Principal Residence Exemption
If you own and occupy your home as your primary residence, it may be exempt from a portion of your local school operating taxes. To claim an exemption, complete the PRE Exemption Affidavit and file it with the Grand Rapids Township assessor by June 1, or November 1 for the winter only tax bill, of the year of the claim. For more information about the PRE review the PRE Guidelines.
Rescind of PRE
If you have claimed an exemption, then stop using it at a primary residence, you must notify your assessor by filing the Request to Rescind Principal Residence Exemption Affidavit with the Grand Rapids Township Assessing Department within 90 days of the change or you may be penalized. The exemption rescind becomes effective January 1 of the year following the change. If you fail to file the affidavit you could be billed for the additional taxes, penalties and interest by the state, county and local Treasurers.
Conditional Rescission of a PRE
On April 8, 2008, Governor Granholm signed House Bill 4215, enacting Public Act 96 of 2008, which amended Section 211.7cc of the General Property Tax Act, Public Act 206 of 1893. The amendment enables a person who has established a new principal residence in the state of Michigan to retain a PRE on property previously exempt as the owner's principal residence. The conditional rescission (CR) allows an owner to receive a PRE on his or her current Michigan property and on previously exempted property simultaneously if certain criteria are met. An owner may receive the PRE on the previous principal residence for up to three years if that property is not occupied, is for sale, is not leased and is not used for any business or commercial purpose.
To initially qualify for a conditional rescission, the owner must submit a Conditional Rescission of Principal Residence Exemption Affidavit to the assessor for the city or township in which the property is located on or before May 1 of the first year of the claim. For example, to qualify for a PRE in 2013 under a conditional rescission, the form must be submitted on or before May 1, 2013. The owner must annually submit an affidavit on or before December 31 to verify that the property for which the PRE is still meets all of the criteria for the continued exemption. In the example above, if the conditional rescission was approved for the 2013 tax year, the owner would be required to submit a new form by December 31, 2013 to verify qualifications for the 2014 tax year. For more information about the CR review the CR FAQ