Homeowners in Montgomery County are opening their mailboxes this month because of higher property tax bills. The 2026 tax year, which began July 1, reflects a decision the county council made in May: eliminating the Income Tax Offset Credit (ITOC), a $692 rebate that was included on most homeowners’ bills for years. Two months after this vote, the effects are no longer theoretical.
The county did not increase the property tax rate this year. But for many homeowners, the loss of credit combined with rising tax bills still means a higher bill than last year.
Residents respond to higher tax bills in county Reddit posts.
The reaction was immediate. In neighborhood Facebook groups, on Nextdoor and in Reddit threads dedicated to the county, residents have compared notes, posted their bills and asked why the increase feels so much larger than officials had suspected. The scale of this response, dozens of posts and hundreds of comments in various threads, is itself a sign of how widespread the change is.
Table of Contents
What it looks like on an invoice
For Sylvia Saunders, the number wasn’t abstract. Saunders founded East County Village Seniors. She has been retired for almost 30 years and looked at her bill when she figured out the usual number. She didn’t find it.
“I looked at my bill and thought, ‘Wow, I don’t even make that much money,'” Saunders said.
Her 2025 bill included a $692 property tax credit, a $1,320.09 homeowner credit, a $2.44 state homestead credit and a $2,180 state tax assessment. This year, she said, “there is not a single loan here, not a single one.”
Saunders didn’t realize the $692 limit was even on her bill until it disappeared. “ITOC is confusing,” she said. “$692 is a lot of money.”
The timing made it worse. Saunders just paid for a new roof on an 18-month plan. Homeowners only have two months to pay their property tax bill in full or start a payment plan.
“I think this is abhorrent. This is not the time to tax seniors or people who can’t find a job,” Saunders said. “It’s reckless. It’s disrespectful. I’m not just saying it for seniors. I’m saying it for everyone. They don’t know who’s working, who’s not working or who’s making less money.”
A credit with an expiration date
Emily Van Loon has spent years observing this up close. She is vice president and treasurer of the Village of Takoma Park, a nonprofit organization that helps seniors age in place. It’s part of a national network of similar “villages” in Silver Spring, Chevy Chase and elsewhere.
The village focuses on lower-income seniors, Van Loon said. That includes renters who aren’t directly affected by property taxes and longtime homeowners who bought in Takoma Park decades before it became expensive.
“They live in very small ranches,” Van Loon said. Many are widows who are running a house on their own for the first time. “They’re kind of pushed into a corner where they have to maintain their homes, pay rising utility bills…and then the burden of property taxes.”
Montgomery County is offering help. Homeowners age 65 and older who have lived in their home for 40 years can receive a 20% property tax credit. But Van Loon said the loan was only for seven years.
“What do they expect from you in seven years?” Van Loon said. “It’s great if you’re still alive, but my God, the county says, too bad, so sad, we’re going to make you pay more because you happen to live a little longer.”
If credit is used up, the loss can be severe. Van Loon said a villager in his 70s lost both the senior credit and homestead exemption this year. Her property taxes increased by $1,800 without any increase in the tax rate on her home.
Van Loon has her own share of mathematics. She is 73. Her husband is 75. They have lived in their Takoma Park home for 38 years, two years shy of the 40-year mark.
“I have to wait another two years,” she said. “To get to the 40-year loan, get a loan that’s only good for seven years.”
Why officials disagree
The district chairman Marc Elrich was against abolishing the loan from the start. He said the change would raise taxes across the board by $692 each for more than 201,000 households. Asked for comment, Council President Natali Fani-González defended the decision in a statement to MCM. Elrich proposed a 6% property tax increase and an income tax increase for all wage earners, and the council rejected both. Instead, the council adopted a progressive income tax structure that lowers taxes for 95% of wage earners. To finance this reduction, the county abolished the ITOC.
“To fund this tax cut for the vast majority of wage earners, we eliminated the poorly targeted and costly Earned Income Tax Compensation Credit,” Fani-González said. The county has funneled the savings to Montgomery County Public Schools and other services, she said.
Both officials are sticking to their positions after the bills were introduced. At a recent media briefing, Elrich said, “This is a tax increase no matter what the county says.” He added that many homeowners were surprised that the $692 credit was completely eliminated.
Confusion or complexity
Saunders’ experience suggests that it is an amount larger than a dollar. The county operates several overlapping tax credit programs. Everyone has their own rules. Everyone has their own deadline.
Homestead credit is a one-time submission. Homeowners must have it on file with the state by May 1 for the ITOC to apply should the council ever restore it. The property tax credit for homeowners works differently. A new application is required each year and is due October 1st. A separate credit for residents age 65 and older who have lived in their home for at least 40 years has a deadline of April 1. If you miss a deadline, you may miss out on relief altogether.
What homeowners can do now
Homeowners hoping to get the credit back still need a home tax credit application filed with the state. MCM broke down the timelines and assistance programs currently available in a service article published earlier this month.
https://www.mymcmedia.org/montgomery-county-tax-bills-reaction/
