Douglas County Homestead Exemption: How to Apply

Every spring, a lot of Omaha homeowners who qualify for Nebraska's homestead exemption never apply for it. Some do not know it exists. Some assume it renews on its own. Either way, the deadline passes on June 30 and another year of full property tax gets locked in. Here is how the exemption works and how to make sure you do not miss it.

What the Homestead Exemption Does

The homestead exemption reduces the taxable value of your home, which reduces the property tax you owe. Depending on your category and your income, the reduction can be partial or it can cover 100 percent of the value up to a cap. The state reimburses the county for the lost revenue, so the exemption does not come out of your neighbors' pockets or your local school budget.

Who Qualifies

Nebraska offers the exemption to several groups of owner-occupants:

• Homeowners 65 and older as of January 1 of the application year.
• Homeowners with a qualifying disability, which includes certain permanent physical disabilities and developmental disabilities.
• Veterans with a 100 percent service-connected disability, and certain surviving spouses. This category has no income limit.
• Other veteran and surviving-spouse categories with their own rules.

For the age and disability categories, two limits apply. Your household income must fall under a threshold, and your home's assessed value must fall under a cap tied to the county's average home value. Both figures are adjusted each year, so check the current numbers with the Douglas County Assessor or the Nebraska Department of Revenue rather than relying on last year's.

How to Apply

You file Form 458 with the Douglas County Assessor's office between February 2 and June 30. The age and disability categories also require an income statement, and first-time disability filers need a physician's certification. The assessor's office can tell you exactly which attachments your category needs.

Two things catch people every year:

1. It does not renew automatically. Most categories must file again each year, even if nothing has changed.
2. June 30 is firm, with two exceptions. The county board can extend your deadline to July 20 on request, though not two years in a row. And if a medical condition kept you from filing, you can file late with a physician's certification on Form 458L, up to a year after the normal deadline.

While You Are Looking at Your Assessment

The same June 30 date closes the window to protest your assessed value, and the two work together. The exemption reduces the taxable portion of your value, but if the value itself is too high, you are still paying more than you should on whatever remains. Our guide to protesting your Douglas County assessment walks through that process. Big Red Value lets you check how your assessment compares to similar homes in a few minutes, which is a sensible first step before you decide whether to file either form.

If you have a parent or neighbor who is over 65 and still paying full freight, this is worth a conversation. The application takes an afternoon, and the savings repeat every year you file.

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