An Act creating a local option property tax cap for low-income seniors
Generates a plain-language summary of the bill text and history.
| Date | Branch | Action |
|---|---|---|
| 2/17/2026 | House | Read second and ordered to a third reading |
| 2/17/2026 | House | Rules suspended |
| 2/17/2026 | House | Committee reported that the matter be placed in the Orders of the Day for the next sitting |
| 1/20/2026 | House | Bill reported favorably by committee and referred to the committee on House Steering, Policy and Scheduling |
| 1/20/2026 | House | Reported on a part of H4965↗ |
| 1/20/2026 | House | Reported from the committee on House Rules |
| 1/20/2026 | House | Accompanied a study order, see H4965↗ |
| 6/12/2025 | Joint | Hearing scheduled for 06/16/2025 from 01:00 PM-05:00 PM in A-1 |
| 2/27/2025 | Senate | Senate concurred |
| 2/27/2025 | House | Referred to the committee on Revenue |
| Committee | Recommendation | Vote |
|---|---|---|
| J26 | Accompanied | 1 entries |
| H33 | Favorable | — |
| H52 | Place in OD | — |
Chapter 59 of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting after section 5N the following section:-
A city or town that accepts this section in the manner provided in section 4 of chapter 4 may impose a cap on property taxes for homeowners of the age of 65 or over; provided, that such homeowners shall meet the following income and asset requirements for eligibility, if single incomes of $50,000 or less, if married $60,000 or less and assets of $75,000 or less not including the primary residence and l motor vehicle registered to the applicant. The assessments and tax rate changes of such homeowner qualified properties shall be recalculated on an annual basis. The lesser of the calculations shall prevail as the property tax levy for that year. For the purpose of this exemption, income means the “adjusted gross income” for federal income tax purposes as reported on the applicant’s latest available federal or state income tax return for the applicable income tax year, subject to any subsequent amendments or revisions, reduced by distributions, to the extent included in federal adjusted gross income, received from an individual retirement account and an individual retirement annuity; provided, that if no such return was filed for the application income tax year, income means the adjusted gross income that would have been so reported if such a return had been filed.
Chapter 59 of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting after section 5N the following section:- Section 5O. A city or town that accepts this section in the manner provided in section 4 of chapter 4 may impose a cap on property taxes for homeowners of the age of 65 or over; provided, that such homeowners shall meet the following income and asset requirements for eligibility, if single incomes of $50,000 or less, if married $60,000 or less and assets of $75,000 or less not including the primary residence and l motor vehicle registered to the applicant. The assessments and tax rate changes of such homeowner qualified properties shall be recalculated on an annual basis. The lesser of the calculations shall prevail as the property tax levy for that year. For the purpose of this exemption, income means the “adjusted gross income” for federal income tax purposes as reported on the applicant’s latest available federal or state income tax return for the applicable income tax year, subject to any subsequent amendments or revisions, reduced by distributions, to the extent included in federal adjusted gross income, received from an individual retirement account and an individual retirement annuity; provided, that if no such return was filed for the application income tax year, income means the adjusted gross income that would have been so reported if such a return had been filed.