Harrisburg, Pa. (EYT) – Application forms for the Department of Revenue’s Property Tax/Rent Rebate Program are now available for eligible residents to begin claiming rebates on property taxes or rent paid in 2014.
Each resident who prepared or filed a paper rebate form last year not utilizing computer software should have received a 2014 application by now. Renters who prepared or filed claims last year using computer software rather than the PA-1000 booklet received letters by mail reminding them to apply for 2014 rebates and providing copies of the PA-1000 Rent Certificate.
It costs nothing to apply for a rebate, and the department reminds residents that applications and free filing help are available at no cost from Department of Revenue district offices, local Area Agencies on Aging, senior centers and state legislators’ offices.
Applications are also available online at www.revenue.pa.gov or by calling 1-888-222-9190.
Claimants must reapply for rebates every year because rebates are based on annual income and property taxes or rent paid each year. Spouses, personal representatives or estates may file rebate claims on behalf of claimants who lived at least one day in 2014 and meet all other eligibility criteria.
The deadline to apply for a rebate on property taxes or rent paid in 2014 is June 30, 2015. Rebates will be distributed beginning on July 1, as specified by law.
More than $276 million in property tax and rent rebates have been sent to more than 578,000 homeowners and renters across the state for taxes and rent paid in 2013.
About the Property Tax/Rent Rebate Program:
The rebate program benefits eligible Pennsylvanians age 65 and older; widows and widowers age 50 and older; and people with disabilities age 18 and older. The income limit is $35,000 a year for homeowners and $15,000 annually for renters, and half of Social Security income is excluded.
Due to program changes enacted last year to ensure claimants aren’t disqualified from rebates solely because of Social Security cost-of-living-adjustments, homeowners and renters may be eligible for rebates even if their eligibility income is greater than these limits. Any homeowner who collected Social Security, received a property tax rebate in 2013 for claim year 2012 and had annual income last year – discounting half of Social Security – up to $36,129, is encouraged to apply for a rebate for claim year 2014. Any renter who collected Social Security, received a rent rebate in 2013 for claim year 2012 and had annual income last year – discounting half of Social Security – up to $15,484, is also encouraged to apply.
The maximum standard rebate is $650.00, but supplemental rebates for certain qualifying homeowners can boost rebates to $975.00.
The Revenue Department automatically calculates supplemental rebates for qualifying homeowners.
Since the Property Tax/Rent Rebate Program’s 1971 inception, older and disabled adults have received more than $5.6 billion in property tax and rent relief.
The program is funded by the Pennsylvania Lottery and revenue from slots gaming.
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