From the Lafayette Journal & Courier:
Homeowners received a pink form in their property tax bills in 2010, 2011 and 2012. The form verified that the homeowner qualified for the homestead deductions, which significantly reduce tax bills.
After three years, some have not verified that their property qualifies for the deductions, and time is running out to do so.
Tippecanoe County Auditor Jennifer Weston answers some of the most frequently asked questions surrounding the verification forms and process.
Question: Homeowners already have applied for the homestead deductions. Why do they need to verify this information?
Answer: If you applied for a homestead deduction prior to July 1, 2009, the application did not include specific information that the state of Indiana requires for a statewide database to help prevent homestead fraud. A three-year program, from 2010-2012, was implemented to obtain this information and verify that taxpayers use the property as their primary residence. “Pink” forms were sent with the tax bill/comparison notices for each of the three years to be returned to your county’s auditor’s office. If taxpayers did not return a completed form or provide this information in some other manner, they are in jeopardy of losing the homestead deduction.
Q: Is there a website where homeowners can check to see if they have not filled out the verification form?
A: Yes. The Tippecanoe County auditor’s website lists those who have not verified their homestead as of Sept. 6. Rather than publish more than 25,000 verified homesteads, we chose to publish the smaller list of 5,600 nonverified homesteads. For some on the short list, we may have received a form, but the information was incomplete.
The website also has a form for online submission of the required information. The most common mistakes that cause rejection are: only listing the last four digits instead of five for the Social Security and/or driver’s license; not listing the state of issuance for the driver’s license; missing co-owner/spouse information.
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See the full article here:
http://www.jconline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2013309220019
