Montgomery County issued a press release on April 4, 2023, that is causing a great deal of confusion regarding the Homestead Tax Credit application. This press release failed to mention that the Homestead Tax Credit only needs to be applied for one time, so people are confused as to whether they should be applying for the credit by the new deadline of May 1, 2023, or not. The State Department of Assessment and Taxation (SDAT) has reported an influx of phone inquiries (on April 5th over 930 inquiries were received by 1:30 PM when its daily average is 200 inquiries). The increased volume of these calls is preventing the SDAT tax credit team from issuing the necessary Access Code for residents who must have this code in order to file their Homestead Tax Credit application via mail or online by May 1, 2023.
Homeowners can verify whether they have already been approved for the credit by searching their property on our website at: https://sdat.dat.maryland.gov/RealProperty/Pages/default.aspx. Here is a great step-by-step explanation.
Additionally, SDAT continues to allocate additional resources to its tax credit department to ensure that every resident who needs an Access Code is in receipt of one by the May 1, 2023, deadline. The SDAT tax credit team is working diligently to ensure every homeowner is properly serviced. Montgomery County apologizes for the confusion and inconvenience that has ensued as a result of their April 4th announcement.
Jana Coe, Town Manager