Reading as

Glossary · 80 terms · Companion to all eight pages

The words,
defined.

Every term the series leans on, in plain language, with a link to the page where it matters most. On any page, a word with a dotted gold underline opens its definition in place.

Michael-Paul Hart · City-County Councilor, District 20

Definitions are written for a reader who has never sat through a Metropolitan Development Commission hearing. Where a term has a precise legal meaning in the Indiana Code, the definition names the section so a lawyer can check it.

A

Absentee owner
An owner whose tax mailing address is not the property. Includes landlords, investors and heirs, in Indiana or out of state. Accountability →
Accessory dwelling unit
A second, smaller home on the same lot as a house: a basement apartment, a converted garage, a backyard cottage. HEA 1001 defines one as no more than the lesser of 75 percent of the main home or 1,000 square feet. The system →
American Community Survey
The Census Bureau's ongoing survey that produces income, housing and population estimates for every tract. Five-year estimates, such as 2020 to 2024, are the most reliable at tract level. The map →
Area median income
The midpoint household or family income for a metro area, published each year by HUD. Affordable housing programs set eligibility as a percentage of it; for a four-person household in the Indianapolis area in 2026, 100 percent is $110,300. Affordability →
Assessed value
The dollar value the county assessor assigns to a property for tax purposes. In Indiana it is meant to equal market value, and it is split into land value and improvement value. The abatement →

B

But-for analysis
An independent test of whether a project would happen without a public incentive, and of how large the financing gap actually is. The incentive is then sized to the gap rather than to the request. The system →
By right
Approved automatically if a project meets published standards, with no hearing, vote or negotiation. The opposite of case-by-case approval. The system →

C

Census tract
A small statistical area drawn by the Census Bureau, typically holding 1,200 to 8,000 people. Marion County has 253. They are the unit the prototype map scores. The map →
Certified tax rate
The rate, per $100 of net assessed value, set each year for each taxing district after the state's Department of Local Government Finance approves local budgets. Indianapolis-Warren Township's 2026 rate is 2.6908. The abatement →
CFPB
The federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which publishes the mortgage disclosure data used on the map. The map →
Circuit breaker
Indiana's constitutional cap on property tax bills: 1 percent of gross assessed value for a homestead, 2 percent for other residential property, 3 percent for everything else. A bill above the cap is reduced to it, which is why an abatement can be worth less than its face value. Affordability →
City-County Council
The 25-member legislative body for Indianapolis and Marion County. It passes ordinances and the budget, but under state law it is not the body that grants tax abatements. The timeline →
Commerce Clause
The provision of the U.S. Constitution that bars states and cities from discriminating against out-of-state businesses. A tax or fee that charges out-of-state owners more than in-state owners invites a challenge under it. Accountability →
Community land trust
A nonprofit that owns land permanently and sells or leases the homes on it with a resale formula that keeps them affordable to the next buyer. Indianapolis established one in 2024. Affordability →
Community Reinvestment Area
Ohio's version of an abatement district. Cincinnati, Cleveland and Columbus each run residential tax abatements through one. The abatement →
Consolidated city
Indiana's term for Indianapolis, whose city and county governments were merged by Unigov in 1970. Several statutes carve out different rules for 'a county containing a consolidated city,' meaning Marion County only. The abatement →
Corporation Counsel
The city-county's chief lawyer and legal office, which advises the Council, the mayor and the departments and files enforcement actions on the city's behalf. The timeline →
Cost-burdened
Paying 30 percent or more of household income for housing, including utilities. Severely cost-burdened means 50 percent or more. Affordability →
County Assessor
The elected county officer who sets the assessed value of every parcel and keeps the ownership records the public sees on the parcel record card. The map →
County Auditor
The elected county officer who applies deductions, keeps the tax duplicate, certifies tax-sale lists and issues tax deeds. An abatement appears on a tax bill because the Auditor records it. The abatement →

D

Debt-to-income ratio
A borrower's monthly debt payments, including the proposed mortgage, taxes and insurance, divided by gross monthly income. Lenders cap it, so a lower tax bill can be the difference between qualifying and not. Affordability →
Deduction
An amount subtracted from a property's assessed value before tax is calculated. Abatements and homestead deductions are both deductions. The abatement →
Department of Local Government Finance
The state agency that oversees property tax assessment, budgets and rates for every Indiana local government, and issues the guidance assessors and auditors follow. The abatement →
Department of Metropolitan Development
The city department that staffs planning, zoning, code enforcement, the land bank and every abatement request that goes to the Metropolitan Development Commission. The system →
Designating body
Under Indiana's abatement statute, the local body with power to designate an area for abatement and set the schedule. For a county containing a consolidated city, that is the Metropolitan Development Commission. The abatement →
Donut counties
The suburban counties surrounding Marion County: Hamilton, Hendricks, Johnson, Boone, Hancock, Morgan, Shelby and Madison. Most of Marion County's out-migrants move to them. The system →

E

Economic Revitalization Area
An area a designating body has found to be in need of redevelopment, which makes property in it eligible for tax abatement under Indiana Code 6-1.1-12.1. The abatement →
Entitlements
The zoning approvals a project needs before it can be permitted: rezoning, variances, plat approval. In Indianapolis these run through the Metropolitan Development Commission and can take months. The system →
Entity-owned
Owned by a company, trust or other legal entity rather than a named person: an LLC, a corporation, a partnership. Accountability →

F

Face value
What an abatement would save if the tax rate were applied to the full abated amount with no cap. The actual saving is smaller wherever the circuit breaker already limits the bill. Affordability →
Fee in lieu
A payment a developer may make into a housing fund instead of building required affordable units on site. The system →
Fee simple
Full, outright ownership of real estate, with no one else holding a claim to take it back. Accountability →
FFIEC
The Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council, which attaches census estimates of each tract's income and housing stock to mortgage records. The map →

G

General Assembly
Indiana's state legislature, the House and Senate, which meets from January to April in odd years and January to March in even years. Any change to the abatement statute has to pass here. The timeline →
Gross assessed value
The full assessed value of a property before any deductions. Indiana's tax caps are figured as a percentage of this number. The abatement →

H

HEA 1001
Indiana's 2026 housing law, Public Law 73. As enacted it requires every local government to review its development ordinance in a public hearing and report to the state by January 1, 2027, limits permit fees, and extends residential TIF programs. It does not mandate by-right housing. The system →
HMDA
The federal law requiring lenders to report every mortgage application and loan, with the property's census tract. The public data, published by the CFPB, is the best record of where home loans are actually made. The map →
Homestead deduction
Indiana's deductions from assessed value for an owner-occupied primary residence. The standard deduction is a fixed dollar amount that phases down to zero by 2031; the supplemental deduction is a percentage of what remains, rising to 66.7 percent. The abatement →
Housing Trust Fund
The city fund that receives affordable-housing contributions from developers receiving incentives and pays for affordable housing projects. The system →
HUD
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, which publishes income limits, funds housing programs and collects national housing data. Affordability →

I

IHCDA
The state agency that awards federal housing tax credits, runs Indiana's housing programs, and receives the annual housing reports HEA 1001 requires from local governments. Affordability →
Impact fee
A one-time charge on new development to pay for the roads, parks or utilities it will need. Indiana law tightly limits how local governments may impose them. The system →
IMPO
The Indianapolis Metropolitan Planning Organization, the regional transportation and planning body for the eight-county metro. Affordability →
Improvement value
The part of a property's assessed value that comes from buildings and other structures, as opposed to the land. An abatement applies to the increase in this value. The abatement →
Indiana Code
The compiled statutes of the State of Indiana. Citations read title-article-chapter-section, so IC 6-1.1-12.1-3 is Title 6, Article 1.1, Chapter 12.1, Section 3. The abatement →

L

Land bank
A public program that acquires vacant and tax-delinquent property and sells it to people who will build or rehabilitate. Indianapolis's is Vacant to Vibrant, run by the Department of Metropolitan Development. The abatement →
Launch resolution
As used here, a non-binding Council resolution that states the policy, requests the written legal opinion and asks the Metropolitan Development Commission to develop the zone schedule. It puts the proposal on the record without enacting anything. The timeline →
Legislative Services Agency
The nonpartisan staff agency of the Indiana General Assembly. It drafts bills, writes fiscal notes and receives the housing reports HEA 1001 requires. The system →
Lien
A legal claim against a property for an unpaid debt. The city can lien a property for the cost of enforcement work, and the lien is paid when the property sells. Accountability →
LLC
A limited liability company. Cheap to form, easy to layer, and legal to use for holding property, which is also what makes some owners hard to reach. Accountability →
Low-Income Housing Tax Credit
The federal program that funds most new affordable rental housing. Credits are awarded by each state's housing agency; Indiana's 9 percent credits are competitive and the whole state gets about twenty awards a year. Affordability →

M

Median
The middle value: half the cases are above it and half below. Less distorted by extremes than an average. The map →
Metropolitan Development Commission
The nine-member commission that decides zoning, redevelopment and tax abatements in Marion County. Five members are appointed by the mayor and four by the City-County Council. Under state law it, not the Council, is the designating body for abatements. The timeline →
Missing middle
Housing between a detached single-family house and a large apartment building: duplexes, triplexes, fourplexes, small courtyard buildings. Most zoning codes made it illegal to build after the 1940s. The abatement →

N

Natural increase
Births minus deaths over a year. The system →
Naturally occurring affordable housing
Older, unsubsidized housing that rents or sells below market simply because of its age and condition. Preserving it is usually cheaper per unit than building new. The system →
Net assessed value
Assessed value after deductions such as the homestead deduction or an abatement. The tax rate is applied to this number. The abatement →
Net domestic migration
People who moved in from elsewhere in the United States minus people who moved out. A negative number means more left than arrived. The system →
Net international migration
People who moved in from other countries minus people who moved abroad. The system →
Nominal consideration
A token price, often $10, written on a deed in place of the real amount paid. Legal, and common between related parties, but it hides the actual value of a transfer from the public record. Accountability →
Nuisance ordinance
A local law that declares repeated code, health or safety problems at a property a nuisance, and lets the city fine the owner and recover its costs. Accountability →

O

Organization Day
The ceremonial November day when the Indiana General Assembly convenes to organize for the session that starts in January. Bills are being drafted by then. The timeline →
Owner-occupied
Lived in by the person who owns it. For a duplex or fourplex, owner-occupied means the owner lives in one of the units and rents the others. The abatement →

P

Parcel
A single piece of land as the county records it, with its own identification number, owner of record and assessed value. The parcel record is the public page for one parcel on the Assessor's site. The abatement →
Payment in lieu of taxes
An agreement under which a property owner, often a nonprofit or an affordable housing project, pays a negotiated amount instead of regular property tax. The system →
Portfolio owner
As used here, an owner of record holding ten or more residential parcels in Marion County. Accountability →
Preemption
When a higher level of government's law overrides a lower one's. Indiana state law preempts many local housing rules, such as rental registration fees above $5 and local rent caps. Accountability →
Property-tax abatement
A temporary reduction in property tax, granted by deducting part of a property's assessed value before the tax is figured. In Indiana it applies to new value created by construction or rehabilitation, for a set number of years. The abatement →

R

Receivership
A court's appointment of someone to take control of a property, collect its income and use it to make required repairs. Under Indiana's Unsafe Building Law a court may appoint a receiver after an owner ignores an order, and the receiver can be a nonprofit housing organization. Accountability →
Redemption period
The time after a tax sale, normally one year, during which the former owner can pay what is owed and keep the property. It is zero for property on the vacant and abandoned list. Accountability →
Registered agent
The person or office an entity names to receive legal papers in a state. An entity is 'in good standing' when its registration and filings with the Secretary of State are current; when they lapse, its registration can be revoked. Accountability →
Residentially Distressed Area
A type of Economic Revitalization Area defined by vacant land, deficient dwellings or loss of housing units, in which one-to-four family housing can receive an abatement on the increase in assessed value. The abatement →

S

Sales disclosure form
The state form filed with every Indiana real-estate transfer, stating the price, the parties and their contact information. Filed with the county assessor and used to check assessments. Accountability →
Statement of Benefits
The form (SB-1) an applicant files to request an abatement, listing the investment, jobs and value the project will produce. The designating body must find the benefits justify the deduction. The system →

T

Tax increment financing
A tool that captures the growth in property tax revenue inside a defined area and spends it on public improvements or development incentives there, instead of sending it to the general funds of the taxing units. The system →
Tax sale
The county's annual auction of properties whose taxes are delinquent. The buyer receives a certificate, and after the redemption period, a deed. Accountability →

U

Underwriting
A lender's process of deciding whether, and on what terms, to make a loan. What underwriting counts determines whether a tax abatement helps a buyer qualify. Affordability →
Unified development ordinance
Indianapolis's combined zoning and subdivision code, which sets what can be built where, lot sizes, setbacks, parking and design rules. The system →
Unsafe Building Law
Indiana Code 36-7-9, which lets a city order the repair, vacation or demolition of unsafe buildings, fine owners, do the work and lien the cost, and ask a court to appoint a receiver. Accountability →

V

Vacant and abandoned list
A list of properties a court or hearing authority has found vacant or abandoned, certified by the county executive to the Auditor. Property sold from the list at tax sale carries no redemption period. Accountability →
A word about the definitions

These are working definitions written for this series, not legal definitions. Where a term is defined in statute, the statute controls, and Corporation Counsel has not reviewed these. If a definition is wrong or missing, use the form on the objections page and say so.