North Dakota Senior Property Tax Relief: Homestead Credit Guide

North Dakota senior property tax relief comes from two credits that an older homeowner can hold at the same time. The Homestead Property Tax Credit reduces the taxable value of the home for owners 65 and older (or permanently and totally disabled, at any age) with household income not exceeding $70,000, and the Primary Residence Credit gives a homeowner who lives in their North Dakota home as a primary residence up to $1,600 off that tax bill, with no age restriction and no income limitation, one credit per household.1 This guide explains how the Homestead Credit's two income tiers work, who qualifies, what the March 31 deadline means, how to apply, and how to stack the Primary Residence Credit on top.

If you are 65 or permanently disabled and have not filed yet this year, you may be paying more property tax than you owe.

In This Guide

• Key Takeaways
• North Dakota Senior Property Tax Relief at a Glance
• Who Qualifies
• How the Two-Tier Credit Works
• Stack the Primary Residence Credit
• The March 31 Deadline
• How to Apply
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Next Steps

North Dakota Senior Property Tax Relief at a Glance

The table captures the structure. The actual dollar savings depend on your county's mill levy applied to the reduced taxable value, so the same $9,000 reduction is worth more in a high-tax county than a low-tax one.1

Who Qualifies

To claim the Homestead Property Tax Credit, you must meet three requirements:1

1. Age or disability. You must be 65 or older, or permanently and totally disabled. The disability criterion is an alternative to the age requirement, not in addition to it. A 55-year-old with a permanent total disability qualifies the same as a 70-year-old.
2. Homeownership and occupancy. You must own and occupy the property as your primary residence. A rental property or vacation home does not qualify.
3. Income that does not exceed $70,000. The state counts your income including the income of your spouse and any dependents, for the calendar year preceding the assessment date, not the year you file in.1 That includes Social Security, pension payments, wages if a household member still works, investment income, and withdrawals from retirement accounts. North Dakota uses household income broadly, so total it carefully before you assume you are under the limit.

If your spouse is under 65 and not disabled, the household income test still governs. The applicant must meet the age or disability requirement, but income from all household members counts toward the $70,000 ceiling.1

How the Two-Tier Credit Works

North Dakota senior property tax relief operates on two income tiers. They do not reduce your tax bill directly. They reduce the taxable value of your home, and your county's mill levy is then applied to that lower number.1

Tier 1 (income at or below $40,000). Taxable value is reduced by 100 percent, to a maximum reduction of $9,000 in taxable value and $200,000 of true and full value.1 The state publishes both ceilings, so a home worth more than $200,000 in true and full value gets the reduction up to that cap and pays tax on the rest.

Tier 2 (income from $40,001 to $70,000). Taxable value is reduced by 50 percent, to a maximum reduction of $4,500 in taxable value and $100,000 of true and full value.1 A home with $10,000 in taxable value would get a $4,500 reduction (50 percent of $10,000, at the cap). A home with $6,000 in taxable value would get a $3,000 reduction (50 percent of $6,000, under the cap).

A quick illustration. Take a home with $8,000 in taxable value and a county mill levy of 300 mills (0.300 per dollar of taxable value). The full-value tax bill would be $2,400. With Tier 1 applied, the taxable value drops to zero (the reduction exceeds the taxable value), and the property-tax bill goes to zero. At Tier 2, the taxable value drops to $4,000, and the tax bill falls to $1,200. The illustration is hypothetical; mill levies vary by county and taxing district.1

North Dakota Senior Property Tax Relief: Program Details

The Homestead Property Tax Credit is a property-tax exemption program, not a refund or rebate.1 It does not appear on your income-tax return. It shows up directly on your property-tax statement as a reduced taxable value, which then reduces the tax calculated against that value.

The credit is renewable. It does not automatically carry forward year to year in every situation, so check with your county director of tax equalization on whether you need to re-apply each year or only when your circumstances change. Many homeowners file an initial application and then file annually to update their income figure.

The North Dakota Office of State Tax Commissioner oversees the program and publishes guidance at tax.nd.gov. County directors of tax equalization administer it locally, so the most direct help comes from your county office.

One related benefit worth knowing. North Dakota also has a Renters Refund program for lower-income seniors and disabled residents who rent rather than own, administered through the same North Dakota Office of State Tax Commissioner. It refunds a portion of the rent that is treated as property tax for qualifying renters. If you rent, ask about the Renters Refund when you contact the state tax office, and confirm the current income limit and refund formula with them directly. The Homestead Credit itself is only for homeowners.

Stack the Primary Residence Credit

The Homestead Property Tax Credit is not the only relief available. North Dakota also offers a separate Primary Residence Credit (PRC), administered by the Office of State Tax Commissioner, for homeowners who live in their home as a primary residence, and the two credits stack.1

The Primary Residence Credit gives North Dakota homeowners a credit of up to $1,600 against their property tax obligation. To be eligible you must own a home in North Dakota (a house, mobile home, town home, duplex or condo) and reside in it as your primary residence. Homes held in trusts also qualify.1 Unlike the Homestead Credit, the Primary Residence Credit has no age restrictions and no income limitations, so a senior homeowner who is too well-off for the Homestead Credit still qualifies for the full Primary Residence Credit. Only one Primary Residence Credit is available per household, so two spouses on one home claim one credit between them, not two.1

For seniors, the key point is that the credits combine. If you are approved for the Homestead Property Tax Credit and still owe property tax after that reduction, you can receive the Primary Residence Credit against the remaining balance.1 Claim it directly through the North Dakota Office of State Tax Commissioner at tax.nd.gov/prc; the application window runs from January 1 to April 1 each year. Unlike the Homestead Credit, the Primary Residence Credit is claimed with the state, not the county director of tax equalization, so seniors who want both credits file in two places.

The March 31 Deadline

Homestead applications are due before March 31 in the year in which the property is assessed and for which the credit is requested.1 Treat March 30 as your last safe filing day, not March 31.

This is the single most misread date in North Dakota property tax relief. April 1 is the closing date of the Primary Residence Credit window, which runs January 1 to April 1 and is filed with the state.1 The Homestead deadline is earlier and it is filed with your county. A senior who files the Homestead application on March 31 because they had April 1 in mind has filed late.

The Homestead application must be on file with your local assessor or county director of tax equalization.1 That is a county office, not a state office. North Dakota has 53 counties; each has its own director of tax equalization. Your county's phone number and address are on the North Dakota Association of Counties directory and your local county government website.

If you are unsure whether you filed last year or whether your application is still active, call your county office well before the end of March. A few minutes of verification is worth far less than a missed credit.

First-time applicants. If you turn 65 this year, or have just become permanently disabled, the March 31 deadline governs you the same way it governs continuing applicants. File as early in the year as possible to avoid any processing delays.

How to Apply

Property taxes are one piece of a larger picture for seniors managing care costs. Our guide to how to pay for senior care walks through the full range of options, including Medicaid, VA benefits, and personal assets.

Next Steps

Start before March to leave room for gathering documents and contacting your county office.

• Confirm your income for the prior calendar year. Add up all household income sources before deciding which Homestead tier applies.
• Find your county director of tax equalization. Use tax.nd.gov or your county's website for contact information.
• File the Homestead application before March 31, and the Primary Residence Credit by April 1. The Homestead application goes to your county; the Primary Residence Credit is claimed with the state at tax.nd.gov/prc in a window running January 1 to April 1.1 Get confirmation that each application was received.
• Check your tax statement when it arrives to confirm the reduced taxable value and any credits appear.

If you are weighing whether to stay in your home or sell to fund care, our guides on selling or renting your home for care and reverse mortgages for senior care cover those tradeoffs directly.

Learn More

Find personalized help with North Dakota 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.