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H 3904

Kenneth Singleton

2025-2026 Regular Session Introduced by Terry Alexander and 121 co-sponsors

Raises the Boston senior homeowner exemption from 500 to 1,500 and sets income/asset limits using AMI, expanding eligibility and benefits.

Scrivener's error corrected
0
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Bill Summary · H 3904

Summary — H.3904 (House Docket No. 4365) — "An Act relative to senior tax exemption"

Overview / Purpose

H.3904, filed by Representative Christopher J. Worrell (with local approval), would amend how the senior homeowner property tax exemption under clause 41C of section 5 of chapter 59 of the Massachusetts General Laws applies to real property in the City of Boston. The intent is to increase the dollar amounts and to index certain income thresholds to a share of Area Median Income (AMI), thereby expanding or updating eligibility and benefit levels for qualifying senior homeowners in Boston.

Key provisions

  • Raises the fixed exemption amount in the first sentence of clause 41C from $500 to $1,500.
  • Replaces two fixed income thresholds in subclause (B) (previously $13,000 and $15,000) with a threshold set at 50% of Area Median Income (AMI), adjusted for household size. The AMI figure used is the most recent HUD-published AMI available as of July 1 of the fiscal year for which the exemption is sought.
  • Increases the amounts in subclause (C) from $28,000 to “not more than $80,000” and from $30,000 to “not more than $110,000.”
  • States these adjustments are not subject to further modification by the second sentence of clause 41C.
  • Includes a severability clause.
  • Effective upon passage.

Who is affected

  • Primary: senior homeowners in the City of Boston who apply for exemptions under clause 41C (the local senior homeowner property tax exemption).
  • Secondary: the City of Boston’s property tax base and municipal revenue streams (potentially reduced local property tax revenue to the extent exemptions increase).

Procedural / timeline notes

  • Introduced and adopted in the House on 02/06/2025.
  • Scrivener’s error was corrected on 02/11/2025.
  • Referred to the House Committee on Revenue on 03/13/2025.
  • The bill indicates local approval was received (per the filing language).

Additional note about bill text

The bill file includes multiple pages of an unrelated House resolution honoring a Kenneth Singleton (South Carolina), apparently inserted in error. The legislative record lists a scrivener’s error correction on 02/11/2025; the substantive measure before the Massachusetts General Court concerns the Boston senior tax exemption described above.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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