Summit County Military Assistance Program: Property Tax Deferral for Activated Reservists

Summit County started deferring property tax for reservists called up for Desert Storm in January 1991, and County Council revived the plan on October 29, 2001. The State followed both times, and Revised Code 323.122 now gives every Ohio county the same protection, so this is a State right that Summit County's Fiscal Office carries out. What the statute gives. A National Guard or reserve member called to active duty, the member's spouse, a joint owner who is the spouse or a dependent parent, or the dependent parent of a member who dies on that duty, may apply to the county treasurer to extend the taxes and assessments on the home that fall due during the duty and the six months after. The treasurer signs an instalment contract whose payments begin in the seventh month after the duty ends; the extended taxes are not delinquent, and penalties and interest charged during the duty come off. A mortgage servicer may not collect those taxes in escrow for the extension period. Apply by the end of the sixth month after the duty ends; someone holding the member's power of attorney may apply. How to apply in Summit County. Use the Fiscal Office's M.A.P. Military Assistance Program form, with a copy of the orders, through the Treasurer Division, 175 South Main Street, Akron (330-643-2641). The office's posted memo, dated January 13, 2003, describes the plan as for owner-occupied homes; the statute covers any real property or manufactured home the member owns.