Beginning with the tax year 2022, any owner of real property exempt from Ohio real estate taxes will be required to notify their respective county auditor if the realty ceases to qualify for such tax exemption. The owner of the exempt property must notify the auditor of the loss of exemption by December 31 of the given tax year. The Ohio Tax Commissioner will be creating the reporting form.
The penalty for failure to provide such notification is a charge equal to the amount of tax not paid for the five preceding tax years but only for those years the given property was owned by the current owner. The imposition of this penalty can be appealed by the property owner through the filing of an application for real property tax exemption.
The new law reinforces that exempt owners should periodically examine their use of properties exempt from taxation to assure that they continue to be so exempt under applicable law.
If you have any questions about this topic, please contact Dana Rose or your Weston Hurd attorney.
