Deferrals & postponements
Many states let senior, disabled, and veteran homeowners defer property taxes entirely: the tax becomes a low-interest lien, repaid when the home is sold or the owner dies, and the tax-sale machinery never starts. These programs are real, statutory, and chronically under-claimed. Yours may be one form away.
Read your state's line, then confirm with the county assessor or treasurer — eligibility (age, disability status, income cap, years in the home) is set by the statute cited on each state page. Where this table says 'none found,' the research found no deferral in the sources read; exemptions may still cut your bill.
| State | Deferral / postponement position (law checked October 19, 2026) |
|---|---|
| Alabama | No deferral found. Instead, owners 65+ with taxable income under $12,000, and totally disabled owners, can claim a full homestead tax exemption — an exemption, not a pause. |
| Alaska | A municipality may by local law defer taxes on the first $150,000 of value for a main-home owner who is 65+, a disabled veteran, or a widow(er) 60+. The same classes can exempt that first $150,000 instead (an exemption, not a deferral). |
| Arizona | A residential deferral exists (A.R.S. §§42-17301–17313) — in the statute summary it is narrow: age 70+, main home, years of Arizona residence, and a low taxable-income ceiling; the claim is filed yearly. |
| Arkansas | None found. (The 65+/disabled homestead assessment freeze under Amendment 79 caps future increases; it does not defer taxes owed.) |
| California | The State Controller's Property Tax Postponement Program: owners 62+, blind, or disabled, with at least 40% equity and household income at or under $57,002 (2026-27 figure), can defer current-year taxes at 5% interest; the state records a lien. |
| Colorado | Yes — the homestead deferral (C.R.S. §39-3.5-102): owners 65+ and certain others (including owners called to military service) may defer; the state pays and takes a lien, repaid on sale or death events. |
| Connecticut | Local options only: towns may defer taxes for 65+/disabled homeowners (§12-129n, town-set income limits) and may abate tax above 8% of an occupant's income (§12-124a), repayable with 6% interest on death or sale. |
| Delaware | None found. |
| Florida | Yes — homestead tax deferral (Fla. Stat. §§197.2425–197.312): defer the part of homestead tax above 5% of household income (3% interest measure for seniors); owners 65+ under the income threshold may defer all of it. The deferred amount is a lien, due on sale or change of use. |
| Georgia | Yes — deferral for homestead owners 62+ with gross household income at or under $15,000 (O.C.G.A. §48-5-72): defer part or all of the tax; the deferred amount plus interest is a lien, due on change of ownership or use. |
| Hawaii | None found. |
| Idaho | Yes — the Idaho Property Tax Deferral Program (State Tax Commission): main-home owners 65+, widows/widowers, blind or disabled owners, former POWs and qualifying veterans, with income at or under $61,674 (2025 figure). The state pays and records a lien. |
| Illinois | Yes — the Senior Citizens Real Estate Tax Deferral (320 ILCS 30): age 65+, defer up to $7,500 per year at 3% simple interest, repaid on sale, death, or transfer. |
| Indiana | None found. |
| Iowa | Not a deferral but a suspension: the tax suspension program (Iowa Code §§427.8–427.12) can suspend taxes for persons unable to contribute to the public revenue. |
| Kansas | None found. |
| Kentucky | None found. |
| Louisiana | None found. (The homestead exemption reduces the tax; it does not defer it.) |
| Maine | A Maine Property Tax Deferral Program for senior (65+) and disabled homeowners exists as a separate state program — its terms were not verified from statute text in this research; ask the town or the state. |
| Maryland | County option only: elderly/disabled tax deferral exists where your county has authorized it by local law — there is no single statewide deferral. |
| Massachusetts | Elderly tax deferral exists under G.L. c. 59, §5(41A) where adopted locally — terms not verified from statute text in this research. |
| Michigan | Hardship extensions by the treasurer for qualifying principal residences exist under the foreclosure statutes; no separate senior deferral program was pinned. |
| Minnesota | The Minnesota Senior Citizens Property Tax Deferral (ch. 290B) exists as a separate state program — terms not verified from statute text in this research. |
| Mississippi | None found. |
| Missouri | No deferral found. (The senior homestead tax freeze/credit is a freeze on increases, not a deferral of taxes owed.) |
| Montana | None found as a deferral. (The Property Tax Assistance Program and the elderly homestead credit are relief programs, not deferrals.) |
| Nebraska | None found. (The homestead exemption is an exemption, not a deferral.) |
| Nevada | Yes — the property tax postponement program (NRS 361.736–361.7398): eligible single-family homeowners may postpone taxes until sale, death, or leaving the home, at 6% interest. |
| New Hampshire | None found in the sources read. |
| New Jersey | No deferral in current law was found (a senior deferral exists only as a proposed bill). Relief programs are the Senior Freeze reimbursement and the $250 senior/disabled deduction — reimbursements and deductions, not pauses. |
| New Mexico | None found. (The senior/disabled value limitation freezes the taxable value; it does not defer taxes owed.) |
| New York | None found statewide; senior relief is the 65+ exemption / STAR credit, not a deferral. |
| North Carolina | Yes — the elderly/disabled circuit breaker (G.S. §105-277.1B): owner 65+ or totally and permanently disabled, 5 years of ownership and occupancy, income-capped; taxes above 4% (or 5%) of income are deferred as a lien, due with interest on a disqualifying event. |
| North Dakota | None found. (The homestead credit is a credit, not a deferral.) |
| Ohio | None found as a deferral. (The senior/disabled homestead exemption reduces the tax; it does not defer it.) |
| Oklahoma | None found in current law (a senior deferral act appears only as a proposed bill). Senior relief in force is the homestead exemption and the senior valuation freeze. |
| Oregon | Yes — the Senior and Disabled Citizen Property Tax Deferral (ORS 311.666–311.701): taxes are paid by the state and become a lien, repaid with interest on sale, death, or leaving the home. |
| Pennsylvania | None found. (Senior homestead/farmstead exclusions reduce the tax; they do not defer it.) |
| Rhode Island | No deferral program verified in the sources read; relief is the homestead exemption (value reduction). |
| South Carolina | None found. (The homestead exemption is an exemption from tax, not a deferral.) |
| South Dakota | Yes — the senior/disabled assessment freeze (SDCL §10-6C) exists as a separate program; a standby 2025 law (SB 228) would suspend foreclosure of qualifying tax liens on the death of the owner while an estate is administered — not operative in the sources read. |
| Tennessee | Yes — the Tax Deferral for the Elderly and Disabled (Tenn. Code §67-5-702): owner 65+ or disabled (or the surviving spouse, 55+), income-capped, deferred taxes become a lien due with interest on sale or death. |
| Texas | 65+ / disabled homeowners may defer collection while they live in the home (§33.06) — interest at 5% per year. |
| Utah | Yes — the elderly tax deferral program (Utah Code §59-2-1801 et seq.), a state program with income and residency limits; terms not verified here. |
| Vermont | None found at the state level. (The current-use program (ch. 124) reduces value for enrolled farm/forest land; it is not a deferral.) |
| Virginia | Local-option only: localities may defer real estate taxes for elderly or disabled owners under local ordinance (§58.1-3295) — no statewide program. |
| Washington | Yes — the senior/disabled deferral (RCW 84.38): owner 60+ (or 57+ surviving spouse), or retired for disability, income-capped; the state pays the taxes as a lien repaid with interest on sale or death. |
| West Virginia | None found. (The homestead exemption is a $20,000 assessment exemption, not a deferral.) |
| Wisconsin | Yes — the elderly tax-deferral loan program (WHEDA, §234.621 et seq.): state loans to pay delinquent taxes for 65+ homeowners (deferral loans were also extended to veterans in a later act whose operative text was not verified here). |
| Wyoming | None found. (Wyoming's property tax rebate and assistance programs reduce the bill; they do not defer the lien.) |
Deferral is not forgiveness. The deferred tax accrues interest and is repaid from the home later. For an owner choosing between a tax sale and a deferral, it is almost always the right trade — but heirs should know the lien exists. The heirs page
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