Calhoun County proposal would link homeowner relief to sales taxes

Eligible homeowners would receive a reduction in their homes’ taxable value, calculated each year using local sales tax receipts. Only county property taxes on eligible homes within Calhoun County would qualify. Relief would add to other home exemptions. Value above the exempt amount would remain taxable. The proposal would require a two-thirds vote in each legislative chamber, enactment, and approval by more than half of voters voting on the question. Homeowners would need to apply unless they remained eligible for another county home exemption granted for the same home in the immediately preceding tax year. The exemption would renew automatically while residents lived there and remained eligible. They would have to report any loss of eligibility. The exemption would apply to tax years beginning January 1 of the year following voter approval through December 31, 2039. Approval at the scheduled November 2026 vote would make it start January 1, 2027.

A 1 percent local sales and use tax would support the proposed home property tax relief. The tax would apply within the district covering Calhoun County, under the state sales tax rules referenced in the proposal. The proposal would require a two-thirds vote in each legislative chamber, enactment, and approval by more than half of voters voting on the question. If voters rejected the proposal or the required election did not occur, the exemption would not take effect and the act would automatically be repealed. The vote was scheduled for November 3, 2026. The tax would run from January 1, 2028, through December 31, 2037. If approval failed or the required election did not occur, repeal would follow on the 365th calendar day after the scheduled election date.