Far too often we hear from seniors in our districts who are on a fixed income and have trouble staying in their homes due to the large burden of paying their property taxes. That is why we plan to reintroduce legislation which would allow the local taxing authority to freeze an eligible senior’s property taxes at their base year amount for as long as they remain eligible.

In order to be eligible for the tax freeze, our legislation requires that the home be the primary residence and the senior citizen be 65 years of age or older. They must also have established residency within the Commonwealth, paid property taxes for more than five years prior to filing for the freeze and their combined household income cannot exceed $65,000 per year. If their income exceeds $65,000, but their property tax liability is ten percent or more of their total income, they would also qualify.

For the many seniors living in our districts on a fixed or limited income, we believe this program will provide a much-needed degree of financial certainty that will ensure they may remain in their homes. Please join us in sponsoring this important piece of legislation.