Bill > S1707

This bill authorizes the establishment of a means-tested senior citizen property tax exemption. The key provisions are: 1. It creates an exemption from property tax for qualifying parcels of real property classified as residential, to be annually set by the local board of assessors. 2. The exemption applies to the domicile of the taxpayer and is in addition to any other exemptions allowed by law. 3. To qualify, the property must be owned and occupied by a person aged 65 or older (or 60 if jointly owned) who received the "circuit breaker" income tax credit in the prior year, has been domiciled in the jurisdiction for at least 10 years, and has their application approved by the local assessors. 4. The assessors set the exemption amount annually, between 0.5 and 2 times the amount of the prior year's circuit breaker credit, but the total exemption cannot exceed 1% of the total tax levy. 5. Applicants must file annually and provide documentation of their income and assets, which the assessors can use to deny the exemption if the applicant has excessive assets. 6. No exemption can be granted until the state Department of Revenue certifies that the total exemption amount will be raised through a burden shift within the residential tax levy.

Budget and Finance

https://malegislature.gov/Bills/191/S1707