As
provided by state law, the Board of Assessors administers tax assistance
programs for various eligible taxpayers.These
programs are summarized briefly below.Any
additional information and the necessary application can be obtained by
contacting the Office of Assessment Administration at (508) 647-6420.
Applications
must be filed within three months of the mailing of the actual (third quarter)
tax bill.If your have any questions,
or need an application, you should call immediately.
The
Town of Natick may annually increase the amount of exemption subject to
Town Meeting approval.
REMEMBER,
AN EXEMPTION CANNOT BE GRANTED IF AN APPLICATION IS NOT FILED, SO BE SURE
TO FILE PROMPTLY.ALL EXEMPTIONS
ARE GRANTED ON AN ANNUAL BASIS.APPLICATIONS
MUST BE FILED ANNUALLY.
OLDER
CITIZENS ($500.00)
CLAUSE 41C
To
qualify, a taxpayer:
1)must
be over 70 years of age as of July 1, 2000 AND
2)must
have primary residence in Massachusetts for ten years AND owned
property in the state for five years AND must have occupied property as
of July 1, 2000 AND
3)must
have a whole estate (the value of personal property excluding domicile)
of less than $28,000 if single, $30,000 if married AND
4)must
have an income less than $13,000 if single, $15,000 if married, after subtracting
an allowable social security exclusion determined annually by the Department
of Revenue.
To
qualify, a taxpayer:
1)must
be over, 65 years of age as of July 1, 2000 AND
2)must
have primary residence in Massachusetts for ten years AND owned
property in the state for five years AND must have occupied property as
of July 1, 2000 AND
3)must
have an income of less than $40,000 per year.
UPON
APPROVAL, TAXPAYER IS ENTITLED TO DEFER (DELAY) PAYMENT OF ANY PORTION
OF THE PROPERTY TAX BILL. ALL TAXES ARE RECOVERDED UPON TRANSFER OR SALE
OF THE PROPERTY
To
qualify a taxpayer:
1)must be over 70 years of age as of July 1, 2000 OR must be a surviving spouse or surviving minor child
2)must
have owned and occupied the property for five years AND
3
)must have a whole estate (the value
of personal property less domicile) of less than $40,000.
1)have
a service-connected disability of 10% or more OR
2)have
been awarded the Purple Heart OR
3)Gold
Star Mothers and Fathers OR
4)Spouses
(where the domicle is owned by the qualifying veterans spouse) and surviving
spouses of veterans entitled to the exemption OR
5)Surviving
spouses of World War I veterans so long as they remain unmarried and so
long as their whole worth, less any mortgage on the property, does not
exceed $20,000.
DISABLED
VETERAN
($425.00) CLAUSE 22A
This
exemption is available to veterans (and their spouses) who:
1)Suffered
in the line of duty the loss or loss of use of one foot or one hand or
one eye OR
2)Received
the Congressional Medal of Honor, Distinguished Service Cross, Navy or
Air Force Cross
DISABLED
VETERAN
($725.00) CLAUSE 22B
This
exemption is available to veterans (and their spouses) who suffered, in
the line of duty, the loss or permanent loss of use of both feet or both
hands or both eyes.
DISABLED
VETERAN
($950.00) CLAUSE 22C
This
exemption is available to veterans (and their spouses) who:
1)suffered
total disability in the line of duty and
2)received
assistance in acquiring “specially adapted housing” which they own and
occupy as their domicile
DISABLED
VETERAN
($250.00) CLAUSE 22D
This
exemptionis available to surviving
spouses (who do not remarry) of soldiers and sailors who died in combat
at
the islands of Quemoy and Matsu.
DISABLED
VETERAN
($600.00) CLAUSE 22E
This
exemption is available to veterans who suffered total disability in the
line of duty and are incapable of working.
PARAPLEGIC
VETERAN
(TOTAL)
This
exemption is available to paraplegic veterans and their surviving spouses
(who do not remarry). Must be certified by the Veterans Administration
as a paraplegic.
AGE,
INFIRMITY & FINANCIAL HARDSHIP
CLAUSE 18
Any
taxpayer who cannot meet his/her real estate tax obligation due to AGE,
INFIRMITY and POVERTY may apply for this exemption.To
qualify, the applicant must present evidence to the Board of Assessors
which corroborates the individual's inability to pay the assessed tax.
BLIND
PERSONS ($500.00)
CLAUSE 37A
To
qualify, a taxpayer:
1)must
be a legal resident of the Commonwealth,
2)own
and occupy the property as his/her domicile,
3) and
file Proof of Blindness each year with the application.
RESIDENTIAL
IMPROVEMENTS (up
to $500.00)
CLAUSE 50
This
exemption exempts the value of improvements to residential property if
necessary to provide housing for a person at least 60 years old.The
following guidelines must be met.
1) Alterations
and improvements must:
a.
be made after the date of local acceptance
b.
be necessary to provide housing for a person at least 60 years old; and
c.
the elderly person in need of housing is not the owner of the premises.
2) To
qualify,the person applying must
submit annually a certificate from the local housing authority stating
that the improvements “are necessary to provide housing for a person at
least sixty years old.”
3) The
improvements will not be eligible for the exemption when the elderly person
in need of housing no longer occupies the premises.