On April 8, 2008, Governor Granholm signed House Bill 4215, enacting Public Act 96 of 2008, which amended Section 211.7cc of the General Property Tax Act, Public Act 206 of 1893. The amendment enables a person who has established a new principal residence to retain a PRE on property previously exempt as the owner's principal residence. The conditional rescission allows an owner to receive a PRE on his or her current Michigan property and on previously exempted property simultaneously if certain criteria are met. An owner may receive the PRE on the previous principal residence for up to three years if that property is not occupied, is for sale, is not leased and is not used for any business or commercial purpose.

To initially qualify for a conditional rescission, the owner must submit a Conditional Rescission of Principal Residence Exemption, Form 4640 to the assessor for the city or township in which the property is located on or before May 1 of the first year of the claim. For example, to qualify for a PRE in 2009 under a conditional rescission, the form must be submitted on or before May 1, 2009. The owner must annually submit form 4640 on or before December 31 to verify to the assessor that the property for which the PRE is retained is not occupied, is for sale, is not leased and is not used for any business or commercial purpose. In the example above, if the conditional rescission was approved for the 2009 tax year, the owner would be required to submit a new form by December 31, 2009 to verify qualifications for the 2010 tax year.

Conditional Rescission of Principal Residence Exemption (PRE) Frequently Asked Questions