"Principal place of residence" for purposes of the Property Tax Rebate for persons 65 or older is the dwelling and related structures whether owned or rented and only the amount of land surrounding it reasonably necessary to use the dwelling as a home. The surrounding land may not exceed five acres for purposes of this rebate.

If you have more acreage than is reasonably necessary to maintain a dwelling, adjust the amount of property tax billed to reflect the principal place of residence only. You may use only this smaller amount to calculate the tax rebate.

EXAMPLE: If a taxpayers principal place of residence is located on 25 acres, include the total amount of property tax billed for the house alone plus the portion of the land that is reasonably necessary to maintain the residence, but not more than 5 acres. If only one acre is reasonably necessary to maintain the residence, divide the tax due on the land by the total number of acres for which property tax has been billed. Add the property tax billed on the home to the amount of property tax billed on the land. The total is the amount of property tax billed. Use that amount in computing this rebate.

NOTE: If you paid rent for your principal place of residence for part of the year and were billed property tax for your principal place of residence for the other part of the year, you may claim both portions. The property tax you would claim on line 14 is only that part of the annual property tax billed for the period you live there. If you were billed property tax on your manufactured home and you also paid rent for your lot or space, you may claim both.

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