House Bill 5513 Summary

• Amends the principal residence property tax exemption law to require the Department of Treasury to expedite appeals of exemption denials for owners who are 90 years old or older, with decisions required within 120 days of notification.

• Establishes procedures for county-level auditing of principal residence exemptions, allowing counties to elect to conduct their own audits every 5 years (after 2009) with 5 annual audit periods, or defer to state audits.

• Creates a principal residence property tax exemption audit fund within state treasury, funded by interest collected from exemption denials, to be used solely for auditing exemption affidavits.

• Authorizes bed and breakfast properties to claim partial principal residence exemptions based on square footage used as owner's residence plus 50% of common areas, with calculations adjusted if the property is not open for 90+ consecutive days annually.

• Clarifies exemption eligibility requirements, including restrictions on claiming multiple exemptions, requirements for rescission within 90 days of property ceasing to be principal residence, and procedures for appealing denials to the Michigan Tax Tribunal.