Massachusetts 2025-2026 Regular Session

Massachusetts House Bill H3099 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	1 of 1
2	2	HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 944 FILED ON: 1/14/2025
3	3	HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 3099
4	4	The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
5	5	_________________
6	6	PRESENTED BY:
7	7	William C. Galvin
8	8	_________________
9	9	To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
10	10	Court assembled:
11	11	The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:
12	12	An Act authorizing the establishment of a means tested senior citizen property tax exemption.
13	13	_______________
14	14	PETITION OF:
15	15	NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :DATE ADDED:William C. Galvin6th Norfolk1/14/2025 1 of 3
16	16	HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 944 FILED ON: 1/14/2025
17	17	HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 3099
18	18	By Representative Galvin of Canton, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 3099) of
19	19	William C. Galvin relative to the establishment of a municipal option means tested senior citizen
20	20	property tax exemption. Revenue.
21	21	The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
22	22	_______________
23	23	In the One Hundred and Ninety-Fourth General Court
24	24	(2025-2026)
25	25	_______________
26	26	An Act authorizing the establishment of a means tested senior citizen property tax exemption.
27	27	Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority
28	28	of the same, as follows:
29	29	1 SECTION 1. In any city or town which accepts this section.
30	30	2 SECTION 2. With respect to each qualifying parcel of real property classified as Class
31	31	3One, Residential in the municipality, there shall be an exemption from property tax in an amount
32	32	4to be set annually by the Board of Assessors of the municipality, or the City Council or Select
33	33	5Board, to be decided by the legislative body at the time of adoption by the municipality, as
34	34	6provided for in section 3. The exemption shall be applied to the domicile of the taxpayer only.
35	35	7For the purposes of this act, ‘parcel’ shall be a unit of real property as defined by the Board of
36	36	8Assessors of the municipality under the deed for the property and shall include residential
37	37	9condominium units. The exemption provided for herein shall be in addition to any and all other
38	38	10exemptions allowed by the General Laws.
39	39	11 SECTION 3. Real property shall qualify for the exemption pursuant to Section 2 if all of
40	40	12the following criteria are met: 2 of 3
41	41	13 1. The qualifying real property is owned and occupied by a person whose prior calendar
42	42	14year’s income would make the person eligible for the circuit breaker income tax credit pursuant
43	43	15to Subsection (k) of Section 6 of Chapter 62 of the General Laws;
44	44	16 2. The qualifying real property is owned by a single applicant age 65 or older at the close
45	45	17of the previous calendar year or jointly by persons either of whom is age 65 or above at the close
46	46	18of the previous calendar year, if the joint applicant is 60 years of age or older;
47	47	19 3. The qualifying real property is owned and occupied by the applicant or joint applicants
48	48	20as their domicile;
49	49	21 4. The applicant or at least one of the joint applicants has been domiciled and owned real
50	50	22property in the municipality for at least 10 consecutive years before filing an application for the
51	51	23exemption;
52	52	24 5. The assessed value of the domicile is no greater than the prior fiscal year’s maximum
53	53	25assessed value for qualification for the circuit breaker income tax credit pursuant to said
54	54	26Subsection (k) of said Section 6 of said Chapter 62, as adjusted annually by the Department of
55	55	27Revenue, or the average single-family dwelling value for the municipality, to be decided by the
56	56	28legislative body at the time of adoption by the municipality; and
57	57	29 6. The local Board of Assessors has approved the application.
58	58	30 SECTION 4. The Board of Assessors for the municipality, or the City Council or Select
59	59	31Board, shall annually set the exemption amount provided for in section 2; provided that the
60	60	32amount of the exemption shall be within a range of fifty (50) percent to 200 (two hundred)
61	61	33percent of the amount of the circuit breaker income tax credit pursuant to Subsection (k) of 3 of 3
62	62	34Section 6 of Chapter 62 of the General Laws, as adjusted annually by the Department of
63	63	35Revenue, for which the applicant qualified in the previous year. The total amount to be exempted
64	64	36by this act shall be allocated proportionally within the tax levy on all residential taxpayers, or
65	65	37through the Assessors’ Overlay account, to be decided by the legislative body at the time of
66	66	38adoption by the municipality.
67	67	39 SECTION 5. A person who seeks to qualify for the exemption pursuant to section 2 shall,
68	68	40before the deadline established by the local Board of Assessors, file an application, on a form to
69	69	41be adopted by the local Board of Assessors, with the supporting documentation of the applicant’s
70	70	42income and assets as described in the application. The application shall be filed each fiscal year
71	71	43for which the applicant seeks the exemption. The local Board of Assessors may deny an
72	72	44application for an exemption pursuant to section 2 if they find the applicant has excessive assets
73	73	45that place the applicant outside the category of intended recipients of the senior exemption
74	74	46created by this act. A person who seeks to qualify for the exemption pursuant to section 2, but
75	75	47who also receives a M.G.L. Ch. 59 § 5 Clause 41A Tax Deferral, shall have their eligibility
76	76	48reviewed by the Board of Assessors to determine the amount of circuit breaker credit.
77	77	49 SECTION 6. No exemption shall be granted under this act until the Department of
78	78	50Revenue certifies a residential tax rate for the applicable tax year.