Tax Breaks Harder To Get On Real Estate After Board Vote

If you're selling a home you own in Niles and buying another home in Niles, you can still get a break on the village's real estate transfer tax after trustees voted Tuesday to tighten up the rules. 

However, renters, children of Niles homeowners and others who got a break in the past will now have to pay the transfer tax after the village board revised the ordinance. 

People purchasing real estate in the village are required to pay a $3 tax per $1000 of value of the home. For a $300,000 home, that comes to $900. The village offers a $2 per $1,000 rebate for residents who are moving from another home within the village boundaries. On the same $300,000 home, that would make the tax $300.

“(The newly-revised ordinance) limits the scope of the people filing. We would run into problems when the people who didn’t own (property) would file for the rebate,” Finance Director Scot Neukirch said.

The village board approved a revised version Tuesday clarifying that the rebate is intended for those who have owned property in Niles and paid the transfer tax before. Renters and family members living with owners who are Niles residents would no longer qualify for the rebate.

“The way it was worded previously was any Niles resident could get a rebate,” Neukirch said. “The son or the daughter of a resident would buy a home, but it’s difficult to prove their residency.”

Renters also had difficulty finding proof to qualify for the rebate.

“It’s much easier to determine ownership from the water accounts and property taxes. We're trying to be more efficient with it,” Neukirch said.

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Buyers can only request the rebate within one year of the purchase. Transfer taxes on real estate are common in other area municipalities.