HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 944        FILED ON: 1/14/2025

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No.         

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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PRESENTED BY:

William C. Galvin

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To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:

The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:

An Act authorizing the establishment of a means tested senior citizen property tax exemption.

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PETITION OF:

HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 944        FILED ON: 1/14/2025

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No.         

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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In the One Hundred and Ninety-Fourth General Court
(2025-2026)

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An Act authorizing the establishment of a means tested senior citizen property tax exemption.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
 

SECTION 1. In any city or town which accepts this section.

SECTION 2. With respect to each qualifying parcel of real property classified as Class One, Residential in the municipality, there shall be an exemption from property tax in an amount to be set annually by the Board of Assessors of the municipality, or the City Council or Select Board, to be decided by the legislative body at the time of adoption by the municipality, as provided for in section 3. The exemption shall be applied to the domicile of the taxpayer only. For the purposes of this act, ‘parcel’ shall be a unit of real property as defined by the Board of Assessors of the municipality under the deed for the property and shall include residential condominium units. The exemption provided for herein shall be in addition to any and all other exemptions allowed by the General Laws.

SECTION 3. Real property shall qualify for the exemption pursuant to Section 2 if all of the following criteria are met:

1. The qualifying real property is owned and occupied by a person whose prior calendar year’s income would make the person eligible for the circuit breaker income tax credit pursuant to Subsection (k) of Section 6 of Chapter 62 of the General Laws;

2. The qualifying real property is owned by a single applicant age 65 or older at the close of the previous calendar year or jointly by persons either of whom is age 65 or above at the close of the previous calendar year, if the joint applicant is 60 years of age or older;

3. The qualifying real property is owned and occupied by the applicant or joint applicants as their domicile;

4. The applicant or at least one of the joint applicants has been domiciled and owned real property in the municipality for at least 10 consecutive years before filing an application for the exemption;

5. The assessed value of the domicile is no greater than the prior fiscal year’s maximum assessed value for qualification for the circuit breaker income tax credit pursuant to said Subsection (k) of said Section 6 of said Chapter 62, as adjusted annually by the Department of Revenue, or the average single-family dwelling value for the municipality, to be decided by the legislative body at the time of adoption by the municipality; and

6. The local Board of Assessors has approved the application.

SECTION 4. The Board of Assessors for the municipality, or the City Council or Select Board, shall annually set the exemption amount provided for in section 2; provided that the amount of the exemption shall be within a range of fifty (50) percent to 200 (two hundred) percent of the amount of the circuit breaker income tax credit pursuant to Subsection (k) of Section 6 of Chapter 62 of the General Laws, as adjusted annually by the Department of Revenue, for which the applicant qualified in the previous year. The total amount to be exempted by this act shall be allocated proportionally within the tax levy on all residential taxpayers, or through the Assessors’ Overlay account, to be decided by the legislative body at the time of adoption by the municipality.

SECTION 5. A person who seeks to qualify for the exemption pursuant to section 2 shall, before the deadline established by the local Board of Assessors, file an application, on a form to be adopted by the local Board of Assessors, with the supporting documentation of the applicant’s income and assets as described in the application. The application shall be filed each fiscal year for which the applicant seeks the exemption. The local Board of Assessors may deny an application for an exemption pursuant to section 2 if they find the applicant has excessive assets that place the applicant outside the category of intended recipients of the senior exemption created by this act. A person who seeks to qualify for the exemption pursuant to section 2, but who also receives a M.G.L. Ch. 59 § 5 Clause 41A Tax Deferral, shall have their eligibility reviewed by the Board of Assessors to determine the amount of circuit breaker credit.

SECTION 6. No exemption shall be granted under this act until the Department of Revenue certifies a residential tax rate for the applicable tax year.