The Finance Committee voted last week to increase the income limit for senior citizens in Herkimer County looking to qualify for a tax exemption.
The decision to raise the limit from $13,000 to $15,000, which must now go before the county legislature, means more senior citizens may be eligible for the program, allowing them an exemption from county taxes on up to 50 percent of the assessed value on their home.
Mary Ann Barbuto, county Real Property Tax Service Agency director, said the last limit increase came in 1995. But she also warned county legislators that offering exemptions to a certain group inherently increases the burden on other taxpayers.
In 2009, 363 seniors qualified for the over age 65 exemption program from county taxes, according to Barbuto. The total equalized value of the exemptions was $12,309,165, she said, with an equalized value reached by multiplying the exempt amount by the latest equalization rate.
Exemption requirements are based on age, ownership statue, residency and occupancy, and income, Barbuto explained.
There are also possible exemptions available for senior citizen business owners on new businesses or certain improvements to existing businesses.
The Herkimer County Legislature will decide on Wednesday at its 7:30 p.m. meeting whether or not an increase to the income limit for the senior citizens tax exemption.
For information on the exemption programs, or criteria for qualification, call the county Real Property Tax Service Agency at 867-1153.
Income requirements.
• All Social Security payments, salary and wages (including bonuses),
• Interest (including nontaxable interest on state or local bonds)
• Total dividends, net earning from farming, rentals, business or profession (including amounts claimed as depreciation for income tax purposes)
• Income from estates or trusts
• Gains from sales or exchanges
• The total amount received from governmental or private retirement or pension plans
• Annuity payments (excluding amounts representing a return of capital)
• Alimony, unemployment insurance payments,
• Disability payments
• Workers compensation, etc.
Income does not include:
• Supplemental Security Income,
• Welfare payments
• Gifts, inheritances
• Payments received as participants in the Federal Foster Grandparents Program
• A return of capital, or reparation payments received by Holocaust survivors
