The gross household income limit for seniors who own property in Sequoyah County has been increased to $80,600 for the 2026 tax year, County Assessor Brandy Allen (previously Dobbs) reported recently.
“We got the senior freeze valuation amount,” Allen told the Sequoyah County Commissioners. “The median income for Sequoyah County is now $80,600.”
The increase is a substantial one, since the 2025 household income guideline was capped at $65,700. Allen told the commissioners she verified that boost was not a clerical error.
“I reached out to the state to make sure they were correct on that,” Allen said.
Sequoyah County is part of the metropolitan statistical area with Arkansas counties Crawford and Sebastian, a designation that helps establish the household income limit.
“That just means it’s more that the state of Oklahoma has to reimburse back to us for those senior freeze valuations. We only get a percentage of that, but what that does is it opens it up for an increase of almost $15,000 in the year,” Allen said.
“We’re not the only county that increased that much. Some others increased like $10,000.”
Maximum income qualification amounts for 2026 property valuation limitations for neighboring counties are:
• Adair County, $62,000
• Cherokee County, $72,700
• Haskell County, $67,100
• LeFlore County, $67,600
• Muskogee County, $76,400 “It’s not a bad deal, because a lot of fixed income people, widow women …,” District 1 Commissioner Ray Watts offered.
“So this will actually benefit the seniors?” District 3 Commissioner Jim Rogers added. “As long as it benefits the seniors, we’re good.”
Allen then explained the requirements to be eligible for the senior freeze valuation amount.
“The entire household has to make the $80,600 or less, and the person has to be 65 by the end of the year to qualify for the next year’s senior freeze,” she said. “In the past it’s only ever gone up maybe $1,200 a year. There’s a lot of seniors out there that barely make that cut. They might be $200 over the gross income amount for their household that gets them that senior freeze.
“This just opens the door. So we’re going to have a lot more seniors probably qualify for the freeze, which freezes their assessment where it is. There are seniors out there that have never qualified because they were a few hundred dollars over the mark.
“It’ll be a good thing,” Allen said.
The filing period for senior freeze applications is Jan. 2, 2026 through March 15, 2026. Proof of all income from 2025 is required, and the applicant must be age 65 on or before Dec. 31, 2025. The applicant must own the home and provide proof of ownership.
The senior freeze only freezes the taxable assessed value of your property, not the taxes themselves. Taxes can still increase if the tax rate changes.
