Letter: Tax deferral available for seniors, people with disabilities

Posted 2/15/19

To the editor:

Although it is not new and it is described on our tax bills, I recently discovered that only one person is currently taking advantage of our Portsmouth “tax deferral” …

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Letter: Tax deferral available for seniors, people with disabilities

Posted

To the editor:

Although it is not new and it is described on our tax bills, I recently discovered that only one person is currently taking advantage of our Portsmouth “tax deferral” exemption. So, in case you missed it …

If you are a Portsmouth resident who is 65 or older or who has a disability, has lived in a single-family house for more than seven years, and if your real estate tax bill is more than 10 percent of your household annual income, you may qualify to pay lower taxes while you’re living in your house and defer paying the rest until after you sell your house or you pass away.   

For example, if a senior has a total annual income of $50,000/year, but her property taxes are $6,000/year, she could qualify to pay $5,000/year in property taxes (10 percent of her total annual income) and pay the remaining $1,000/year (with 3 percent annual interest) from proceeds after she sells her house or from her estate after she passes away. 

Of course, everyone needs to look at their individual circumstances (e.g., age of owner, value of house, needs of the beneficiaries of the estate, etc.). But, in sum, this is a potential way for some of our most vulnerable citizens to pay lower current property taxes and age in place.  So, please spread the word. 

To find out more, go online and review the application here or call the Tax Assessor’s Office at 401/683-1536. 

Linda Ujifusa

Vice president,

Portsmouth Town Council

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A lifelong Portsmouth resident, Jim graduated from Portsmouth High School in 1982 and earned a journalism degree from the University of Rhode Island in 1986. He's worked two different stints at East Bay Newspapers, for a total of 18 years with the company so far. When not running all over town bringing you the news from Portsmouth, Jim listens to lots and lots and lots of music, watches obscure silent films from the '20s and usually has three books going at once. He also loves to cook crazy New Orleans dishes for his wife of 25 years, Michelle, and their two sons, Jake and Max.