and Michigan pays it even if you owe no tax.1 Homeowners 62 and older whose total household income was $40,000 or less the year before can also defer the summer tax bill.1 The Principal Residence Exemption and the disabled-veteran exemption lower the bill at the source.

None of these are automatic. You have to claim each one with the right form.

In This Guide

• Key Takeaways
• Do You Qualify for the Homestead Property Tax Credit?
• How Much Is the Credit Worth?
• Who Can Use the Summer Property-Tax Deferment for Seniors?
• Does Your Home Have the Principal Residence Exemption?
• Who Gets the Disabled-Veteran Exemption?
• Four Tools at a Glance
• How to Apply
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Next Steps

Do You Qualify for the Homestead Property Tax Credit?

This is the main one. Michigan's Homestead Property Tax Credit is a refundable credit on your state income-tax return for property taxes that run high relative to your income.1 It is not senior-specific, but at low incomes a senior claimant figures it against a lower share of income.1

You claim it on your state income-tax return, using Form MI-1040CR.1 The credit is refundable. If it is more than the state tax you owe, or you owe none, the balance is paid to you.1 The Michigan Department of Treasury publishes the form and its instructions.

Renters get it too. If you rent your Michigan home, you treat 23 percent of your rent as property tax for purposes of the credit in most cases, or 10 percent if your housing pays a service charge in lieu of property taxes.1 So a senior renting an apartment can claim the same credit as a homeowner, figured off the rent instead of a tax bill. A renter age 65 or older has a second option to weigh: the Alternate Property Tax Credit, which by statute lets a senior citizen claim a credit for the rent that runs above 40 percent of total household resources.1

There are limits. You can't claim the credit if your total household resources are over $71,500, or if your home's taxable value is over $165,400.1 Total household resources means the total income, taxable and nontaxable, of both spouses or of a single person maintaining a household.1 It counts some items the form does not list, such as an inheritance (except one from a spouse) and capital gains on selling your home even if they are exempt from federal income tax. It leaves out others, such as Medicare premiums deducted from Social Security, long-term care policy payments made to a nursing home or other care facility, and the first $300 in cash gifts from relatives or friends.1 The MI-1040CR instructions carry both full lists, so total it with them in hand before you assume you're over or under the line.

At low incomes, a senior claimant's threshold is lower. A general claimant counts only the property tax above 3.2 percent of total household resources. A senior claimant starts at 0 percent for resources of $3,000 or less, then 1, 2 and 3 percent across the next three $1,000 bands, and only reaches 3.2 percent above $6,000.1 Age 65 or older is its own claimant status on the form, and it reaches further than age alone: it includes the unremarried surviving spouse of a person who was 65 or older at death.1

How Much Is the Credit Worth?

The credit isn't a flat amount. It's tied to how much your property tax exceeds a share of your income.

Here's the mechanic. Michigan compares your property tax (or 23 percent of rent) against a percentage of your total household resources.1 The credit covers a portion of the property tax that runs above that threshold. The lower your income relative to your tax, the larger the credit.

The maximum credit for 2025 is $1,900 for most claimants, prorated by days of occupancy when the credit is claimed for a taxpayer who died during the year.1 That's the ceiling no matter how the math comes out.

The credit also phases out as income rises. Once total household resources pass $62,500, the credit is reduced by 10 percent for each $1,000, or part of $1,000, over that mark.1 Above $71,500, there is no credit.1

A second reduction can apply to seniors. A senior claimant who checked only the age-65-or-older box (box 5a) has the computed credit reduced on Table A in the MI-1040CR instructions. The claimant keeps 100 percent of the computed credit at total household resources of $21,000 or less, 96 percent at $21,001 to $22,000, and 4 points less for each $1,000 band after that: 92, 88, 84, 80, 76, 72 and 68 percent, then 64 percent at $29,001 to $30,000. From $30,001 through $71,500 the claimant keeps 60 percent.1

These figures are for tax year 2025: the $1,900 maximum, the $62,500 phase-out, the $71,500 cutoff, and the $165,400 taxable-value cap.1 Check the current-year amounts on your MI-1040CR instructions before you file.

A worked example shows how the pieces fit for a senior claimant.

A renter runs the same steps, starting from rent.

Who Can Use the Summer Property-Tax Deferment for Seniors?

This one is about timing, not amount.

Michigan homeowners age 62 and older can defer their summer property-tax bill on a principal residence through the summer property-tax deferment.1 To qualify, your total household income for the prior tax year must be $40,000 or less.1

Age is not the only door. The $40,000 test applies either way.1 The deferment is also open, with no minimum age, to a taxpayer who is:

• totally and permanently disabled, blind, paraplegic or quadriplegic
• an eligible serviceperson, eligible veteran, or eligible widow or widower

The unremarried surviving spouse of a person who was 62 or older at death counts under the age route.1

By statute, the deferment postpones collection of the summer bill until February 15 of the following year, with no penalty or interest for the deferment period.1 The state's form itself says deferred taxes must be paid on or before February 14 to avoid penalty and interest, so plan to pay by February 14.1

You file an intent to defer on Form 471, Application for Deferment of Summer Taxes, with the treasurer of your city, village, or township, not with the Michigan Department of Treasury.1 The statute gives you until September 15, or until the date the tax would otherwise start collecting interest or a late penalty, whichever is later; the form says to file before September 15 or before the summer taxes are due, whichever is later.1 This is a postponement, so the tax still comes due.

The deferment and the Homestead Property Tax Credit are separate programs with separate tests. One postpones the summer bill. The other is a refundable credit on your state return.1 Check yourself against each.

Does Your Home Have the Principal Residence Exemption?

The first two tools touch your income-tax return and your payment schedule. The next two lower the tax bill itself.

The Principal Residence Exemption, or PRE, exempts the home you own and occupy as your principal residence from up to 18 mills of local school operating tax.1

The PRE is not senior-specific. An owner claims it on the home that is the owner's principal residence.1 A senior who recently bought, moved, or never filed for it may be paying school operating tax they don't owe.

You claim it by filing Form 2368, the Principal Residence Exemption Affidavit.1 If you're not sure whether your home has the PRE, ask your local assessor.

A move into care does not automatically end it, which matters if you are reading this while a parent is entering a facility. An owner who lived in the home as a principal residence and now lives in a nursing home or an assisted living facility keeps the exemption on that home, as long as the owner still owns it, has not established a new principal residence, maintains it or provides for its maintenance, and does not lease it or use it for business.1

Who Gets the Disabled-Veteran Exemption?

There's a separate break for some veterans, and it removes the bill outright.

Under Michigan's Disabled-Veteran Exemption, a disabled veteran pays no property tax on the home the veteran owns and uses as a homestead.1 That's the whole bill, not a partial cut.

You have to be a Michigan resident and meet any one of three tests:

• The VA has found you permanently and totally disabled from military service, with benefits at the 100 percent rate.
• You hold a VA certificate showing you get, or got, money for specially adapted housing because of a disability.
• The VA rates you individually unemployable.1

Title matters here. Legal title has to be in your name alone, or held jointly by you and your spouse.1 If the home is titled another way, such as with an adult child, ask your assessing officer how the ownership rule applies before you count on the exemption.

A surviving spouse can keep it. If the veteran was eligible immediately before death, the surviving spouse keeps the exemption as long as he or she does not remarry, including on a homestead acquired after the veteran's death. Title then has to be in the surviving spouse's name alone.1

You apply with the assessing officer for your local assessing unit, on Form 5107, the State Tax Commission Affidavit for Disabled Veterans Exemption, after January 1 and before December 31 of the year you claim it. An exemption granted for taxes levied on or after January 1, 2025 stays in effect without reapplying until it is rescinded or denied.1

Michigan Senior Property Tax Relief: Four Tools at a Glance

How to Apply for Michigan Senior Property Tax Relief

Each tool has its own form and its own office. The table above names them. Here is what it leaves out.

1. Homestead Property Tax Credit. If you file a Michigan income tax return, include the claim with your MI-1040 and file by April 15, 2026 for it to count as timely. If you are not required to file an MI-1040, you can file the claim as soon as you know your 2025 total household resources and the property taxes levied in 2025. The last day to file for a 2025 credit is April 15, 2030.1 Check the tax year 2025 MI-1040CR instructions before you file.
2. Summer deferment. The deadline is September 15, or the date the tax would start collecting interest or a late penalty, whichever is later.1 The $40,000 test looks at total household income for the prior tax year, not the current one.1
3. Principal Residence Exemption. File Form 2368, the Principal Residence Exemption Affidavit.1 If you're not sure whether your home already has it, ask your local assessor.
4. Disabled-veteran exemption. File Form 5107, the State Tax Commission Affidavit for Disabled Veterans Exemption, with your local assessing officer.1 Bring the VA determination, certificate or rating you are relying on.

Total household resources is the number that controls the credit. Total it with the MI-1040CR instructions in hand.

If property taxes are one piece of a larger question about affording care, our guide to paying for senior care in Michigan covers Medicaid, VA benefits, and private-pay options alongside home equity.

Next Steps

Start with the credit. Total your household resources against the $71,500 limit, then claim the Homestead Property Tax Credit on Form MI-1040CR, even if you owe no tax.1

If selling or borrowing against the home is on the table, weigh that against keeping the home and using these credits. Our guide on selling or renting your home for care lays out the tradeoffs.

Learn More

Find personalized help claiming Michigan senior property tax relief at brevy.com.

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.