Question: “I just turned 65.  Now, I’m entitled to have my property taxes reduced, right?”

Answer: Unfortunately, not yet.  Almost all of the tax reductions for seniors – which are set forth in Massachusetts state laws – kick in at age 70.  They also have fairly strict income limits. 

However, Holliston does have a “home rule” piece of legislation – passed unanimously at the 2022 Annual Town Meeting – that is now working its way through the state legislature and, when enacted, will be applicable to 65-year-old homeowners.  We expect to offer that exemption sometime in 2025.

Other bills currently under consideration by our state legislature involve increasing the amount of money seniors participating in a work-off program can earn, expanding the tax deferral program and doing away with property taxes for those 75 and older.  Whether or not these bills are enacted remains to be seen.

The confusion people have about when they might be eligible for a tax exemption might come from hearing what other states do.  Florida, for example offers a “homestead” exemption to reduce property taxes for homeowners of any age whose full-time home is in that state.  (In Massachusetts, a “homestead” declaration is a type of legal protection for your principal residence.)  And, in South Carolina, when you turn 65, you no longer have to pay the “school portion” of the local property tax. In some Rhode Island communities, your assessment can be “frozen” (go neither p or down) once you reach 65.  Each state makes its own laws.

Last year, The Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, a Cambridge-based think tank that studies land use and tax policies, published a book entitled, “Property Tax Relief for Homeowners,” that recommended “best practices” to offset the rising property taxes paid by seniors.

The good news is that Massachusetts’ senior residents are able to take advantage of most of them now – such as the state’s “circuit breaker” income tax credit, property tax exemptions and property tax deferrals.  (You can find a list of what Holliston offers at: https://www.townofholliston.us/assessors-office/pages/online-forms and clicking on the first three links on that webpage.)  The Massachusetts Department of Revenue also has information available at: www.mass.gov/doc/qualifying-senior-citizens/download and at www.mass.gov/doc/taxpayers-guide-to-local-property-tax-exemptions-seniors-clauses-41-41b-41c-41c12/download.

The only best practice recommended in “Property Tax Relief for Homeowners” that is not offered in Massachusetts is issuing monthly, rather than quarterly, property tax bills.  The rationale for this recommendation is that seniors might find it easier to pay a monthly bill versus a larger quarterly bill.

To be honest, having monthly bills would be both a costly and time-consuming process to implement.  And nothing prevents a taxpayer from dividing their quarterly property tax bills by three and making monthly payments.

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