Chapter 59 of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting after section 2D, as appearing in the 2012 Official Edition, the following section:-

Section 2E. (a) As used in this section, “total annual household income” shall mean the combined gross income, as defined in section 2 of chapter 62, of all persons who are 21 years of age or older who resided at the property for 180 days or more during the calendar year preceding the annual application date determined by the assessors pursuant to subsection (c).

(b) In any city or town that accepts the provisions of this act, the amount of property taxation levied upon a class one, residential property, for which an application for property tax exemption has been duly and timely filed pursuant to this section, shall be equal to 10 per cent of the total annual household income or the amount that would be levied if such application for property tax exemption had not been filed pursuant to this section, whichever amount is lower; provided, however, that the property is owned and occupied by at least 1 person having reached the age of 70 on or before the annual application date determined by the assessors pursuant to subsection (c) and that such person resided at the property for 180 days or more during the calendar year preceding the annual application date determined by the assessors pursuant to subsection (c).

(c) A taxpayer who seeks to have an exemption made on his or her property in accordance with the limitation set forth in subsection (b) shall file, on or before an annual application date to be determined by the assessors of the city or town where the property is located, an application for property tax exemption with the assessors of such city or town on a form to be furnished by the assessors of such city or town having accepted the provisions of this act.