Help! I can’t afford my real estate taxes.

With the reevaluation of property at full and fair market value in Massachusetts, many individuals have determined that they can no longer comfortably pay for real estate taxes. Some individuals have felt that they could not afford to pay the taxes and ongoing expenses of a house, and therefore, have sold their homes and moved to subsidized living arrangements, or possibly moved in with other family members.

Fortunately, in Massachusetts, there are programs to help an individual meet his or her real estate tax obligations. Each town assessor has the authority to grant a deduction from $175 to $500 from a real estate tax bill. Some of the exemptions and deferral opportunities are as follows:

1. You are a single person who is a sole owner or joint owner and are at least 70-years-old prior to the beginning of the fiscal year, which is July 1 for all cities and towns in Massachusetts.
2. You and your spouse are both joint owners, and one of you is at least 70 years of age prior to the beginning of the fiscal year.
3. You are married and one of the spouses is the sole owner who is at least 70 years of age prior to the beginning of the fiscal year.
4. There are other options available, such as a veteran or a surviving spouse of a veteran, a blind person, a surviving spouse of a police officer or fire fighter killed in the line of duty, minor children of the police officer or fire fighter who was killed in the line of duty, and other specialized exemptions.

In addition to the categories stated above, you must also meet the requirements of income and assets relative to the qualifications. If your property is held jointly with another person, then the other person’s income and assets may also be counted, but you merely have a life interest in the property, where there is a deed to the remainder beneficiaries, and you hold the life estate, this may also qualify you for the abatement.

There are also specialized situations for deferral of real estate taxes if you aren’t able to live in the house due to income requirements, and also be unable to pay real estate taxes, which may consume a significant portion of your disposable income. Every board of assessors has the authority to grant a tax exemption or deferral, but again, it must be applied for, usually on an annual basis, to maintain a continued exemption.

By: Hyman G. Darling, Esquire