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Family Benefits

Baltimore County Survivor Benefits

Updated August 2013

REAL ESTATE TAX CREDIT

Contact:
Baltimore County Government
Office of Budget & Finance
400 Washington Avenue
Towson, MD 21204
Phone: (410) 887-3313
Fax: (410) 887-3097
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: www.baltimorecountymd.gov/agencies/budfin

In accordance with the Maryland State Code, Tax Property Article, Section 9-210, Baltimore County provides a tax credit from county real property taxes levied on a dwelling owned by the surviving spouse of a fallen law enforcement officer, correctional officer or rescue worker:

  1. If the dwelling was owned by the fallen law enforcement officer, correctional officer or rescue worker at the time of his/her death;
  2. If the fallen law enforcement officer, correctional officer, rescue worker or the surviving spouse was domiciled in the state as of the date of death of the fallen officer and the dwelling was acquired by the spouse within two years of the death of the fallen officer; OR
  3. If the dwelling was acquired after the surviving spouse qualified for a credit for a former dwelling to the extent of the previous credit.

Application: A surviving spouse is eligible for the tax credit in the first taxable year after the date of the fallen officer’s death.

Disabled Worker Benefits: The same property tax credits may be applied to a law enforcement officer, correctional officer or rescue worker who has been deemed PERMANENTLY and TOTALLY DISABLED by a competent authority.

The disability benefit continues from year to year without further application by the disabled officer.

Definitions:

  1. Dwelling means a real property that is:
    • The legal residence of a surviving spouse; and
    • Occupied by not more than two families.
    • Dwelling includes the lot or curtilage and structures necessary to use the real property as a residence.
  2. Fallen law enforcement officer, correctional officer or rescue worker means an individual who dies as the result of or in the course of employment in the state; in the active service of fire, rescue, emergency medical service, law enforcement or correctional facility enforcement.
    • Fallen law enforcement officer, correctional officer or rescue worker does not include an individual whose death was the result of the individual’s own willful misconduct or abuse of alcohol or drugs.
    • Surviving spouse means a surviving spouse of, and who is not remarried, a fallen law enforcement officer, correctional officer or rescue worker.

DisclaimerThe material contained in the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation Survivor Benefits website is not the result of legal research, but rather is based on a scan of public documents. We have made every effort to be accurate and timely, but errors may exist. The material on this website is advisory only and should not be cited as evidence or proof that a benefit exists or that our facts are accurate. Always consult the decedent’s fire department for benefits assistance, or a benefits’ attorney. If, in the course of your own research, you see errors of fact, or new benefit information, please pass this information along to the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation.