AN ACT AUTHORIZING THE TOWN OF NORTH READING TO ESTABLISH 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. With respect to each qualifying parcel of real property classified as Class One, residential in the town of North Reading, there shall be an exemption from the property tax in an amount to be set annually by the select board of the town as provided in section 3. The exemption shall be applied only to the domicile of the taxpayer; provided, however, that for the purposes of this act, “parcel” shall mean a unit of real property as defined by the board of assessors of the town under the deed for the property and shall include a condominium unit. The exemption provided for in this act shall be in addition to any other exemption allowed by the General Laws.
SECTION 2. The board of assessors in the town of North Reading may deny an application for an exemption under this act if the board finds that the applicant has excessive assets that place the applicant outside of the intended recipients of the exemption established pursuant to this act. Real property shall qualify for the exemption if:
(i) the qualifying real property is owned and occupied by a person whose prior year’s income would make the person eligible for the circuit breaker income tax credit under subsection (k) of section 6 of chapter 62 of the General Laws;
(ii) the qualifying real property is owned by a single applicant not less than 65 years of age at the close of the previous year or jointly by persons either of whom is not less than 65 years of age at the close of the previous year if the other joint applicant is not less than 60 years of age;
(iii) the qualifying real property is owned and occupied by the applicant or joint applicants as their domicile;
(iv) the applicant or at least 1 of the joint applicants has been domiciled and owned a home in the town for not less than 10 consecutive years before filing an application for the exemption;
(v) the maximum assessed value of the qualifying real property is not greater than the prior year’s maximum assessed value for qualification for the circuit breaker income tax credit under said subsection (k) of said section 6 of said chapter 62, as adjusted annually by the department of revenue; and
(vi) the board of assessors has approved the application for the exemption.
SECTION 3. The select board of the town of North Reading shall annually set the exemption amount pursuant to this act; provided, however, that the amount of the exemption shall be not more than 50 per cent of the amount of the circuit breaker income tax credit under subsection (k) of section 6 of chapter 62 of the General Laws for which the applicant qualified in the previous year. The total amount exempted by this act shall be allocated proportionally within the tax levy on all residential taxpayers.
SECTION 4. A person who seeks to qualify for the exemption under this act shall, before the deadline established by the board of assessors of the town of North Reading, file an application, on a form to be adopted by the board, with supporting documentation relative to the applicant’s income and assets as described in the application. The application shall be filed each year for which the applicant seeks the exemption.
SECTION 5. No exemption shall be granted under this act until the department of revenue certifies a residential tax rate for the applicable tax year where the total exemption amount is raised by a burden shift within the residential tax levy.
SECTION 6. The exemption established pursuant to this act shall expire 3 years after its implementation.
Approved, November 15, 2024.