Indiana Over 65 Property Tax Credit 2027 Guide: $150 Senior Relief and Circuit Breaker Eligibility

Indiana’s senior property-tax benefit changed for the current cycle. The old Over 65 Deduction, which reduced assessed value by up to $14,000, no longer describes the benefit available for the 2026 assessment date. Indiana replaced that deduction with an Over 65 Credit against local property taxes. The current credit is worth up to $150. A qualifying homeowner may also request the separate Over 65 Circuit Breaker Credit, which can provide additional relief when the property-tax bill is above the applicable limit.

This page covers applications for the 2026 assessment and pay-2027 tax cycle. The application deadline is January 15, 2027. That date is not a December deadline for the following year: State Form 43708 says the completed, signed application 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. For this cycle, that means January 15, 2027.

Indiana senior property-tax relief at a glance

What changed from the old senior deduction

Older Indiana guidance and the previous version of this page described a deduction equal to the lesser of one-half of assessed value or $14,000. That description belongs to the former Over 65 Deduction under Indiana Code sections 6-1.1-12-9 and 6-1.1-12-10.1. The Department of Local Government Finance explained in its 2025 legislative update that those provisions apply only to property taxes imposed for an assessment date before January 1, 2025.

For the current cycle, the relevant benefit is a credit under Indiana Code section 6-1.1-51.3-1. A credit is subtracted from the property-tax liability itself. It is not a $14,000 reduction in assessed value, and it should not be described as a $14,000 payment or savings amount. The full Over 65 Credit is $150, although co-ownership by people who are not all at least 65 can reduce the amount under the statutory fraction. A married couple who owns the property together is treated differently from a group of non-spouse joint tenants or tenants in common.

The Over 65 Credit and Over 65 Circuit Breaker Credit are also different benefits. The first is a fixed credit of up to $150. The second is tied to Indiana’s property-tax cap system and can reduce a qualifying bill when the bill exceeds the permitted limit. The circuit-breaker credit is not a guaranteed dollar amount, and it does not make every senior homeowner’s bill zero. The county calculates the amount from the property and tax records.

Who may qualify for the Over 65 Credit

The current application is aimed at a real-property owner, contract buyer, or qualifying owner of a mobile or manufactured home not assessed as real property. The applicant must meet the conditions on State Form 43708 and the governing statute. The following checklist is a useful first screen, but the county auditor makes the official determination.

Age

For benefits claimed against pay-2027 property taxes, the applicant must be at least 65 on or before December 31, 2026. The rule looks to the year before the year in which the credit is claimed. A person who turns 65 on December 31, 2026, meets the age timing rule for this cycle; a person whose 65th birthday falls in 2027 generally does not meet it until a later cycle.

An eligible surviving spouse may qualify at age 60 or older if the deceased spouse was at least 65 at death, the survivor has not remarried, and the other requirements are satisfied. The application asks for the deceased spouse’s age when the surviving-spouse route is used.

Ownership and time held

The applicant must own the property or be buying it under a recorded contract on the filing date. The applicant must generally have owned the property or been buying it under contract for at least one year before claiming the credit. A contract buyer needs a contract, or memorandum of contract, recorded with the county recorder when the statute requires it and must be responsible for the property taxes under that arrangement.

Only one Over 65 Credit may be allowed for a jointly owned property. If the applicant shares ownership with joint tenants or tenants in common and not all of those owners are at least 65, the credit can be reduced. The reduction does not work the same way for a married couple who owns the home together, so the deed and ownership form matter. List every relevant co-owner on Form 43708 rather than assuming the county will infer the arrangement.

Residence

Current Indiana guidance says the applicant must reside on the real property, mobile home, or manufactured home. The residence condition is important: the benefit is not a general credit for an investment property, rental, or second home. State guidance also says an individual may not be denied solely because the individual is absent while in a nursing home or hospital. If the property is held in a trust, the trust and occupant must satisfy the separate statutory requirements; ask the county auditor how to document the beneficial interest or right to occupy the property.

Income

The income figure is federal adjusted gross income, not a rough estimate of cash received and not the gross amount of every benefit. For the Over 65 Credit claimed on pay-2027 taxes, the form uses income from 2025, the calendar year preceding by two years the calendar year in which the taxes are first due and payable.

The Over 65 Credit limits are:

• $60,000 or less for an individual who filed a single federal income-tax return.
• $70,000 or less for an individual who filed a joint federal return with a spouse.
• $70,000 or less in combined AGI for the applicant and all other people who share ownership as joint tenants or tenants in common, where that joint-owner rule applies.

If the applicant and a spouse file jointly, use the joint-return rule. If adult children or other non-spouse owners are on the deed as joint tenants or tenants in common, their income may be part of the combined calculation. The form asks for sources and amounts of income and may require the return or other evidence for inspection. Do not assume that a Social Security statement by itself answers the AGI question.

The separate Over 65 Circuit Breaker Credit

The circuit-breaker credit is a second checkbox on State Form 43708. It is associated with Indiana’s property-tax cap rules and is calculated from the qualifying property’s tax liability. The current law removed the former $240,000 assessed-value barrier for applications made under the current credit rules, so the old statement that a senior must have a home assessed at $240,000 or less is not current for this benefit.

For pay-2027 taxes, the Department of Local Government Finance announced circuit-breaker income thresholds of $61,680 for a single taxpayer and $71,960 for a married couple filing jointly. The Department calculated those amounts by applying the 2.8% Social Security cost-of-living adjustment to the pay-2026 base thresholds of $60,000 and $70,000. The circuit-breaker thresholds are therefore slightly higher than the fixed Over 65 Credit thresholds for this cycle. The Department expects these circuit-breaker amounts to be adjusted in future cycles according to the statutory cost-of-living formula.

The credit does not automatically equal the difference between the bill and one percent of market value, and a homeowner should not estimate it from the assessed value alone. Property-tax caps, local levies, prior liability, other credits, and the applicable property category affect the calculation. The county applies the credit to the tax record after the relevant cap credit and in the order required by Indiana law.

How to apply for the 2027 cycle

Use the current State Form 43708, Application for Senior Citizen Property Tax Benefits. The Department of Local Government Finance lists Form 43708 under both the Over 65 Credit and Over 65 Circuit Breaker Credit. The current form is a combined application, so check each benefit for which you want the county to review you.

1. Confirm the tax cycle. This guide is for the 2026 assessment and pay-2027 taxes. Work backward from the January 15, 2027 filing deadline.
2. Contact the county auditor. File with the auditor in the county where the property is located. Ask whether the office accepts in-person delivery, mail, or an electronic submission and whether it has local document requirements.
3. Collect property information. Have the parcel or key number, legal description, taxing district, ownership information, and recorded contract details if you are a contract buyer.
4. Document ownership and residence. Be ready to explain who owns the property, who lives there, and whether a trust, life estate, nursing-home stay, or other special fact affects the application.
5. Prepare the 2025 income information. Gather the federal return or the records the auditor accepts to establish federal AGI for the relevant year. Include the income information for a spouse or non-spouse co-owner when the form requires combined AGI.
6. Verify age and surviving-spouse status if relevant. Complete the birth-date section and provide the information the county requests for a surviving-spouse claim.
7. Complete, sign, and submit Form 43708. The form must reach the county auditor or be postmarked by January 15, 2027. Keep a copy of the signed form and proof of delivery.
8. Review the next tax statement. Check that the Over 65 Credit and any circuit-breaker credit that the county approved appear on the tax bill or tax comparison statement. If something is missing, contact the auditor promptly rather than waiting for a later cycle.

The DLGF says taxpayers do not need to reapply every year when they remain eligible; reapplication is generally needed when the property is sold or the title changes. Still, report changes that make you ineligible and answer any county request for updated information. A continuing benefit depends on continuing eligibility, not simply on having filed once.

What to keep in your records

Keep the filed form, delivery confirmation, the property record or tax statement, the recorded deed or contract, and the income documents used for the application. If the county asks for a copy of a return for inspection, provide the requested copy through the county’s approved channel and retain evidence of what you submitted. For a joint ownership arrangement, retain the names and ownership interests of all owners because those facts affect both the income test and a possible credit reduction.

The senior credit is modest but direct: up to $150 against local property taxes. The circuit-breaker review may be more valuable for some households, but its result depends on the tax calculation for the particular parcel. Treat the two benefits as separate lines of review, and do not carry forward the old $14,000 deduction language, the old $240,000 credit limit, or the former December 31 deadline.

Official information

The Indiana Department of Local Government Finance Deductions and Credits page lists the current benefit descriptions, Form 43708, and the Department’s pay-2027 circuit-breaker threshold memo. The DLGF forms page identifies State Form 43708 as the Application for Senior Citizen Property Tax Benefits. File with the county auditor, which is the official office for parcel-specific eligibility and tax-bill questions.