The Owner Occupancy Credit is a real estate tax reduction available to a homeowner for their principal place of residence. A person can only have one principal place of residence. Since a married couple is presumed to share one residence, only one Owner Occupancy Credit can apply to properties owned by spouses, unless they can establish that they reside separately.

Your principal place of residence determines, among other things, where you are registered to vote and where you declare residency for income tax purposes.

You must own and occupy the home as your principal place of residence as of January 1 of the tax year for which you are applying.

For example, if you took ownership of your home during 2025, your first eligibility for the credit will be the 2026 tax year.

To verify whether your property is already receiving the credit, search for your parcel on the Property Search page. On the Summary page, under Values, look for Owner Occupancy:

Y = The property is currently receiving the Owner-Occupancy Tax Credit.
N = The property is not currently receiving the Owner-Occupancy Tax Credit. If you have questions about your eligibility or need assistance completing an application, please contact the Carroll County Auditor's Office at 330-627-2250.

If you believe you qualify but are not currently receiving the Owner-Occupancy Tax Credit, please complete the appropriate application below and submit it to the Carroll County Auditor's Office by email, mail, or in person.

Applications:
DTE 105C – Application for Owner-Occupancy Tax Credit (Real Property)
DTE 56 – Application for Owner-Occupancy Tax Credit for Manufactured Homes Taxed as Real Property

House Bill 186 makes significant changes to Ohio's property tax relief programs beginning with tax year 2026 (payable in 2027).

Four-Year Phase-Out and Transition of Tax Relief Under the new law, the Non-Business Tax Credit will be gradually reduced over four tax years for most non-agricultural residential properties, while the Owner-Occupancy Tax Credit will be gradually increased over four tax years for homeowners who own and occupy their home as their principal place of residence.

Tax Year Taxes Payable Non-Business Tax Credit Owner-Occupancy Tax Credit 2026 2027 Reduced to 7.5% Increased to 5.7% 2027 2028 Reduced to 5.0% Increased to 8.92% 2028 2029 Reduced to 2.5% Increased to 12.15% 2029 and after 2030+ Reduced to 0% Increased to 15.38%

Beginning with tax year 2013, Ohio law limited the Owner-Occupancy Tax Credit (commonly referred to as the 2.5% rollback) so that it does not apply to most new tax levies approved after the August 2013 election.

Due to changes in countywide levies over the years, there are currently no Carroll County properties that receive the original 2.5% rollback on all voted levies. Any tax savings available through the Owner-Occupancy Tax Credit are based only on levies that remain eligible under Ohio law.