REAL PROPERTY TAX EXEMPTIONS If you are not currently receiving a home exemption, you may file a claim for the exemption to reduce the real property assessment on your home. To be eligible, you must occupy your property as your principal home. In order for the exemption to be effective in the next year 2021-2022, the claim must be filed by September 30, 2020. Others who may be eligible for an exemption and are affected by the September 30, 2020 deadline include: Hansen’s disease sufferers, totally disabled veterans, property owners who are deaf, blind or totally disabled, nonprofit organizations, low & moderate-income housing projects, safe room, kuleana, home preservation tax limitation, and additional home exemption relating to owner-occupants’ income. In order to qualify for an exemption, the document by which the property was acquired (i.e., deed, lease, agreement of sale, etc.) must be recorded at the Bureau of Conveyances on or before September 30, 2020. To expedite the filing process, the claimant should know the tax map key number of the property. A change in ownership or use, such as the sale or rental of the property, voids the exemption and must be reported to the assessor within 30 days. Failure to notify the assessor of the change subjects the claimant to back taxes and a civil penalty for each year that the change remains unreported. Exemption claim forms are available at 4444 Rice St., Suite 454, Lihue, Kauai, Hawaii 96766 or on our website www.kauaipropertytax.com. For additional information, call 241-4224. (TGI1291672 9/16, 9/18/20)