Michigan homestead deadline, 2027.

Two dates, not one

Most states put homestead filing on a single calendar date. Michigan does not. MCL 211.7cc(2) sets the date by which the affidavit must be filed relative to the tax bill it affects. For taxes levied after 2011, the affidavit is due on or before June 1 for the immediately succeeding summer tax levy, and on or before November 1 for the immediately succeeding winter tax levy. The affidavit is filed with the local tax collecting unit in which the property is located, which in practice is your city or township, on a form prescribed by the Michigan Department of Treasury.

So for the 2027 tax year the two dates on this page are June 1, 2027 and November 1, 2027. The tool above shows the next two from the date you enter. A claim filed by June 1 covers the summer levy that follows it; a claim filed by November 1 covers the winter levy that follows it.

Worked example

You buy a house in Grand Rapids in March 2027 and move in. To get the exemption on the summer 2027 levy, file the affidavit on or before June 1, 2027. If you miss June 1 but file by November 1, 2027, the statute’s text ties that date to the winter levy, so ask your treasurer how the summer bill is treated. Either way, do not wait for the bill to arrive; the affidavit is the claim.

Claiming something you already missed

Subsection (19) of MCL 211.7cc covers an owner whose exemption was missed. That owner may file an affidavit with the local tax collecting unit claiming an exemption for the current calendar year or the immediately preceding 3 calendar years. On request, the owner must furnish proof within 30 days. This is the provision to read if you bought years ago, lived in the home, and never filed. It is a reach-back for a valid claim, not a way to claim a home you did not occupy as your principal residence.

Moving out: rescind on time

The exemption stops when the home stops being your principal residence, and the statute puts the duty to tell the local unit on you. Under subsection (5) you must rescind the claim by filing a rescission form with the local tax collecting unit not more than 90 days after the property is no longer used as a principal residence. A late rescission is subject to a penalty of $5.00 per day for each separate failure beginning after the 90 days have elapsed, up to a maximum of $200.00, and the Department of Treasury may waive it.

There is also a narrow conditional rescission: an owner may keep an exemption for not more than 3 tax years on a former residence that is unoccupied, for sale, unleased and not used commercially, if the owner files a conditional rescission form within the subsection (2) deadline. If you are selling your old home while you buy a new one, this is the rule that decides whether both homes carry an exemption.

How the tool works

The tool applies the two published dates to the date you enter and counts calendar days. Once a date has passed in a year it moves to the same date in the next year. The dates come from the statute, so they are not projected, but a local office can set its own earlier internal cutoff for processing and weekends are not adjusted.

Limits of this page

We read the statute text. Michigan.gov’s Treasury pages returned an access-denied error to our automated fetch, so we have not summarized form instructions or the tax effect of the exemption beyond the filing dates and the rescission rules. Confirm the current form and any change to the dates with your city or township treasurer.

Sources

Sources opened and read in November 2026.

• Michigan Legislature: MCL 211.7cc, principal residence exemption (read November 2026)