DATE: March 25, 2003
TO: Assessors, Equalization Directors
FROM: State Tax Commission

RE: Expanded Authority of July and December Boards of Review Regarding Homestead Exemptions

Attached is a copy of Public Act (PA) 624 of 2002 which was signed by Governor Engler on December 21, 2002 with an effective date of December 23, 2002. (The language of the law that was added by PA 624 of 2002 is underlined on the attached copy of the act.)

The purpose of this bulletin is to instruct assessors regarding the provisions of PA 624 of 2002.

Note: While the materials which follow are part of STC Bulletin 6 of 2003, they are labeled as a Supplement to STC Bulletin No. 12 of 1997 with the thought that they will also be copied and added to STC Bulletin No. 12 of 1997 in order to keep all information regarding July and December Boards of Review together in one place.

Pages 7, 8, and 9 of STC Bulletin 12 of 1997 discuss the authority of the July and December Boards of Review to accept appeals from owners when a Homestead Exemption or a Qualified Agricultural Property Exemption is not on the tax roll.

REMINDER: The following are some of the reasons which would justify an appeal when a Homestead Exemption is not on the tax roll:

· the owner did not file the affidavit.

· the affidavit was mailed but not received by the local unit

· the assessor failed to process the exemption.

· and other similar reasons.

Bulletin 12 of 1997 goes on to explain that the July and December Boards of Review have the authority to change the current year’s assessment and the immediately preceding year’s assessment when a Homestead Exemption or a Qualified Agricultural Property Exemption is not on the tax roll. THIS HAS CHANGED FOR THE HOMESTEAD EXEMPTION ONLY.

PA 624 of 2002 has EXPANDED the authority of the July and December Boards of Review to accept appeals from owners when a HOMESTEAD EXEMPTION is not on the tax roll.

STARTING IN 2003, the July and December Boards of Review are authorized to accept appeals, when a homestead exemption is not on the tax roll, in the year for which an exemption was claimed or in the IMMEDIATELY SUCCEEDING 3 YEARS.

This means that an owner could appeal a 2003 Homestead Exemption to the July or December Board of Review as late as 2006, if the Homestead Exemption was not on the tax roll for 2003.

IMPORTANT NOTE: This expanded authority applies ONLY to Homestead Exemptions. IT DOES NOT apply to Qualified Agricultural Property Exemptions.

IMPORTANT NOTE: It is still a requirement that the property owner must file a homestead exemption affidavit (Form 2368, formerly form T-1056) in order to be granted the exemption. Also, it is still a requirement that the homestead exemption cannot be granted by the July or December Board of Review if the exemption has already been denied to that taxpayer for the year in question by the assessor, the Department of Treasury, or the Tax Tribunal.

It has come to the attention of the State Tax Commission that some July and December Boards of Review are not meeting on the dates prescribed by law.

MCL 211.53b(1) provides that July and December Boards of Review are to meet on specific dates. The July Board of Review shall meet on the Tuesday following the third Monday in July. The December Board of Review shall meet on the Tuesday following the second Monday in December. There is no provision in the law for the July and December Boards of Review to meet on any other dates.

If the petitions to the July or December Board of Review are so numerous that they can’t be handled in one day, the board of review can adjourn to another day. However, this would seem to be an unusual situation.