North Dakota Homestead Property Tax Credit

North Dakota Homestead Property Tax Credit

Archive status

This page records the verified 2026 North Dakota Homestead Property Tax Credit and related Renter’s Refund cycle. It is a historical reference, not an open application listing. The North Dakota Office of State Tax Commissioner’s official homestead page says the 2026 homeowner application had to be submitted to the local assessor or county director of tax equalization by April 1, 2026. The official renter page says renter applications had to be postmarked by May 31, 2026. Both dates have passed as of this page’s review timestamp.

The state’s official pages still provide the 2026 homeowner form and describe the renter program’s recurring annual schedule, but they do not publish a 2027 application form or a 2027 deadline on the pages reviewed for this update. This entry therefore keeps the real closing date for the combined page in the front matter, sets historicalReference = true, and does not invent a future date. Do not mail a 2026 form after the closed deadline expecting the state or a county assessor to treat it as a current claim. If the Tax Commissioner publishes a new cycle, use that cycle’s form and instructions instead of relying on this archive.

The official program pages are the Homestead Property Tax Credit page, the Renter’s Refund page, and the state’s 2026 Homestead Credit Application. The Office of State Tax Commissioner is the source and administrator identified by those materials.

At a glance

The front matter uses May 31, 2026 because it is the later closing date for the two related tracks described on this page. That field is an archive date, not a claim that applications remain open. The homeowner deadline remains April 1, 2026 and is the controlling date for a homeowner application.

What the program does

North Dakota’s homestead credit is property-tax relief for qualifying older homeowners and people with permanent and total disabilities. It is not a general payment to every homeowner and it is not the same as the newer Primary Residence Credit. The homestead credit reduces the taxable value used in the property assessment. The local assessor determines the allowed reduction and shows it in the assessment process. The official homestead page says the credit is automatically applied for applicants who qualify after the application is processed.

The related Renter’s Refund is a separate route for a qualifying renter’s residence or mobile home lot. It does not reduce a property assessment because the applicant is not the owner. Instead, the Office of State Tax Commissioner calculates whether the renter’s annual rent is high enough in relation to income and sends an approved refund by check. The two tracks share the age or disability and income rules, but they have different forms, destinations, deadlines, and benefit calculations.

This distinction matters when planning a claim. An owner should use the homestead application and contact the local assessor. A renter should use the renter application and send it to the state Tax Commissioner. A person should not assume that a homeowner application can be sent to the state office or that rent receipts can be substituted for the property information required from an owner.

Homeowner eligibility and amount

For the 2026 application, an applicant had to be at least 65 or permanently and totally disabled in the year in which the tax was levied. A disability claim requires proof established by a licensed physician’s certificate or a written disability determination from the Social Security Administration or another authorized federal or state agency. The applicant also had to live at and have an ownership interest in the North Dakota property. When ownership is shared, the percentage of ownership affects the credit.

The income ceiling was $70,000. The state’s qualification language includes the income of the applicant, spouse, and dependents for the calendar year preceding the assessment date. The 2026 form makes that concrete by stating that the application is based on 2025 income and medical-expense information. The income section covers sources such as Social Security, wages, taxable interest and dividends, IRAs, pensions, annuities, capital gains, other income, and dependent income. Medical expenses actually paid and not compensated by insurance are entered separately and reduce the income amount used in the calculation.

The reduction schedule is tied to that income amount:

• At income of $40,000 or less, taxable value is reduced by 100%, up to a maximum reduction of $9,000 of taxable value. The form’s statutory text also identifies a maximum reduction of true and full value of $200,000.
• At income above $40,000 and no more than $70,000, taxable value is reduced by 50%, up to a maximum reduction of $4,500 of taxable value. The corresponding maximum reduction of true and full value is $100,000.

These are reductions in taxable value, not guaranteed dollar-for-dollar deductions from the final tax bill. The actual tax effect depends on the property assessment and local tax rates. The credit does not reduce liability for special assessments. Spouses or dependents living together are entitled to only one exemption between them. Co-owners who are not spouses or dependents may receive percentage shares tied to their ownership interests rather than separate full credits.

A farm structure that is exempt from taxation under the cited North Dakota property-tax provision cannot receive this credit. The statute and form also allow the exemption to continue when the applicant is absent because of confinement in a nursing home, hospital, or other care facility, as long as the part of the homestead previously occupied by the applicant is not rented to someone else. That exception does not turn every care-facility residence into a qualifying homestead; it preserves the treatment of the applicant’s existing home under the stated conditions.

Renter eligibility and amount

The Renter’s Refund uses the same age or disability standard and the same $70,000 income ceiling, including spouse and dependent income. The official renter page says there is no asset limitation for renters. The rented place of residence or mobile home lot must be within the program’s taxable-property framework. The refund is not available for rent or fees paid by people living in property exempt from property tax, such as many nursing-home arrangements.

The state describes the calculation as follows: if 20% of annual rent is greater than 4% of annual income, the difference may be refunded, up to $600. The official example uses annual rent of $9,600 and income of $35,000. Twenty percent of rent is $1,920; 4% of income is $1,400; the difference is a $520 refund. That example explains the formula, not a guaranteed payment for every applicant.

Only qualifying rent belongs in the calculation. Heat, water, lights, telephone, and furniture costs are not rent costs under the official instructions. If those costs are included in the amount paid to a landlord, the renter must subtract them before calculating the claim. Keep a lease, rent record, and a clear breakdown of included services so the claimed annual rent can be supported. Do not count a bundled utility charge simply because it appears on the same payment statement as rent.

The renter application is available each year beginning on the Tuesday after Martin Luther King Jr. Day in January and continuing through May 31. For the archived 2026 cycle, the application had to be postmarked by May 31, 2026. A permanently and totally disabled renter also had to submit disability proof to the Office of State Tax Commissioner. After approval, the refund was sent by check.

How the 2026 homeowner application worked

The 2026 form was the Homestead Credit Application for Senior Citizens and Disabled Persons, SFN 24757. It instructed applicants to send the form to the local assessor before April 1, 2026. The form asked for the applicant’s name, address, date of birth, telephone number, county, parcel number, legal description, and ownership information. It also asked whether the property received the Farm Residence Exemption and recorded marital status.

The income section required the applicant and spouse to report 2025 amounts from the listed income sources, plus dependent income where applicable. The medical-expense section covered health and hospital insurance premiums other than Medicare, prescription medicines, doctor, dentist and hospital costs, hearing aids, eyeglasses, dentures, transportation and lodging for medical care, and nursing-home or home-nursing costs. The form then calculated income from all sources excluding qualifying medical expenses.

An applicant claiming disability needed to provide the proof requested by the assessor. The signed statement declares that the applicant resides on the property, claims the homestead credit, and will furnish proof of age and income if requested by an authorized person. The assessor completed the approval or denial section, recorded the allowed reduction or maximum, and considered the ownership interest. Keep a complete copy of the submitted form and any proof supplied.

The correct destination is local, not a general state mailing address. Start with the city or township assessor or the county director of tax equalization for the property. Because the 2026 window is closed, a person preparing for a later cycle should check the Tax Commissioner’s homestead page for a newly posted form and confirm the local office’s current submission instructions before sending anything.

How the 2026 renter application worked

A renter preparing the archived claim would first obtain the current Renter’s Refund Tax Application from the North Dakota Tax Commissioner’s website. The applicant would identify the taxable residence or mobile home lot, calculate annual qualifying rent, remove included non-rent costs, and report the income required by the form. The applicant would then apply the 20%-of-rent and 4%-of-income test and check that the requested amount did not exceed $600.

The applicant needed to include the age or disability information required by the form, household income details, and disability proof when using the disability route. The completed application went to the Office of State Tax Commissioner and had to carry a May 31, 2026 postmark for the archived cycle. The state’s official page does not describe this as an online-only filing process or promise an instant decision. Retain the signed application, rent records, and copies of any supporting documents until the claim is resolved.

Practical checklist for a future cycle

When North Dakota publishes a new cycle, use this sequence rather than reusing the archive date as a live deadline:

1. Start at the official Homestead Property Tax Credit or Renter’s Refund page and confirm that a new application and deadline have been posted.
2. Choose the track that matches the housing situation: local assessor for an owned homestead, or the state Tax Commissioner for a qualifying rental.
3. Confirm age or permanent-and-total-disability status and gather the required proof if using the disability category.
4. Calculate household income using the year named on the current form. Include spouse and dependent income and subtract only medical expenses the official instructions allow.
5. For a homeowner, confirm ownership, residence, parcel information, and whether the farm-residence exemption affects eligibility. For a renter, document annual qualifying rent and subtract bundled utilities, telephone, furniture, and similar non-rent charges.
6. Use the new cycle’s deadline. For the verified 2026 cycle, that meant April 1 for homeowners and a May 31 postmark for renters; those dates are not a promise for a later cycle.
7. Keep a copy of everything submitted and monitor the assessment record or mailed refund. The homeowner credit is applied through the assessment process, while the renter refund is issued by check after approval.

The Office of State Tax Commissioner lists property-tax staff contact information on the official pages. For a later round, ask the office or the local assessor about a changed address, ownership share, disability documentation, household income, or a form that has been replaced. A previous approval does not make an unverified future date current.

Official references

• North Dakota Homestead Property Tax Credit
• North Dakota Renter’s Refund
• 2026 Homestead Credit Application
• North Dakota Property Tax Deadlines
• North Dakota Property Tax Credits