Vacation Home Loses Michigan Man His Tax Break, Court Rules (1)

A mistaken property tax exemption for an Arizona winter home cost a snowbird his principal residence exemption on his lakeside home in Michigan, a unanimous Michigan Supreme Court ruled Thursday.

The Cheboygan, Mich. man never applied for a property tax exemption when he purchased his Arizona winter retreat in 2016—the state gave it to him by accident. But his intent didn’t matter, because Michigan law applies even when there’s “an honest mistake,” Justice Elizabeth Welch said in her opinion.

“As applied to the facts of this case, petitioner was not entitled to the PRE in the 2017 tax year ...