Treasury: Principal Residence Exemption Doesn’t Expire

The Michigan Department of Treasury is reminding Michiganders that a Principal Residence Exemption – known as a PRE – does not expire.

Inaccurate posts being shared on social media are claiming that Michigan taxpayers will experience a surge in property taxes due to their PRE expiring after 25 years. In return, the state Treasury Department and local assessors are experiencing a surge in inquiries from residents who are trying to verify this misinformation or submit unneeded paperwork.

“Simply put, there isn’t an expiration date on a Principal Residence Exemption,” said acting Deputy State Treasurer Anne Wohlfert, who oversees Treasury’s State and Local Finance programs. “Homeowners who have claimed a Principal Residence Exemption do not have to refile the required form unless they move.”

A PRE exempts a residence from the tax levied by a local school district for school operating purposes up to 18 mills. To qualify for a PRE, a person must be a Michigan resident who owns and occupies the property as a principal residence.

For more information about property taxes, go to www.michigan.gov/propertytax or follow the state Treasury Department on Twitter at @MITreasury.

Assessing Facts

  1. The Assessed Value is one-half of the Assessor’s estimates of the market value of your property. This number does not affect your tax bill. This value may change by any amount each year.
  2. Taxable Value is the number that your property taxes are based on. This number is limited to an increase of 5% or the rate of inflation, whichever is less. New construction, or a sale in the previous year, may change the taxable value by more than the current limit of 5% or the rate of inflation.
  3. Sheds, decks, concrete, asphalt paving, pools, etc. are taxable items. There has been a misconception that if something is not attached to your home it is not taxable. If it adds value to the real estate, it is taxable.
  4. The sales used to determine the value of property does not include the price the bank pays for a property in a foreclosure situation. Sales from the bank to an individual are not used. Family sales are also not used. Only sales that are considered an Arms Length transaction are used. These would typically be sales between individuals each of whom is willing to buy or sell, and neither is under any undue influence to buy or sell. Only properties that sell are part of the analysis. Properties that have no sold have no bearing on determining value.
  5. For information regarding the appeal process to the Board of Review, please see the ‘Board of Review’ tab.
  6. If the Assessor discovers that there are items on your property that have no been accounted for, you may be reassessed for the value of those items and additional taxes may be charged as far back as 3 years.
  7. Since Proposal A was adopted in 1994, you cannot compare tax bills with your neighbors and expect them to be similar. Property taxes are now subject to many different factors and identical homes could have very different tax amounts.
  8. A new buyer is likely to pay more taxes than the previous owner. In some cases, much more. This is due to the uncapping of the taxable value the year following the sale. This means after the sale takes place, the taxable value will not be limited to an increase by the rate of inflation. It will automatically increase to whatever the Assessed Value is for that year. From that point on, the taxable value is again capped at the rate of inflation for as long as that person continues to be the owner. (Exceptions to that would be new construction, demolition, or an adjustment due to an appeal of some type.)
  9. The Assessor cannot change your taxes! The Assessor deals only with the value of the property. Taxes are voted, and there is no authority for anyone to change a tax rate. Anyone who files an appeal with the Board of Review or the Michigan Tax Tribunal will be appealing the value, not the amount of taxes.

Board of Review

The Board of Review has the authority over clerical errors, mutual mistakes of fact and situations involving hardship exemptions, Principal Residence (homestead) Exemptions, and Qualified Agricultural Exemptions.

To learn more about the Board of Review, please contact the Assessor’s Office.

Board of Review FAQs
Board of Review Petition
Property Appeal Process

Property information is available for viewing at the Assessing Department during normal business hours.

Property and tax billing information is also available online by clicking on the Online Assessing Information Look-up link below. Online information is currently updated daily. Most property records now have a sketch of buildings, improvements and land, as well as a digital photograph.

Online Assessing Information Look-up

Responsibilities of the Assessing Department

The Assessing Department is a multi-purpose department, which is responsible for establishing fair and equitable property tax assessments for Bath Charter Township taxpayers. As mandated by the Michigan Constitution, all property must be assessed at 50% of its fair-market value. This requires the Assessing Department to legally describe and identify all Real and Personal Property. The Assessing Department annually establishes the Assessed and Taxable Value of all taxable property located within the Township.

It is the responsibility of the Assessing Department to maintain the integrity and accuracy of the assessment and tax rolls. Other duties include:

  • Administering Principal Residence Exemptions (Homesteads), Principal Residence Exemption Rescissions, and Conditional Rescission of Principal Residence Exemption.
  • Maintaining aerial and parcel maps that reflect correct legal descriptions and boundary lines.
  • Processing land division applications or any legal description changes to the assessment or tax rolls.
  • Reviewing all deeds to reflect current property ownership.

The Assessing Department is also responsible for any Special Assessment Rolls. This function provides for the equitable disbursement of the cost of infrastructure improvements to those who benefit from such improvements.

Assessor's Office

Beth Botke, Assessor
Email: bbotke@bathtownship.us

Hanna Hoard, Assessing Assistant
Email: hhoard@bathtownship.us

Bath Charter Township
14480 Webster Road
P.O. Box 247
Bath, Michigan 48808

Phone: (517) 641-6728

Fax: (517) 641-4170

Hours: 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m., Monday – Thursday

There is a secure, 24-hour drop box located next to the Township Office entrance that may be used for any Township business.