Property Tax Credit for Public Safety Officers
Effective February 27, 2023 - Montgomery County Bill 39-21 allows for Property Tax Credit for Public Safety Officers
This program is a property tax credit that is applied to the County property tax of an eligible Public Safety Officer – Public Safety Communications Specialist who is the legal owner of a property in Montgomery County which is also the principal residence of the owner.
The following individuals working for Montgomery County can receive this property tax credit if all criteria are met:
- An active Public Safety Officer
- An active Public Safety Communication Specialist
- An active Deputy Sherriff
- An active Correctional Officer
- An Active Volunteer – a local fire and rescue department volunteer who is eligible for a nominal fee for the preceding tax year.
And they are the legal owner of an owner-occupied property in Montgomery County.
The amount of Property Tax Credit is the lesser of $2,500 or the amount of County Property Tax due on the property.
ONLINE APPLICATION FOR PROPERTY TAX CREDIT
In order to receive the Property Tax Credit the Public Safety Officers – Public Safety Emergency Communications Specialists,
you must apply for the credit annually by April 1
of the year prior to the Tax Levy Year that the credit is sought. If you don’t qualify under the active employee option because your employee job class isn’t considered a public safety employee, but you qualify as an active volunteer, please use the Active Volunteer Application
Bill 15-24 Public Safety Officer Property Tax Credit Expansion
Bill 15-24 was passed,
effective February 20, 2025
, to expand the Public Safety Officer Property Tax Credit to include
Public safety officers (full-time sworn police officer, firefighter, emergency medical technician or correctional officer) employed by the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission (M-NCPPC), the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission (WSSC), the Washington Suburban Transit Commission (WSTC), or by a County municipality. Public safety officer also includes a full-time County employee assigned to the Department of Health and Human Services Crisis Center and responsible for providing emergency response services as certified annually by the Chief of Behavioral Health and Crisis Services within the Department of Health 15 and Human Services. The deadline for eligible Crisis Center employees and for public safety officers employed by the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission (M-NCPPC), the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission (WSSC), the Washington Suburban Transit Commission (WSTC), or a municipality to apply for the credit for the tax year beginning on July 1, 2025, has been extended to August 1, 2025.
The application deadline for all other eligible Montgomery County Government employees and volunteers remains April 1, 2025.
The online application will be available beginning February 20, 2025 when this bill goes into effect.
To apply for the credit, use following links:
Active County Employee Application
Fire Rescue Services Volunteers
MNCPPC Public Safety Officers
WSSC Public Safety Officers
Gaithersburg Public Safety Officers
Rockville Public Safety Officers
Takoma Park Public Safety Officers
Chevy Chase Village Public Safety Officers