By VICKI URBANIK

The Indiana Department of Local Government Finance expects to correct the 2008  property tax data for Porter County today, after issuing a budget order on Wednesday that was in error because it omitted the county’s homestead credit.

The DLGF issued Porter County’s budget order -- a document that clears  the way for county officials to issue this year’s delayed property tax bills -- on Wednesday afternoon. Shortly afterwards, the Chesterton Tribune notified the state agency that  the order left out the county homestead credit. As a result, the DLGF was in the process of calculating the county credit and expected to reissue the tax numbers today.

The budget order issued Wednesday includes each Porter County taxing unit’s 2008 tax rate as well as the rates for two state-funded credits --  the Property Tax Replacement Credit and the state-funded homestead credit -- which vary by taxing district.

The numbers released Wednesday show that most tax rates are going down for Porter County’s taxing districts. For example, in Chesterton in Westchester Township, the total rate appears to be 2.5746, compared to the 2007 rate of 2.5921. The total tax rate includes the rate for the town, Duneland Schools, Westchester Township, Westchester Public Library and county government.

As expected, the numbers released Wednesday also show huge increases in the state-funded homestead credit. That’s because of the decision by the Indiana Legislature this year to set aside an additional $620 million statewide for the credit, in addition to $250 million approved last year.

For example, the state homestead credit for homeowners in Chesterton last year was 9.7 percent, while this year, it will soar to 17.9 percent, based on the numbers released Wednesday. For a Chesterton home assessed at $200,000 eligible for two of the most common deductions (the standard homestead and the mortgage deduction), the state credit will translate to a savings of $558 this year on the tax bill.

But in addition to the state-funded homestead credit, Porter County homeowners also receive  a county homestead credit, funded by a portion of the county income tax.

The county homestead credit was part of the decision made in 2005 to increase the county’s income tax in order for Porter County to join the Regional Development Authority.

The county homestead credit provides a sizeable cut in homeowner tax bills. Last year, for example, the county credit was 6.07 percent, meaning that the owner of a Chesterton home assessed at $200,000 got a break of $184 on last year’s tax bills just due to the county-funded credit.

The DLGF posts all budget orders on line, as well as a property tax calculator that allows property owners to estimate their tax bills if they know their property assessed valuation.

As of late this morning, the online information for Porter County had not yet been corrected to include the county homestead credit.

Posted 11/13/2008