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| 2 | 2 | | SENATE DOCKET, NO. 571 FILED ON: 1/14/2025 |
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| 3 | 3 | | SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 2069 |
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| 4 | 4 | | The Commonwealth of Massachusetts |
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| 5 | 5 | | _________________ |
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| 6 | 6 | | PRESENTED BY: |
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| 7 | 7 | | Michael F. Rush |
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| 8 | 8 | | _________________ |
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| 9 | 9 | | To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General |
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| 10 | 10 | | Court assembled: |
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| 11 | 11 | | The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill: |
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| 12 | 12 | | An Act relative to home modifications for seniors. |
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| 13 | 13 | | _______________ |
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| 14 | 14 | | PETITION OF: |
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| 15 | 15 | | NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :Michael F. RushNorfolk and Suffolk 1 of 3 |
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| 16 | 16 | | SENATE DOCKET, NO. 571 FILED ON: 1/14/2025 |
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| 17 | 17 | | SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 2069 |
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| 18 | 18 | | By Mr. Rush, a petition (accompanied by bill, Senate, No. 2069) of Michael F. Rush for |
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| 19 | 19 | | legislation relative to home modifications for seniors. Revenue. |
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| 20 | 20 | | [SIMILAR MATTER FILED IN PREVIOUS SESSION |
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| 21 | 21 | | SEE SENATE, NO. 1927 OF 2023-2024.] |
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| 22 | 22 | | The Commonwealth of Massachusetts |
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| 23 | 23 | | _______________ |
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| 24 | 24 | | In the One Hundred and Ninety-Fourth General Court |
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| 25 | 25 | | (2025-2026) |
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| 26 | 26 | | _______________ |
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| 27 | 27 | | An Act relative to home modifications for seniors. |
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| 28 | 28 | | Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority |
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| 29 | 29 | | of the same, as follows: |
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| 30 | 30 | | 1 SECTION 1. Chapter 59 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2022 Official Edition, |
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| 31 | 31 | | 2is hereby amended by inserting after section 5O the following section:- |
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| 32 | 32 | | 3 Section 5P. (a) Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, in any city or |
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| 33 | 33 | | 4town that accepts this section, an owner of a residential property who has made modifications to |
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| 34 | 34 | | 5that residential property to improve accessibility or to allow that person to live independently, |
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| 35 | 35 | | 6shall be exempt from the increased real property tax due to the newly assessed value of the |
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| 36 | 36 | | 7property as a result of such modifications. Any reduction provided under this section shall be in |
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| 37 | 37 | | 8addition to any exemption or abatement to which that person is otherwise entitled. |
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| 38 | 38 | | 9 (b) The exemption shall be available only if: (i) the taxpayer is 65 years of age or older; |
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| 39 | 39 | | 10(ii) the taxpayer is not a dependent of another taxpayer; (iii) the taxpayer occupies the property 2 of 3 |
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| 40 | 40 | | 11as that person’s principal residence; (iv) the taxpayer’s total income does not exceed $40,000 for |
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| 41 | 41 | | 12a single individual who is not the head of a household, $50,000 for a head of a household and |
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| 42 | 42 | | 13$60,000 for 2 spouses filing a joint return; and (v) the assessed value of the residence does not |
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| 43 | 43 | | 14exceed $600,000. |
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| 44 | 44 | | 15 (c) The income limits in this section shall be increased by amounts equal to the income |
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| 45 | 45 | | 16limits multiplied by the cost-of-living adjustment for the calendar year in which such taxable |
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| 46 | 46 | | 17year begins, and the valuation limit in this section shall be increased by an amount equal to such |
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| 47 | 47 | | 18valuation limit multiplied by the cost-of-housing adjustment for the calendar year in which such |
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| 48 | 48 | | 19taxable year begins. If any such increase in an income or valuation limit is not a multiple of |
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| 49 | 49 | | 20$1,000, such increase shall be rounded to the next lowest multiple of $1,000. If the increase in |
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| 50 | 50 | | 21the exemption limit is not a multiple of $10, such increase shall be rounded to the next lowest |
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| 51 | 51 | | 22multiple of $10. |
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| 52 | 52 | | 23 (d) No exemption shall be allowed for a married individual unless a joint return is filed. |
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| 53 | 53 | | 24 (e) An owner of residential property who meets all the requirements of this section and |
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| 54 | 54 | | 25whose principal place of residence changes during the course of the year, may claim an |
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| 55 | 55 | | 26exemption for the increased real property tax due the increased assessment value with respect to |
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| 56 | 56 | | 27each such principal residence actually occupied during the year if modifications were made to |
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| 57 | 57 | | 28that residence for the purposes of improved accessibility or to allow that person to live |
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| 58 | 58 | | 29independently. |
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| 59 | 59 | | 30 (f) Any exemption provided by this section shall not be counted as income in |
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| 60 | 60 | | 31determining eligibility or benefits under any other means-tested assistance program, including, 3 of 3 |
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| 61 | 61 | | 32but not limited to, all such cash, food, medical, housing, energy and educational assistance |
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| 62 | 62 | | 33programs. |
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