Henry County Real Estate Tax Relief for the Elderly and Disabled

Article V of Chapter 8 of the Henry County Code relieves real estate tax on the sole dwelling of an owner who is 65 or older or permanently and totally disabled, with net combined financial worth, including equitable interests, of not more than $50,000, excluding the dwelling and up to one acre of land. Income. On May 26, 2026 the Board amended section 8-502 to raise the qualifying household income from $24,000 to $40,000, with relief of 80% of the tax for income up to $20,000, 50% for $20,001 to $30,000, 20% for $30,001 to $40,000, and a maximum annual relief of $500 on any one property. That is the table the Commissioner's page and its resource packet print. Municode's codified text of section 8-502 still shows the 2023 ordinance's narrower bands (90% to $12,000, then 70%, 50%, 30% and 10% to $24,000) and was not updated when read; the May 2026 amendment and the county's page control. The code also exempts a qualifying owner from the part of the tax that represents the increase in liability since the year the owner turned 65 or became disabled, or taxable year 1980, whichever is later, a second rule the county's page does not mention. Disability. An owner under 65 proves permanent and total disability as section 8-501 provides: a certification from the Social Security Administration, the Department of Veterans Affairs, or the Railroad Retirement Board, or a sworn affidavit of two licensed doctors. The county's checklist names only SSA, SSI and SSDI award letters; a veteran can file the VA certification. It is not a VA rating of 100% service-connected, and a disabled veteran who does not meet that test can use this program. Filing. Section 8-501 requires the affidavit after January 1 and before April 1, with an option to file the full affidavit on a three-year cycle and certify annually that nothing has changed; the Commissioner may accept late first-time or hardship filings. The county's page says the application is due May 1 and that applicants reapply each year. Where the two differ, the code gives the April 1 window and the late-filing discretion; filing before May 1 satisfies both.