Senior Citizen Tax Rebates
The Property Tax/Rent Rebate program, available to qualified seniors and permanently disabled citizens, is funded by the Pennsylvania Lottery and administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue.
To obtain an application, please click here. Applications are also available by contacting your local state legislator.
Under Act 1 (the Taxpayer Relief Act) additional 420,000 seniors will receive help paying their property taxes or rent, and more than 200,000 seniors will have their school property taxes completely eliminated. Under the old system, seniors could receive a property tax or rent rebate if they earned up to $15,000 a year (excluding ½ of Social Security). The maximum rebate was $500. The new law increases the income limit to $35,000 for homeowners and boosts the maximum rebate to $650.
Homeowners will now receive:
| Income | Rebate |
| $0 to $8,000 | $650 |
| $8,001 to $15,000 | $500 |
| $15,001 to $18,000 | $300 |
| $18,001 to $35,000 | $250 |
Renters will now receive:
| Income | Rebate |
| $0 to $8,000 | $650 |
| $8,001 to $15,000 | $500 |
In addition, seniors who pay more than 15% of their income in property taxes will also have their property tax rebate increase by an additional 50% if their income is under $30,000, since they are paying so much of what they make towards property taxes.
The extra help for seniors who pay more than 15% of their income in property taxes will occur once the first statewide property tax relief occurs for all homeowners.
Claimants or spouses 65 years of age or older; widows or widowers 50 years of age or older; and the permanently disabled 18 years of age or older may qualify for the Property Tax/Rent Rebate program.
The Property Tax and Rent Rebate expansion will not drain the Lottery Fund. Gaming funds will pay for the full expansion – and will even reimburse the Lottery for the cost of the expansion before gaming is up and running.
Taxpayers may also pay their school property taxes on an installment plan. This option will help seniors in particular, since they often do not pay school property taxes on a monthly basis through a mortgage company. Please contact the district tax office at 566-5311 for more information on installment payments.
If you qualify for the Property Tax/Rent Rebate program, you may also be eligible for PACE or PACENET. PACE and PACENET are prescription drug programs funded by the Pennsylvania Lottery. For information on PACE or PACENET, call toll-free 1-800-225-7223.
For information on other services offered by the Department of Aging, call your local Area Agency on Aging or visit www.aging.state.pa.us.
For more information on the Pennsylvania Lottery, visit the Lottery's website, www.palottery.com.