Some cities, states embrace property tax refunds for older homeowners

Older homeowners living on a fixed income have a higher chance of seeing their finances destabilized by rising costs, and that can be particularly true of something like property taxes.

For homeowners who have either a forward or reverse mortgage on their home, these costs also must be paid in order to keep the loan in good standing.

But some states are embracing programs that allow for property tax refunds if a homeowner meets specific requirements. More often than not, one of these requirements is a minimum age that classifies someone as a senior.

In South Dakota, for instance, the state maintains a property and sales tax refund program that homeowners 50 and older can attempt to qualify for. The state’s AARP chapter advocates for the availability of these programs, and it recently published a bulletin designed to raise awareness among South Dakota residents.

“Property taxes are the single most burdensome tax for low-income and older homeowners,” the chapter said in the bulletin. “Many of our state’s elderly citizens have lived in their homes for generations. As their property values have appreciated, so have their property taxes.

“Plus, older adults often live on fixed incomes and cannot afford the yearly increases in their property taxes while meeting their basic needs for food, medicine and utilities.”

The city of Denver offers a similar program with more stringent eligibility requirements. In order to qualify, a homeowner must be at least 65 or have been disabled for the entire calendar year of 2024.

They also must have owned and lived in the property in question during that time and paid their property taxes for the year in full. They cannot make more than 60% of the area median income ($59,345 for an individual or $70,440 for a family of three), according to an overview of the program from Denverite.com.

In South Dakota, qualified residents can apply for the program by July 1, 2025. In Denver, as many as 3,000 residents qualified for the program in 2024.

Property tax payments are a commonly expressed concern for reverse mortgage borrowers who seek out the loan. And other options offered by localities include property tax deferrals.

Alicia Munnell of the Boston College Center for Retirement Research recently called deferral programs “the best way to help older homeowners.” But these programs still require the taxes to be paid at a later date and do not constitute a waiver.