County to receive $1.1 million in tax rebates

Thursday, November 1, 2007

Putnam County homeowners will share about $1.1 million in property tax rebates now that the state has certified how $300 million will be divided among Indiana's 92 counties.

State officials announced Thursday that the 2007 homestead refunds will be allocated through rebate checks to about 1.6 million Hoosiers with a homestead exemption on their property this year.

For Putnam County, that means $1,163,080 in extra relief that is meant to blunt big property tax increases seen by many homeowners.

The state's Department of Local Government Finance has certified rebate tax rates for each taxing unit with a certified budget order, which will allow county auditors to calculate the rebate amounts for each parcel. For those counties without a certified budget order, or some counties undergoing reassessments, the rebate rates will be certified when budget orders are issued or reassessments are complete.

State fiscal analysts have estimated that the rebates would average about $240, but the amount will vary depending on what taxing district a person lives in and the value of his or her home.

DLFG spokeswoman Mary Jane Michalak said a general rule of thumb is that someone's rebate will be between 5 percent and 10 percent more than the homestead credit amount already on a person's bill.

That means if someone got a homestead credit of $400, the rebate check would be between $420 and $440.

It likely will be weeks before homeowners start receiving rebate checks. That's because county officials must calculate the amount owed to each homeowner and then check to see which ones did not pay their bills on time. For those found to be delinquent, the rebate will first be applied against any unpaid taxes.

For counties that have a Nov. 10 bill due date, auditors will have until Dec. 20 to calculate each taxpayer's rebate. Counties with due dates after that will have 30 days after those dates to calculate individual rebate amounts.

Putnam County Auditor Stephanie Campbell was out of town at a conference and unavailable for comment.

Taxing District Refund Percentage

Clinton Township12.5926
Cloverdale Township6.9336
Cloverdale Town (Cloverdale Twp)8.3506
Cloverdale Town (Warren Twp)9.1497
Floyd Township12.1925
Franklin Township13.4842
Roachdale Town16.1846
Greencastle Township8.6963
Jackson Township12.9404
Jefferson Township7.9769
Madison Township8.6350
Marion Township8.0455
Monroe Township12.7549
Bainbridge Township12.7549
Russell Township14.9756
Russellville Town14.9756
Warren Township8.0286
Washington Township7.9691
Fillmore Town9.6332
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  • Hopefully the auditor's office will get this completed very quickly...it would be nice to have our money back to use for Christmas gifts...not after the holidays...I will keep my fingers crossed.

    -- Posted by mkycrzy1971 on Fri, Nov 2, 2007, at 8:47 AM
  • These rebates are going to cost an awful lot for each county to administer, when you look at the big picture. Will we have to pay taxes on our rebate? Some are saying "yes", but I don't see why since it is a refund of money we overpaid to the government. This whole refund game has got to be one of the dumbest ideas to come out of our State Legislature. I'm glad our Representative had the sense to vote against a "cash" rebate.

    -- Posted by Sweetnavymom on Mon, Nov 5, 2007, at 6:25 PM
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