6 Documents Ohio Homeowners Need to Claim the Homestead Exemption in 2026
Claiming Ohio’s homestead exemption takes six documents.
If you miss one, the county auditor’s office sends your application back.
The income limit behind that application moved for 2026: Ohio’s certified threshold is now $41,000 of modified adjusted gross income, up from $40,000 the year before.
File it correctly once, though, and you never have to file it again.
Note: This is general information, not legal or tax advice. Homestead exemption rules and income limits are subject to change, so confirm the current requirements with your county auditor.
1. Form DTE 105A
Form DTE 105A is where Ohio’s homestead exemption application starts, issued by the Ohio Department of Taxation’s Division of Tax Equalization (DTE).
It’s the application every county auditor uses for the standard senior and disabled track.
Form DTE 105A covers three groups.
Those are homeowners 65 and older, homeowners who are permanently and totally disabled, and a surviving spouse who was at least 59 years old when their spouse died.
Montgomery County‘s auditor spells out that exact age floor for surviving spouses.
The standard exemption removes $29,000 of a home’s market value for 2026, according to Lorain County‘s auditor.
One form.
Pull it from your county auditor’s website, fill it out, and turn it in there rather than mailing it to the state.
Ohio homeowners who first qualified before 2014 skip the income test under an older grandfather rule, but anyone applying fresh in 2026 has to clear the current limit.
2. Proof of Your Age
The state ties the exemption to a hard age line.
You have to turn 65 by December 31 of the year you apply, or be permanently and totally disabled as of January 1 of that same year.
The auditor won’t take your word for it.
A photocopy of your driver’s license, a state ID card, a birth certificate, or a passport satisfies the age requirement, current or expired.
Any one will do.
Attach whichever document is easiest to find, since a county auditor accepts any of the four the same way.
3. Your 2025 Income Return
Your county auditor checks your 2025 income against a $41,000 ceiling before approving a 2026 application, since Ohio’s homestead exemption is means-tested for anyone applying fresh.
The $1,000 bump from last year’s threshold means more households clear the bar this year, since the state recalculates the limit annually to keep pace with inflation.
A copy of your Ohio income tax return proves where you stand.
The line that matters is your Ohio adjusted gross income, plus any business income you deducted.
Didn’t file a state return?
Attach your federal return instead, or fill out the auditor’s addendum form if you filed neither one.
Social Security Doesn’t Count
Ohio’s homestead exemption runs on modified adjusted gross income, and that number starts lower than many retirees expect.
Social Security payments aren’t counted in that total at all, according to Hamilton County’s homestead office.
Ohio subtracts those benefits out before the total ever reaches the line an auditor checks.
A retired couple living mostly on Social Security, with a modest pension on top, often lands well under the $41,000 ceiling once that subtraction happens.
4. Form DTE 105E
Homeowners who qualify by disability rather than age attach Form DTE 105E to their Ohio homestead application, not a doctor’s note scribbled on letterhead.
A licensed physician or psychologist has to sign it, certifying that the disability is permanent, total, and keeps you from any substantially remunerative work.
A state or federal agency’s disability determination works too, the same standard the Social Security Administration uses when it approves a disability claim.
No certification, no exemption.
Ohio’s county auditors don’t accept a chiropractor’s signature or a nurse practitioner’s note on this form, so confirm your provider qualifies before you request the paperwork.
Psst! How much do you know about homestead history and property tax trivia? Take our quiz and see how many you can get right.
Quiz
Homestead History Quiz
Answer these questions on property tax and homestead history. We bet you can’t get them all right. Prove us wrong?
The federal Homestead Act of 1862 is often confused with a homestead property tax exemption. What did it do?
5. Form DTE 105I
The homestead exemption offers a separate document path for one group.
Veterans with a 100% service-connected disability skip Form DTE 105A and file Form DTE 105I instead, a track with different rules.
Ohio waives the limit completely for this group, so a disabled veteran's income never enters the conversation, no matter how high it runs.
No income cap.
The disabled veteran track removes up to $58,000 of a home's market value, according to Marion County's auditor, well above what the standard exemption removes.
The tradeoff is a narrower door: Only veterans the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) rates at 100% for a service-connected disability, or at 100% through individual unemployability, qualify.
A surviving spouse of a veteran who was already receiving this exemption can carry it forward too, under the same DTE 105I filing.
6. Your DD214 and VA Award Letter
Claiming Ohio's homestead exemption through Form DTE 105I means producing two documents no senior or disabled applicant ever has to gather.
A copy of the veteran's discharge certificate (DD214) proves an honorable discharge, and a VA award letter documents the 100% rating or the individual unemployability approval behind it.
Lost the DD214?
Standard Form 180 (SF-180) pulls a replacement copy from the National Personnel Records Center.
Both documents travel together.
A county auditor won't process Form DTE 105I with just one of the two attached, so gather both before the application goes in.
Do You Have to Refile Every Year?
Homeowners file the homestead exemption once, and that surprises almost every new applicant.
Your county auditor mails a continuing application each January.
You only send it back if something changed: You sold the home, moved out, your disability status shifted, or your income crossed the line.
Silence means you still qualify.
The exemption stays attached to the property and your name on the deed, not to a form you have to resubmit every spring.
FAQ
Quick answers to what homeowners ask most about claiming the homestead exemption.
No runaround.
What Is the Income Limit for Ohio's Homestead Exemption in 2026?
It's $41,000 in modified adjusted gross income for 2025, combined for you and your spouse if you're married. The limit typically rises to keep pace with inflation.
Do You Have to Apply for the Homestead Exemption Every Year?
No. Once your county auditor approves the application, it stays with the property automatically as long as you keep qualifying. You only notify the auditor if your situation changes.
What's the Difference Between DTE 105A and DTE 105I?
DTE 105A is the standard form for homeowners 65 and older, disabled homeowners, and qualifying surviving spouses. It's income-tested. DTE 105I is only for veterans with a 100% service-connected disability rating, and it carries no income limit at all.
Does Social Security Count as Income for the Homestead Exemption?
No. Ohio's income test runs on modified adjusted gross income, and Social Security benefits don't factor into that number at all.
How Old Do You Have to Be for Ohio's Homestead Exemption?
You need to turn 65 by December 31 of the year you apply, unless you qualify instead through a permanent and total disability as of January 1 of that year.
Manufactured and mobile homeowners follow a different clock than everyone else applying for Ohio's homestead exemption.
They have to file in the year before the tax year they want the reduction to apply to, not the same year standard homeowners do.
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