Senior Benefit Deadlines by State: All 50 States (2026)
Missing a filing date costs a full year of relief — and 19 states make you refile annually. Every deadline we could verify, for all 50 states and DC, in one table.
Category: Benefits Overview · 7 min read · Updated 2026-08-01
Most guides tell you which benefits exist. Almost none tell you when you have to file — and for state property tax relief, the date is the whole game. Miss it and you do not get a warning letter or a second chance. You simply lose a year of savings, and in most states you cannot claim it back.
We compiled this while researching all 50 state guides. It is every senior filing deadline we could verify, for all 50 states and the District of Columbia, in one place. As far as we can tell, nobody else publishes this as a single table.
The finding that surprised us most: 19 states make you refile every single year. Not once. Every year, for as long as you want to keep the benefit.
The 19 states that make you refile every year
If your state is on this list, treat the date as a recurring appointment, not a one-time task. This is the most expensive thing a senior can forget, because the benefit stops silently:
Alaska · California · Connecticut · Idaho · Illinois · Kansas · Michigan · Minnesota · Missouri · Nebraska · New Hampshire · New Jersey · Pennsylvania · South Dakota · Tennessee · Utah · Vermont · Virginia · Wisconsin
Every deadline, state by state
Dates are the state-level filing deadlines. Where a state has more than one senior program with its own window, each is listed separately.
| State | Benefit | Deadline | Refile yearly? | Where to file |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Homestead exemption (H-2/H-3/H-4) | December 31 | No | county tax assessor |
| Alaska | Permanent Fund Dividend | March 31 | Yes | pfd.alaska.gov |
| $150,000 senior property exemption | March 15 | No | borough assessor | |
| Arizona | Senior Property Valuation Protection (freeze) | September 1 | No | county assessor |
| Arkansas | Homestead credit + Amendment 79 freeze | October 15 | No | county assessor |
| California | Property Tax Postponement application | February 10 | Yes | CA State Controller |
| Colorado | Senior Homestead Exemption | July 15 | No | county assessor |
| Connecticut | Elderly/Disabled Circuit Breaker | May 15 | No | town assessor |
| Renters’ Rebate | September 30 | Yes | town assessor or social services | |
| Delaware | Senior School Property Tax Credit | April 30 | No | your county |
| District of Columbia | Senior citizen property tax relief | October 1 | No | DC OTR |
| Florida | Homestead + senior exemptions | March 1 | No | county property appraiser |
| Georgia | Senior homestead exemptions | April 1 | No | county tax commissioner |
| Hawaii | County home exemption (Oahu) | September 30 | No | county real property office |
| Idaho | Property Tax Reduction (Circuit Breaker) | April 15 | Yes | county assessor |
| Illinois | Senior Freeze (PTAX-340) | December 31 | Yes | county assessor |
| Indiana | Over 65 Credit + 2% Circuit Breaker | January 15 | No | county auditor |
| Iowa | 65+ Homestead Exemption | July 1 | No | city or county assessor |
| Kansas | SAFESR / SVR / Homestead refund | April 15 | Yes | kansas.gov/webfile |
| Kentucky | Homestead exemption | December 31 | No | county PVA |
| Louisiana | Special Assessment Level (senior freeze) | September 15 | No | parish assessor |
| Maine | Homestead exemption | April 1 | No | town assessor |
| Maryland | Homeowners’ / Renters’ Tax Credit | October 1 | No | Maryland OneStop |
| Massachusetts | Clause 41C local exemption | April 1 | No | local assessor |
| Michigan | Home Heating Credit (MI-1040CR-7) | September 30 | Yes | Michigan Treasury |
| Minnesota | Property tax refund (M1PR) | August 15 | Yes | MN Revenue |
| Senior Citizens Property Tax Deferral | November 1 | No | MN Revenue | |
| Mississippi | Senior homestead exemption (REAPPLY at 65) | April 1 | No | county tax assessor |
| Missouri | Circuit Breaker (MO-PTC) | April 15 | Yes | MO Revenue |
| Montana | PTAP property tax assistance | April 15 | No | MT Revenue |
| Nebraska | Homestead exemption (Form 458) | June 30 | Yes | county assessor |
| Nevada | Property Tax Cap Claim (3%) | June 30 | No | county assessor |
| New Hampshire | Town elderly exemption | April 15 | No | town assessor |
| Low & Moderate Income relief (DP-8) | June 30 | Yes | NH Revenue | |
| New Jersey | Stay NJ + Senior Freeze + ANCHOR (PAS-1) | November 2 | Yes | NJ Treasury |
| New Mexico | Valuation freeze | March 31 | No | county assessor |
| New York | Enhanced STAR + senior exemption | March 1 | No | local assessor |
| North Carolina | Homestead Exclusion (AV-9) | June 1 | No | county tax office |
| North Dakota | Primary Residence Credit | April 1 | No | ND Tax Commissioner |
| Ohio | Homestead Exemption | December 31 | No | county auditor |
| Oklahoma | Senior Valuation Freeze (Form 994) | March 15 | No | county assessor |
| Oregon | Property Tax Deferral | April 15 | No | county assessor |
| Pennsylvania | Property Tax/Rent Rebate | June 30 | Yes | PA Revenue |
| Rhode Island | City/town senior exemption | March 31 | No | city or town assessor |
| South Carolina | Homestead Exemption | July 15 | No | county auditor |
| South Dakota | Assessment Freeze | April 1 | Yes | county treasurer |
| Tennessee | Property Tax Relief + county freeze | April 5 | Yes | county trustee |
| Texas | Over-65 exemption + school tax freeze | April 30 | No | county appraisal district |
| Utah | Circuit Breaker | September 1 | Yes | county clerk-auditor |
| Vermont | Homestead Declaration + property tax credit (HS-122) | April 15 | Yes | VT Taxes |
| Virginia | Locality tax relief | May 1 | Yes | Commissioner of the Revenue |
| Washington | Senior property tax exemption | December 31 | No | county assessor |
| West Virginia | Homestead exemption | December 1 | No | county assessor |
| Wisconsin | Homestead Credit (Schedule H) | April 15 | Yes | WI Revenue |
| Wyoming | Long-Term Homeowner Exemption | May 22 | No | county assessor |
Confirm with your county before you rely on a date
Property tax relief in the United States is administered locally. The state sets the framework; your county or town sets the actual filing window, the forms, and sometimes extra exemptions the state never mentions.
So treat these as the right starting point, not the final word. Call the office listed for your state, give them your county, and ask two questions: “what is my filing deadline this year?” and “do I have to reapply annually?” That call takes five minutes and settles it.
If you are not sure who to call, the Eldercare Locator at 1-800-677-1116 will connect you to your Area Agency on Aging, which handles these questions daily and helps at no cost.
Put it in a calendar, not in your memory
A date you have read is not a date you will remember eleven months from now. When you run our free benefits check, the results page shows your state’s deadlines with a countdown, and gives you a one-tap button that adds them to your phone calendar — set to repeat every year, with reminders 30 days and 7 days before.
A family member can set that up for you in about a minute, and then it keeps working without anyone having to remember anything.
Federal benefits have no deadline at all
One thing worth being clear about, because it stops people applying: the deadlines on this page are state and local property tax programs. The big federal benefits — Medicare Savings Programs, SNAP, SSI and Extra Help — have no annual filing window. You can apply any day of the year.
If you think you might qualify for one of those, there is no reason to wait for a date. Apply now.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which states make seniors reapply for property tax relief every year?
Based on the deadlines we compiled, 19 states have at least one senior benefit that must be refiled annually: Alaska, California, Connecticut, Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia and Wisconsin. This is the single most expensive thing a senior can forget, because the benefit does not lapse with a warning — it simply stops, and in most states you cannot claim the missed year retroactively. If you live in one of these states, put the date in a calendar with a reminder rather than trusting memory.
What happens if I miss my state’s senior property tax deadline?
In most states you lose that year of relief entirely and must wait until the next filing window. A few states allow late filing with a hardship reason or a partial-year adjustment, but you should never count on it. If you have just missed a deadline, call your county assessor anyway and ask directly whether a late application or hardship exception is possible — the answer varies by county, not just by state, and the call costs nothing.
Do these deadlines change by county?
Yes, and this matters. Property tax relief in the United States is administered locally, so the state sets the framework while your county or town sets the actual filing window, the forms, and sometimes additional exemptions. The dates in this table are the state-level deadlines we verified, and they are the right starting point — but always confirm with your county assessor before relying on one. A five-minute phone call to the office listed for your state removes all doubt.
Is there one deadline for all senior benefits?
No, and that is exactly why people miss them. Federal programs like SNAP, SSI and the Medicare Savings Programs have no annual deadline at all — you can apply any day of the year, and you should apply as soon as you think you qualify. State property tax relief is the opposite: it runs on fixed filing windows that differ by state and often by county. The deadlines in this table are almost entirely state and local property tax programs, which is where the calendar risk lives.