Marshall County abates $22,007.97 after programming error doubled Homestead 65+ credits for 110 taxpayers

Marshall County real estate staff told the Board of Supervisors on Sept. 24 that a programming error tied to implementation of House File 718 caused the Homestead 65+ exemption to be doubled for roughly 110 taxpayers across 31 tax districts, producing a $22,007.97 discrepancy for tax year 2024.

Real estate staff said the problem dated to the statute's retroactive provisions and to a data rollover from tax year 2023 to 2024 that required manual entries and programmer changes. Staff reported they "have fixed 26" cases and worked with the auditor's office to correct another 25. The staff estimate for the total affected amount was $22,007.97, which they characterized as a clerical/programming error.

Treasurer Diane Tomlinson told the board that roughly 30 of the affected taxpayers had already paid their statements and that the treasurer's office was handling incoming payments. County staff recommended abating the $22,007.97 so landowners would be protected and sending letters to the affected taxpayers and to taxing authorities in the 31 districts for transparency.

A supervisor moved to abate $22,007.97 for the 110 taxpayers for tax year 2024; the board approved the abatement by roll call. Staff said next year's tax statements should show the corrected credit amounts.

The board also discussed procedural safeguards including adding the assessor's report to the auditor's program to provide a double check on exemptions in future rollovers. The abatement was presented as a remediation of a clerical/programming error, not a change in eligibility.