How much is the credit worth?

Up to $2,500 for accessibility features, up to $3,000 at Level I VISITable, and up to $10,000 at Level II LIVEable. Individual features such as grab bars and a walk-in shower fall in the first tier, at half the eligible cost. Amounts are reduced by other subsidies received for the same work.

Do I receive the whole credit at once?

No. No more than $2,000 is applied in any one tax year, and the balance carries forward to later years until the full amount has been used. A $10,000 credit is collected over five years. The credit runs with the property, so an unused balance passes to the next owner on sale.

Does it apply to a condominium?

The accessibility features credit does, on your principal residence, provided you own it. The two whole-home standards do not: the county's Technical Guidelines limit Level I and Level II to single family dwellings, townhouses and duplexes. It is a property tax credit either way, so it goes to the person who pays the property tax.

How many features qualify, nine or fifteen?

Nine. Bill 5-13 and the county's Technical Guidelines both name nine accessibility features. The Design for Life web page says nine in its summary and then lists fifteen, which is where the confusion comes from. Lever door handles, chair height toilets, relocated switches and receptacles and closet renovations are on the web list but not in the law, so confirm them with the Department of Permitting Services before spending on them.

Is there a minimum spend?

Yes. Eligible costs must exceed $500, and only costs paid in the twelve months before you submit the application count. Permit and inspection fees can be included.

Do I have to do a whole home renovation to qualify?

No. The accessibility features tier rewards individual qualifying features in an existing home. The two whole-home standards are separate, higher tiers for more extensive work.

Should I apply before or after the work?

Ask before. Confirm requirements with the Department of Permitting Services before commissioning anything, because a feature built slightly outside the specification will not retroactively qualify.

Guide

The Montgomery County Design for Life tax credit

Most people find they already qualify for something they were planning to do anyway. Almost nobody claims it, because almost nobody knows it exists.

Three levels, three amounts

The credit runs on your property tax bill and comes in three tiers. Accessibility features, up to $2,500. Level I, described as VISITable, up to $3,000. Level II, described as LIVEable, up to $10,000.

The first tier is the one most households use, because it does not require rebuilding anything. It rewards individual features installed in an existing home. Grab bars, a walk-in shower, wider doorways and a no-step entrance all sit here, at half the eligible cost up to $2,500. The two larger amounts require the whole house to meet a published standard, which for Level II includes an accessible kitchen and at least one accessible bedroom.

So the figure you may have heard, $10,000, is the ceiling on the most demanding tier, not what a bathroom retrofit returns. It is worth knowing which tier you are actually in before you budget around the number.

It is paid at $2,000 a year, not in one go

No more than $2,000 of the credit is applied in any single tax year. Anything above that carries forward and comes off later years' bills until the full amount has been used. A $10,000 credit is therefore collected over five years rather than in one.

The credit also runs with the property. If you sell before it is exhausted, the balance transfers to the next owner's tax bill rather than being paid out to you.

None of that makes it not worth claiming. It does change how you should think about it: this is a reduction in your property tax over several years, not a refund check, and it should not be counted on to fund the work itself.

It covers condominiums, but only the first tier

The accessibility features credit is available on existing and new residential dwellings, which the county's Technical Guidelines list as multi-family, single family, townhouses and duplexes. So a condominium or apartment unit qualifies, on your principal residence.

The two whole-home standards are narrower. The same guidelines limit Level I and Level II to single family dwellings, townhouses and duplexes. If you live in a condominium, the $3,000 and $10,000 credits are not open to you and the $2,500 tier is the one to work with.

If you rent, none of it applies, because it is a property tax credit and you are not the taxpayer on the property. That is still worth raising with a landlord, who may be interested for reasons of their own.

Nine features, not fifteen

This is where the county's own pages disagree with each other, and it matters, because acting on the wrong list costs money. The Design for Life web page says the credit covers "any of 9 features" and then prints a list of fifteen underneath it.

The authority is Bill 5-13 and the Technical Guidelines that implement it, and both name nine: a no-step entrance; an installed ramp creating one; an interior doorway with a 32 inch or wider clear opening; an exterior doorway with a 32 inch or wider clear opening, but only with exterior lighting controlled from inside, automatic, or always on; walls around a toilet, tub or shower reinforced with grab bars installed to the ADA standard; maneuvering space of at least 30 by 48 inches in a bathroom or kitchen; an elevator, lift or stair glide; an accessibility-enhanced bathroom with a walk-in or roll-in shower or tub; and an alarm, appliance or control built in to assist someone with a sensory disability.

Lever door handles, chair height toilets, relocated switches and receptacles, and closet renovations appear on the web page but not in the law. We are not saying they will be refused. We are saying we cannot find them in the statute, so do not spend money on them expecting a credit until the Department of Permitting Services confirms it in writing.

The part almost nobody knows: it is a pool, not an entitlement

The Technical Guidelines set an annual limit on the total credits the county will allocate to everyone who applies. For the accessibility features credit it is $100,000 a year across the whole county. For Level I and Level II it is $500,000.

At a maximum of $2,500 each, that first pool funds roughly forty households a year in a county of more than a million people. Meeting the requirements is not the same as receiving the money, and the county accepts one application per tax year per home.

The practical conclusion is to apply early in the year rather than late, and to ask the Department where the allocation stands before you plan around it.

How to claim it, and the trap

The credit is administered by the county Department of Permitting Services. Confirm the current terms and the application process with them directly before you commission work, because program terms and amounts change and a contractor's summary is not authority.

The trap is sequencing. People do the work first and ask about the credit afterwards. Read the requirements before you commission anything, because a feature installed slightly differently may not qualify, and no amount of paperwork afterwards changes what was built.

Credits are also reduced by other subsidies received for the same work, so if you are combining this with another program, ask how they interact before assuming you receive both in full.

Common questions

How much is the credit worth?: Up to $2,500 for accessibility features, up to $3,000 at Level I VISITable, and up to $10,000 at Level II LIVEable. Individual features such as grab bars and a walk-in shower fall in the first tier, at half the eligible cost. Amounts are reduced by other subsidies received for the same work.
Do I receive the whole credit at once?: No. No more than $2,000 is applied in any one tax year, and the balance carries forward to later years until the full amount has been used. A $10,000 credit is collected over five years. The credit runs with the property, so an unused balance passes to the next owner on sale.
Does it apply to a condominium?: The accessibility features credit does, on your principal residence, provided you own it. The two whole-home standards do not: the county's Technical Guidelines limit Level I and Level II to single family dwellings, townhouses and duplexes. It is a property tax credit either way, so it goes to the person who pays the property tax.
How many features qualify, nine or fifteen?: Nine. Bill 5-13 and the county's Technical Guidelines both name nine accessibility features. The Design for Life web page says nine in its summary and then lists fifteen, which is where the confusion comes from. Lever door handles, chair height toilets, relocated switches and receptacles and closet renovations are on the web list but not in the law, so confirm them with the Department of Permitting Services before spending on them.
Is there a minimum spend?: Yes. Eligible costs must exceed $500, and only costs paid in the twelve months before you submit the application count. Permit and inspection fees can be included.
Do I have to do a whole home renovation to qualify?: No. The accessibility features tier rewards individual qualifying features in an existing home. The two whole-home standards are separate, higher tiers for more extensive work.
Should I apply before or after the work?: Ask before. Confirm requirements with the Department of Permitting Services before commissioning anything, because a feature built slightly outside the specification will not retroactively qualify.

This page is general information, not legal, medical or financial advice. Program terms and statutory figures change. Confirm anything you intend to rely on with the issuing authority.