A home purchase changes which property an owner claims as a homestead. Confirming the filing during the move helps avoid discovering a missing deduction when the next tax bill arrives.
Filing after a move
Yes. The homestead deduction is claimed for a particular house with the county auditor where that house sits, on or before January 15 of the year its taxes are first due.
When the house you leave stops qualifying, the auditor has to be told within sixty days.
How the new house is claimed
The state's summary of property tax benefits, State Form 51781, lists two ways to claim it: on the sales disclosure form filed with the purchase, State Form 46021, or on the homestead deduction form, Form HC10. The HC10 is filed at the county auditor's office in the county where the house is located. One form covers both the standard homestead deduction and the supplemental homestead deduction.
Ask at the closing whether the claim went in with the sales disclosure form, and confirm it with the auditor afterward.
The house you leave
The HC10 tells the owner of a house that no longer qualifies to notify the auditor within sixty days of the change. An owner who does not is liable for the deductions received, plus a civil penalty equal to ten percent of the additional taxes due. Whether a house you sold, rented out or no longer live in still qualifies is a question for the auditor.
The deduction is getting smaller
Senate Enrolled Act 1 of 2025 steps the standard homestead deduction down. As the Department of Local Government Finance sets it out, it is $48,000 for the 2025 assessment date, $40,000 for 2026, $30,000 for 2027, $20,000 for 2028, $10,000 for 2029, and nothing from 2030 on. The same law changes the supplemental deduction and other homestead benefits.
What that does to the bill on any one house is not something this note can tell you.
Owners 65 and over
Owners 65 and over may also qualify for the over 65 credits, which carry income limits of their own. State Form 51781 lists them, with the form each is claimed on. Whether you qualify is a question for the auditor.
Confirm with the county auditor that the claim for the new home was received and applied. Keep the filing information with the closing records rather than relying on an assumption about who submitted it.
Whether your house qualifies, and what it will be billed, belongs to the county auditor. What the deduction is worth to you belongs to your CPA.
The notes on closing costs and who pays them and on selling first or buying first cover the rest of the move this sits inside.
Sources: Indiana Department of Local Government Finance, State Form 51781, Indiana Property Tax Benefits (R20, 8-25); Form HC10, State Form 5473, Claim for Homestead Property Tax Standard / Supplemental Deduction (R21, 7-25); and the Department's memo on legislation affecting deductions, credits and exemptions, May 27, 2026. Read at source, October 2026.
This note is general. It is not tax or legal advice. Deadlines, amounts and eligibility are set by state law and applied by your county auditor.