Page 120 - TownofWestlakeFY25BudgetOrd1005

EXEMPTIONS & PROPERTY TAX REDUCTION

The Town of Westlake offers the following exemptions and property tax reduction programs to its residents:

HOMESTEAD EXEMPTION
It is the intent of the Town Council of the Town of Westlake to adopt the highest possible homestead exemption,
which would be a homestead exemption in the amount of twenty percent (20%) of the value of the homestead,
and in any event, the exemption shall be at least a minimum of Five Thousand dollars ($5,000).

ADDITIONAL 65+ or DISABLED EXEMPTION
A $10,000 exemption on the taxable value of homes of 65+ or disabled residents (one or the other, not both).

HOMESTEAD TAX CEILING, OR TAX FREEZE
This exemption limits the total amount of taxes residents who are 65+ or disabled pay so that their future years’
taxes will not increase beyond what they currently pay upon qualification. Any resident that was 65 or disabled
when the Town increased its zero, or 0%, ad valorem rate in 2010, did not pay any municipal ad valorem taxes for
the 2009 tax year due to this tax ceiling. After the 2010 tax levy, persons over 65 or disabled with a Westlake
residence homestead are able to freeze their municipal tax levy in the tax year of qualification for the tax ceiling
exemption, or tax freeze, and their municipal ad valorem taxes will remain fixed at that amount. Additionally, they
will not pay more but could potentially pay less if taxes are lowered.

PROPERTY TAX REDUCTION
The residents of Westlake voted to abolish the ½-% additional sales and use tax for economic and industrial
development, Section 4A, and to implement the ½-% local sales and use tax to be used to reduce the property tax
rate, effective October 1, 2006. Prior year’s sales tax revenues are used in calculating the current tax rates based
on the State Comptroller’ s Truth-in-Taxation process. Current calculations of Westlake’ s tax rate take these
revenues into consideration and have saved our residents approximately $ 0.133049 per $100 valuation.

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