The short answer
Yes, Arizona has a senior property tax freeze, but it's a freeze on value, not on the bill. The official name is the Senior Property Valuation Protection Option, and county assessors also call it the Senior Freeze or SVP. If you qualify, the county locks your home's Limited Property Value (LPV) for three years. Tax rates can still go up, so your bill can still rise. What stops is the yearly increase in the value the rates are applied to.
It's written into the Arizona Constitution (Article 9, Section 18) and works the same way in all 15 counties. You apply to your county assessor.
Who qualifies in 2026
- Age: at least one owner is 65 or older.
- Residence: the home is your primary residence, and you've lived there for at least two years. The freeze covers the house and up to 10 acres.
- Income: the average total income of all owners over the previous three years must be under $47,712 for one owner or $59,640 for two or more owners (2026 limits). The limits are indexed and change every year.
"Total income" means all income, taxable or not: Social Security, pensions, IRA withdrawals, wages, interest, veterans' disability pay and workers' compensation all count. That catches a lot of people out. A couple living on $34,000 of Social Security and $27,000 from an IRA is over the two-owner limit, even if very little of that shows up as taxable income.
How the freeze works
Arizona taxes homes on their Limited Property Value, not their market value. The LPV can rise by at most 5% a year, and it can't exceed the full cash value (the assessor's market value). In a rising market, most homes' LPV goes up close to 5% every year until it catches up with market value.
The senior freeze stops that. Once you're approved, your LPV stays where it was for three tax years. After that you have to renew, and if you still qualify, the freeze continues for another three years at the same value.
What it's worth: an example
Take a home with an LPV of $250,000. Residential property in Arizona is assessed at 10% of LPV, so the assessed value is $25,000. At a combined rate of $10 per $100 of assessed value (a typical figure in the Phoenix area; see our Arizona rates by city), the tax is $2,500.
| Year | LPV without freeze (+5%) | Tax without freeze | Tax with freeze |
|---|---|---|---|
| Year 1 | $262,500 | $2,625 | $2,500 |
| Year 2 | $275,625 | $2,756 | $2,500 |
| Year 3 | $289,406 | $2,894 | $2,500 |
That's about $775 over three years, and the gap keeps widening if you renew. The table assumes rates don't change. If your school district passes a bond or override, the rate goes up and your bill goes up with it, freeze or not.
The freeze helps most when market values are well above LPV, so that LPV would otherwise keep rising 5% a year. If home values in your area are flat or falling, LPV may not grow anyway, and the freeze is worth little that year.
How and when to apply
- Get Form 82104 (the Senior Property Valuation Protection Option application) from your county assessor. Maricopa County also takes applications online.
- Gather three years of income records for every owner: federal returns with schedules, W-2s and 1099s, and the year-end statements for Social Security, pensions, and any veterans' disability or unemployment benefits.
- Prove age and residence: a driver's license, birth certificate or passport, plus something showing you've lived at the address for two years (voter registration, tax returns or a license).
- File by September 1. The deadline for the 2026 cycle was September 1, 2026. Applications that arrive after the deadline are processed for the following year, so filing now puts you in line for 2027. Maricopa County makes its 2027 applications available after January 1, 2027.
Mark the renewal year on your calendar. The assessor will usually mail a renewal notice, but if you don't renew in your third year, the freeze ends.
When the freeze ends: the 2025 change
Under SB 1224, signed in September 2025, your LPV is recalculated when you leave the program. You can lose the freeze by selling or transferring the home, moving out, splitting or merging the parcel, making changes that move the value by more than 15% (a big addition, or a fire), or not renewing. The assessor then resets your LPV to roughly where comparable homes without the freeze are (a "Rule B" calculation under A.R.S. 42-13302).
In practice, if you've been frozen for nine years while your neighbors' LPVs grew 5% a year, the first bill after you leave can jump sharply. That matters most to heirs. A child who inherits the house and moves in will usually pay a much higher tax than the parent did, so plan for it. Our guide to property taxes on an inherited house covers the rest of what changes.
Other Arizona relief for seniors
- Widow, widower and disability exemption. A small exemption for qualifying surviving spouses and disabled owners, with its own income and value limits. See exemptions for widows and surviving spouses.
- Property tax refund credit (Form 140PTC). A state income tax credit of up to $502 for homeowners and renters 65+ with very low incomes. It's small, but it's paid even if you owe no income tax.
- Disabled veterans. Arizona's veterans' exemption changes in 2027 under the state's FY2027 budget law. See disabled veteran exemptions by state.
For how Arizona's program compares with other states, see our senior property tax freezes by state.
Quick answers
Does the Arizona senior freeze freeze my taxes?
No. It freezes your home's Limited Property Value. If tax rates rise, your bill rises too.
What is the income limit for the Arizona senior freeze in 2026?
$47,712 for one owner and $59,640 for two or more owners, measured as the average total income from all sources over the previous three years.
Do both spouses have to be 65?
No. One owner has to be 65 or older, but the income of all owners counts toward the limit.
I missed September 1. Can I still apply?
Yes, but it counts for the next tax year. File as early as you can for 2027.
Sources
Program rules, 2026 income limits, documentation and the September 1 deadline are from the Cochise County Assessor's 2026 Senior Valuation Freeze information sheet and the Maricopa County Assessor's Senior Valuation Relief page, which also describes SB 1224 and the Rule B recalculation. The constitutional basis is Arizona Constitution Article 9, Section 18. The example is our calculation. This is general information, not tax advice; confirm the current limits with your county assessor.