Building a house that we will occupy as our primary residence in early spring '23 (currently doing a lease on our house we sold). When do I do homestead exemption application? Jan 2023 before completion or Jan 2024?

I believe you have to occupy the home on January 1st.

look here

You can do it now once you move into the house, you don't have to wait for January anymore. But you won't be able to do it until the house is occupied.

There is a new wrinkle to the homestead exemption qualifications that went into effect this year. The exact change mainly impacts situations where there was no existing homestead exemption on the property (like in the case of newly constructed home or an existing home where the owner was not claiming the exemption). The change allows the new property owner to claim a pro-rated homestead exemption on a property that becomes their principal residence at any point in the year. Property owners must still own and reside in the home for at least one calendar year (starting January 1) before they can benefit from the full homestead exemption in the future.

To qualify for this pro-rated exemption:

• you must own and live in the home as your principle residence.
• home must be purchased on or after Jan 1, 2022.
• property cannot already have a general residence homestead exemption for the year.
• you cannot already be claiming a general residence homestead exemption for the same year on another
  property.

If you have any questions or doubts, I would contact the CAD office in the county where the new house is being constructed. They can provide you with the best information.

Good luck on the new build! We're building too...wacky times!

I can't comprehend why homestead extensions haven't always been applied on a pro-rated basis at the time of sale other than just rote bureaucracy.

TriAg2010 said:

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I can't comprehend why homestead extensions haven't always been applied on a pro-rated basis at the time of sale other than just rote bureaucracy.

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It helps the counties get more money a nickel and dime at a time.