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Exemptions

Property tax exemptions & relief programs

Steps, forms, and law references for the exemptions Northwest Michigan property owners ask about most.

Principal Residence Veteran's Poverty Small Business Tax Deferment
MCL 211.7cc & 211.7dd

Principal Residence Exemption (PRE)

Exempts your primary home from up to 18 mills of local school operating tax — often the single largest exemption a homeowner can claim.

  1. Confirm you qualify

    The property must be your principal residence — owned and occupied as your primary home as of the date you file. You may not claim a substantially similar exemption on a property in another state.

  2. Complete Form 2368

    File the Principal Residence Exemption Affidavit (Form 2368) with the assessor for the city or township where the property is located.

  3. File by the deadline that matters to you

    Filed on or before June 1 — reduces that year's summer tax levy and all subsequent levies. Filed June 2 through November 1 — reduces that year's winter tax levy and all subsequent levies.

  4. Moved? File in both directions

    File a new Form 2368 on your new home and a Request to Rescind (Form 2602) on the old one. Having two active exemptions at once is not permitted and can result in penalties.

Deadlines

June 1 for the summer levy · November 1 for the winter levy. MCL 211.7cc(2)

Sold or moved out?

File the Request to Rescind within 90 days of no longer qualifying to avoid penalty.

Get Form 2368 → Get Form 2602 (Rescind) →

MCL 211.7b

Disabled Veteran's Exemption

A full exemption from property taxes for real property owned and used as a homestead by a qualifying disabled veteran, or their unremarried surviving spouse.

Who qualifies

The veteran must be a Michigan resident, discharged under honorable conditions, and meet one of the following:

  • Determined by the U.S. Dept. of Veterans Affairs to be permanently and totally disabled due to military service, entitled to benefits at the 100% rate; or
  • Has a VA certificate for pecuniary assistance for specially adapted housing; or
  • Rated by the VA as individually unemployable.

How to apply

  1. Complete Form 5107

    File the Affidavit for Disabled Veterans Exemption (Form 5107) with the assessor for the city or township where the property is located — never with the Department of Treasury or the State Tax Commission.

  2. Attach VA documentation

    Include an official benefits letter or notice from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs showing the qualifying rating. A county veterans affairs letter alone is not sufficient.

  3. File any time before the December Board of Review concludes

    The affidavit may be filed with the local assessor any time from January 1 through the close of the December Board of Review for that tax year.

How long it lasts

As of January 1, 2025, once granted the exemption remains in effect without annual refiling, continuing until it's rescinded or the assessor denies it. If you no longer qualify — for example, the veteran no longer owns/occupies the home, or the disability rating changes — file Form 6054 to rescind within 45 days.

Get Form 5107 → Get Form 6054 (Rescind) →

MCL 211.7u

Poverty Exemption

A whole or partial exemption (100%, 50%, or 25% reduction in taxable value) for the principal residence of an owner who, by reason of poverty, is unable to fully contribute to the property tax burden.

  1. Review the income & asset guidelines

    Your township adopts annual guidelines based on the federal poverty income guidelines (or a more generous local standard), plus an asset test. Contact the assessor for this year's figures.

  2. Gather your documentation

    Federal and state income tax returns (including any property tax credit return) for everyone residing in the home, for the current or immediately preceding year. If someone wasn't required to file, an affidavit can substitute.

  3. Complete the application

    File the Application for MCL 211.7u Poverty Exemption (Form 5737) along with the Poverty Exemption Income and Asset Test and supporting documents.

  4. File with the Board of Review

    Applications must be filed after January 1 but before the last day of the local unit's December Board of Review. Most residents apply at the March Board of Review, which can also hear a valuation appeal at the same time.

  5. Reapply annually

    Unlike the Veteran's exemption, the poverty exemption must be affirmed every year to continue.

Appeal rights

A March Board of Review decision may be appealed to the Michigan Tax Tribunal by July 31. A July or December Board of Review decision may be appealed within 35 days of that decision.

Get Form 5737 → Poverty Exemption Tax Return Affidavit →

MCL 211.9o

Small Business Taxpayer Exemption

Exempts eligible commercial or industrial personal property from tax when its combined true cash value in this jurisdiction is under the statutory threshold.

Eligibility at a glance

  • Property must be classified (or would be classified) as commercial or industrial personal property under MCL 211.34c.
  • Combined true cash value of all such property owned, leased, or in the possession of the owner (or a related entity) in this jurisdiction must be under $80,000 for a full exemption filed once, or under $180,000 for an exemption that must be refiled every year.
  • The property must not be leased to or used by a person who previously owned it (or a related party), with limited exceptions.

  1. Determine your true cash value

    Use Form 632 (Personal Property Statement) valuation procedures to total the true cash value of your eligible personal property as of December 31 of the prior year.

  2. File Form 5076 by February 20

    Submit the Small Business Property Tax Exemption Claim (Form 5076) to the assessor. Under $80,000: file once, and the exemption continues until you no longer qualify. $80,000–$180,000: attach Form 632 and refile every year.

  3. Rescind promptly if you outgrow it

    If your personal property value grows past the threshold, file Form 5618 and a Personal Property Statement (Form 632) by February 20 of the year you no longer qualify. Missing this triggers significant penalties and interest.

Deadline

Form 5076 (and Form 5618, if rescinding) must be filed — postmark accepted — by February 20 each year it applies.

Get Form 5076 →

MCL 211.51

Summer Tax Deferment

Lets qualifying homeowners delay their summer property tax payment until February 15 of the following year, without penalty or interest.

Who qualifies

Households whose prior-year gross income was $40,000 or less, and the owner is one of the following: 62 years of age or older (including an unremarried surviving spouse who was 62+), totally and permanently disabled, blind, paraplegic, quadriplegic, an eligible serviceperson, eligible veteran, or eligible widow/widower — or, for agricultural property, a farm whose gross receipts aren't less than the owner's household income.

  1. Complete Form 471

    File the Application for Deferment of Summer Taxes (Form 471) with the treasurer of your city, village, or township — not the Michigan Department of Treasury.

  2. File by September 15

    Submit your intent to defer by September 15, or by the date your summer taxes would otherwise become due, whichever is later. This form is voluntary but required each year — filing it does not happen automatically.

  3. Pay by February 14

    Deferred summer taxes are due by February 14 of the following year to avoid interest and penalty.

Get Form 471 →