Indiana Laws Taking Effect July 1 2026 That Indianapolis Residents and Businesses Should Know
The General Assembly wrapped its short session this spring. Here's what changed — and what it means on the ground in Marion County.
The General Assembly wrapped its short session this spring. Here’s what changed — and what it means on the ground in Marion County.
The bills are signed. The clock is running. On July 1, a batch of new Indiana statutes moves from enrolled act to enforceable law, and if you rent an apartment near Fountain Square, manage a restaurant in Broad Ripple, own rental property in Warren Township, or are still fighting a property tax bill in Meridian-Kessler, some of what passed in the 2026 session touches your life in concrete ways.
Marion County carries outsized exposure to these changes. Roughly 45 percent of its households are renters — among the highest shares of any Indiana county — and the city’s dense small-business corridors on Massachusetts Avenue and in Castleton mean that even incremental shifts in licensing rules or alcohol permit requirements ripple through hundreds of operators. The county also contains more taxable parcels than any other jurisdiction in the state, and many of those owners are still absorbing reassessment increases that began arriving in 2022 and continued through 2024. That’s a long time to be absorbing a hit.
What follows is a Marion County-specific accounting of what the General Assembly actually passed, what it deliberately did not pass, and what residents and business owners need to do before July 1.
What the General Assembly Passed — And What It Didn’t
Indiana’s General Assembly operates on a two-year cycle with a short session in even-numbered years. Short sessions are constitutionally limited in scope, which means 2026 focused primarily on budget matters, technical corrections to existing statutes, and targeted policy changes rather than wholesale rewrites of major code chapters.
The chamber composition entering 2026 was heavily Republican in both the House (71-29) and Senate (39-11), which defined the boundaries of what was politically viable. Advocacy coalitions pushing for local rent stabilization authority, a state minimum wage increase above the federal $7.25 floor, and a paid family leave mandate found no traction in committee. Bills on those topics either were not introduced or died without a hearing — a pattern consistent with Indiana’s recent legislative history, and one that shouldn’t surprise anyone who’s been paying attention. Readers who heard advocacy noise around those campaigns should understand where things actually stand: nowhere, for now.
What did move: property tax adjustment legislation, modifications to the landlord-tenant code touching notice and fee provisions, employer-side changes to non-compete enforcement, and several alcohol permit and licensing cleanup bills with direct implications for hospitality businesses. A late-session amendment to one of the property tax bills, added in conference committee, expanded the circumstances under which certain Marion County parcels qualify for reassessment appeal extensions. That amendment was not in early drafts and is worth attention from homeowners who missed earlier appeal windows.
Bill numbers and statutory citations in this article were verified against the 2026 session record at iga.in.gov before publication.
Landlord-Tenant Law: What Changed for Indianapolis Renters and Rental Property Owners
This is where the stakes are highest for Marion County.
Under Indiana Code 32-31, landlords have historically had 45 days after a tenant vacates to return a security deposit or provide an itemized statement of deductions. The 2026 amendments don’t shorten that window, but they do impose a new requirement: if a landlord intends to withhold any portion of a deposit, the itemized statement must now be sent via a method that generates a delivery record — certified mail, email with read receipt, or written acknowledgment from the tenant. Previously, landlords who sent a list by first-class mail and a tenant disputed receipt were operating in a gray zone. The new language resolves that ambiguity in the tenant’s favor by putting the burden of proof on the property owner. It’s a modest procedural shift, but if you’ve ever tried to contest a wrongful deduction with nothing but your word against a landlord’s, you understand why it matters.
Landlords managing high-turnover inventory on the Near Eastside, in Mapleton-Fall Creek, or along the East Washington Street corridor should update their move-out procedures now. Standard mail isn’t enough anymore.
On eviction procedure under IC 32-30-2, the session made a narrower change: small claims eviction hearings now require landlords to produce a copy of the written lease — or a written statement that no written lease exists — at the time of filing rather than at hearing. This addresses a documented pattern at the Marion County Small Claims Court where proceedings were delayed when landlords arrived without documentation. Anyone who’s sat through Marion County small claims knows how much time that kind of fumble wastes for everyone in the room. Unprepared landlords now risk procedural dismissal.
Indiana’s statewide preemption of local rent control, codified at IC 32-31-1-20, was not touched in 2026. Indianapolis can’t cap rents, and no bill moved that would have modified that preemption. Advocates at the Indianapolis Legal Aid Society had hoped for at least a carve-out allowing cities to implement just-cause eviction requirements. That effort didn’t advance past initial discussions.
One provision that was debated but didn’t make the final enrolled act: a proposal to limit application fees landlords may charge prospective tenants. The version that passed the House was stripped in Senate committee. No cap on screening fees exists in Indiana law as of July 1. For a fuller picture of where renters stand under current law, see our renter’s guide to tenant rights in Indianapolis in 2026.
Employment Law and Wages
Indiana’s minimum wage stands at $7.25 per hour, tied directly to the federal floor, and the 2026 session made no change to that figure. No bill proposing an increase above the federal floor was introduced. Paid family leave likewise didn’t advance — Indiana has no state paid leave requirement, and 2026 didn’t alter that.
Where the session did act is on non-compete agreements. This matters particularly in Indianapolis given the scale of IU Health, Ascension St. Vincent, and Community Health Network as employers. Indiana enacted amendments to IC 22-5-3 that impose new disclosure requirements on non-competes for workers earning below 300 percent of the federal poverty level. For more on Indiana non-compete agreements in 2026 and what workers here should do now, we’ve covered the enforcement landscape in detail.
Employers must now provide a written summary of any non-compete’s geographic and temporal restrictions to a prospective employee before an offer is made — not after signing. Agreements presented for the first time at onboarding or on the first day of work are unenforceable if the employee can demonstrate they weren’t disclosed during the offer process. The practice of handing someone a stack of documents on day one, mid-sentence in orientation, has been common enough that it has a kind of institutional invisibility. That’s what this provision targets.
It matters in the healthcare corridor specifically because entry-level clinical support roles frequently carry non-compete language that workers discover only after they’ve already left another position. Beginning July 1, employers who want enforceable non-competes for workers in that wage range need to revise their offer letter process.
The session also clarified E-Verify requirements in a way that extends the obligation to businesses with 10 or more employees that receive any form of state certificate, license, or permit — a change that pulls in a broader category of licensed contractors and service businesses than the previous 50-employee threshold for state contractors. Employers who recently obtained or renewed a state-issued license in trades or healthcare should confirm their E-Verify enrollment before July 1.
New Rules for Indianapolis Small Businesses: Licensing, Permits, and Compliance Starting July 1
Small business owners face two distinct compliance tracks this July: state-level changes that affect licensing across Indiana, and state changes that trigger specific consequences in Indianapolis’s Department of Business and Neighborhood Services system. This is an area we track closely in our legal and finance coverage.
On the state side, the Secretary of State’s office is implementing changes to Certificate of Assumed Business Name filings. The 2026 amendments require assumed name registrations to include a current email address for the registrant, which becomes the address of record for statutory notices. Any Indianapolis retailer, restaurant, or contractor doing business under a name other than the owner’s legal name should log into the Secretary of State’s INBiz portal and confirm their registration reflects a valid, monitored email address. Registrations that don’t include a valid email after July 1 will be flagged for administrative renewal denial. This is a ten-minute fix. Don’t let it become a problem.
The Indiana Alcohol and Tobacco Commission changes are the ones most likely to surface first in Indianapolis hospitality corridors. The 2026 session amended ATC rules to combine the three-way permit — on-premises consumption, beer and wine, and supplemental caterer’s — into a single application process. For new applicants, that’s a genuine improvement: one filing, one fee schedule. For existing permit holders in Broad Ripple, the Bottleworks District, and Castleton, the change is largely administrative, but the ATC is requiring a one-time affirmation of consolidated permit terms by September 1, 2026. Operators who miss that window will continue under their existing individual permit structures but won’t be eligible for permit transfers or modifications under the new framework.
For contractors, a new state licensing category for residential remodeling supervisors took effect under the 2026 amendments to IC 25-1. Businesses that perform kitchen, bath, or addition work on single-family structures and employ three or more workers now need a designated licensed remodeling supervisor on staff. This is distinct from the electrical and plumbing licenses that already existed. The Indiana Professional Licensing Agency is administering the exam and credentialing process — applications opened in April. If you’re just hearing about this now, move quickly.
The Indiana Small Business Development Center’s Indianapolis office, on North Meridian downtown, has scheduled walkthroughs for the E-Verify expansion and the assumed name filing changes.
Property Tax: What Marion County Owners Can Expect After Years of Reassessment Pain
Marion County homeowners who saw assessed values jump dramatically between 2022 and 2024 — in Irvington, Fountain Square, Meridian-Kessler — are still contesting the downstream effects. The 2026 session didn’t touch the constitutional 1 percent gross assessed value circuit breaker, but it did adjust several inputs that determine the assessed value the cap is applied to. The ceiling didn’t move, but the floor shifted a bit. That matters less than it sounds for people at the low end of the income scale, and more than it sounds for people who were bumping against the deduction ceilings.
The homestead deduction’s maximum standard deduction increases from $48,000 to $52,500 beginning with the 2026 pay-2027 tax cycle. Homeowners already enrolled don’t need to refile — the new ceiling applies automatically. But homeowners who recently purchased, whose deed transferred after January 1, 2025, or who allowed a homestead deduction to lapse should file with the Marion County Assessor’s office before December 31, 2026 to receive the deduction on the pay-2027 bill.
The over-65 circuit breaker deduction saw eligibility income thresholds adjusted upward. The income ceiling increases from $30,000 to $35,000 for single filers and from $40,000 to $46,000 for joint filers, under the 2026 amendments to IC 6-1.1-12-9. Seniors in the near-northeast neighborhoods who were just over the old thresholds should contact the Marion County Assessor’s office before the enrollment deadline. Worth a phone call if you’re anywhere close to those numbers.
A late-session conference committee amendment also matters: Marion County parcels that missed the formal June 15 notice-of-assessment appeal deadline because the county sent reassessment notices after May 1, 2026 — a documented administrative delay in some Warren Township and Pike Township assessments — now have until October 1, 2026 to file a petition with the Indiana Board of Tax Review. If you received a 2026 reassessment notice dated after May 1, that extension applies to you. The Marion County Assessor’s office is required to notify affected property owners, but given the administrative history of this cycle, I’d verify it yourself rather than wait for a letter.
On Tax Increment Financing, the 2026 session did not substantially alter the TIF framework that governs development corridors around the 16 Tech Innovation District and the Indy Eleven stadium site. Minor technical amendments to IC 36-7-14 clarified reporting requirements for TIF districts with total captured assessed value exceeding $500 million — a threshold Marion County’s consolidated TIF districts meet. This is a transparency provision requiring more granular annual reporting from the Redevelopment Commission, not a change that alters revenue flows to neighborhoods. Critics who have argued that TIF diverts property tax revenue from IPS and Marion County general funds should know the 2026 session didn’t address that structural concern. It didn’t come close.
What These Laws Don’t Do: Gaps That Leave Indianapolis Exposed
Indianapolis renters have no new protection against no-cause eviction. Indiana’s landlord-tenant code doesn’t require landlords to state a reason for nonrenewal of a lease, and no 2026 legislation changed that. The revised notice and documentation requirements described above are procedural improvements — they’re not nothing — but a landlord who wants to clear a building can still do so without cause as long as proper notice is given. In a rental market where vacancy rates along East Washington Street have tightened and rents have risen significantly since 2020, that gap has real consequences for the households most economically precarious.
The new non-compete disclosure requirement for lower-wage workers is a meaningful step, but it has a significant gap: it applies at the time of offer, but contains no state agency enforcement mechanism. There’s no Indiana administrative body that monitors compliance or takes complaints. Enforcement is entirely private — a worker who wasn’t given required disclosure before signing would need to bring an individual action in civil court to have the non-compete voided. For someone earning $15 an hour, hiring an attorney to litigate that question is often not realistic.
“The disclosure rule is better than nothing, and I’ve had clients where it would have made a real difference,” said one Indianapolis employment attorney who reviewed the final enrolled act language. “But without an enforcement mechanism at the agency level, the protection is only as good as the employee’s ability to find counsel and pursue it. For low-wage workers, that’s a serious limitation.”
The security deposit delivery-record requirement has the same structural weakness. Enforcement requires the tenant to know the law, document their own move-out condition, and be willing to sue in small claims court. Indianapolis Legal Aid Society handles a significant volume of these cases, but demand consistently outpaces capacity. The law shifted something real. Whether it shifts outcomes in volume is a different question.
The property tax adjustments are incremental improvements to the inputs, not structural relief from a reassessment cycle that increased effective tax burdens dramatically in already-stressed neighborhoods. The Indiana Fiscal Policy Institute has noted that the circuit breaker cap, while theoretically protective, doesn’t prevent assessed value from rising to the point where the 1 percent cap still represents a significant absolute dollar increase for longtime residents on fixed incomes. Incremental is genuinely better than nothing. For someone on a fixed income in Irvington, though, it’s worth being precise about what “incremental” actually means in dollar terms on their May bill.
Your Checklist: Deadlines and Action Items by Reader Type
If you rent:
Review your lease before renewal. Any lease renewed after July 1 should confirm how your landlord will document security deposit deductions. If your landlord still uses first-class mail only, the new delivery-record requirement means you have stronger legal footing — but you have to know to ask for it.
Keep a move-out record with date-stamped photos and written confirmation of condition. The law shifted the burden slightly in your favor; documentation makes that advantage real.
If you receive an eviction filing, the landlord is now required to attach a copy of your written lease or a statement that no written lease exists. A filing that lacks this can be challenged. Contact Indianapolis Legal Aid Society (317-635-9538) if you receive eviction papers.
If you own or manage rental property:
Shift to email with read confirmation or certified mail for all security deposit itemization letters on any tenancy that ends after July 1.
If you need to file an eviction after July 1, your written lease — or a signed acknowledgment that no written lease exists — must accompany the small claims filing. Arriving without it is now a procedural problem, not just an inconvenience.
Review your non-compete language if you employ residential cleaning, maintenance, or property management staff. The new IC 22-5-3 disclosure requirements apply to service employers, not just large corporate entities.
Confirm your assumed business name registration at the Secretary of State’s INBiz portal (inbiz.in.gov) reflects a valid email.
If you own or manage a small business:
If you hold an ATC permit in Broad Ripple, the Bottleworks, or Castleton, confirm whether your alcohol permits qualify for consolidation and complete the ATC affirmation by September 1, 2026. Don’t wait for a BNS letter — check the ATC portal directly at in.gov/atc.
Residential remodeling contractors employing three or more workers in kitchen, bath, or addition work should start the IPLA credentialing process now at pla.in.gov. If you’re just finding out about this, the exam backlog is already building.
If your business employs 10 or more workers and holds any state license or permit, confirm your E-Verify enrollment at e-verify.uscis.gov before July 1.
Check indianasbdc.org for the Indianapolis office’s July compliance calendar.
If you own your home:
If your deed transferred after January 1, 2025, file for the homestead deduction with the Marion County Assessor before December 31, 2026.
If you’re 65 or older and your household income falls between the old and new thresholds ($30,000–$35,000 single; $40,000–$46,000 joint), contact the Marion County Assessor’s office now.
If your 2026 reassessment notice was dated after May 1, you have until October 1, 2026 to file an appeal with the Indiana Board of Tax Review. Confirm your notice date at in.gov/ibtr. The Assessor’s office is at assessor.indy.gov or (317) 327-4907.
Sources and Verification
All statutory citations and July 1 effective dates were verified against the 2026 enrolled acts record at iga.in.gov. Marion County Assessor deadlines were confirmed directly with the Assessor’s office. Sources consulted for this piece include the Indianapolis Legal Aid Society, the Indiana Apartment Association, the Indiana Chamber of Commerce 2026 Enacted Legislation Guide, the Marion County Assessor’s Office, the Indiana Fiscal Policy Institute, the Indiana Small Business Development Center’s Indianapolis office, the Indiana Professional Licensing Agency, and an Indianapolis employment attorney who reviewed the final non-compete enrolled act language. Readers with specific legal or tax questions should consult an Indiana-licensed attorney or CPA.
CityDesk Indianapolis covers local government, business, and policy in Marion County. Tips and corrections: tips@citydeskindianapolis.com.
