Seniors Can Still Take Advantage of the "Circuit Breaker" Tax Rebate

Source: Linda Slota, Director

Many senior citizens in Massachusetts may not realize that the state will pay them up to $900 to offset high property tax bills in 2007 - and the credit is available even if you owed no state income taxes this year. A senior can go back 2 years and get credit for 2006 and 2005. This tax break is called the "circuit breaker" because it is triggered like an electrical circuit breaker when property taxes (and certain water and sewer bils) exceeed 10% of a senior's income.

If a senior is age 65 or older, and owns a home or rents an apartment (no subsidized housing) you may be elgible  for this rebate.The circuit breaker is an income tax rebate for excessive property taxes paid. For a single person, annual income can not exceed $48,000. Head of household cannot be more than $60,000 and anyone filing joint, the annual income cannot be more than $72,000. Property cannot be assessed at more than $772,000. Even though this tax break is based on your property tax payment, it is the state that pays you back not your local city or town.  

If you did not file any state income tax forms - because you did not owe any state taxes - you can still take advantage of this break, because this is a fully refundable credit. To get the credit this year, just file a MA State Form 1 plus a Schedule CB. The state allows you to file back for 3 years' tax benefits and you can file for 3 years at once. The tax rebate in 2005 was $840, in 2006 it went up to $870, and for 2007 it is set at $900. If you have not claimed for any of these years, the state could owe you up to $2510.

If you have not claimed for any of these years, a Form 1 and Schedule CB must be filed for each of these years. If you did file, then you must submit a CS-6 Abatement/Amended form and a Schedule CB to caluculate your credit. You can contact your local Senior Center for an appointment to have a tax counselor assist you with this tax break.

In order to file for this rebate, you must bring in proof of all income received during the year, these forms will be sent to you before January 31 by the banks or other companies. This includes: SS1099 - Social Security Form, 1099 Interest and Dividends statements and 1099 Pension statements and any other 1099 statements received.