5 Things You Should Know About Property Tax Relief

Hello, my name is Ruth Heintz, and I am an attorney with New Hampshire Legal Assistance. I am here to share five things that you should know about property tax relief.

If you are age 65 or older, if you are a Veteran or the surviving spouse of a Veteran, if you are blind, or have disabilities and are receiving Social Security benefits, or if you have low income, you may qualify for reduced or deferred property taxes on your home.

There are four different types of property tax relief available in New Hampshire: Exemptions, credits, deferrals and abatements.

An exemption is a reduction in the value of the property which is taxed. Towns and cities are required to make exemptions available to seniors and certain veterans. Towns and cities can also choose to have exemptions for people who are blind, deaf, or are receiving Social Security disability benefits.

A credit is a reduction in the amount of property taxes owed in a given year. Credits are available to certain Veterans and their surviving spouses.

A deferral allows you to postpone paying the property taxes. The postponed taxes form a lien on your property, and accrue interest at 5% a year. The lien and interest must be paid when you leave, sell or refinance the home. Towns and cities must make deferrals available to homeowners over age 65, and to homeowners who receive Social Security disability benefits, if paying the taxes causes an undue hardship.

Abatement is the forgiveness of prior years’ taxes for “good cause,” such as financial hardship or poverty and inability to pay. An abatement also is possible if there was an error in the assessment calculation or an unfair assessment.

Each of these programs has specific requirements and unique deadlines. Towns and cities may choose whether to adopt some forms of tax relief, and also may impose different income and asset limits. Check with your town or city, or the New Hampshire Department of Revenue Administration, sometimes called the D-R-A, to find out what is available and the specific requirements in your city or town.

The State also has a low & moderate income tax relief program that can reduce property taxes for those making under a certain income level. You can apply for this program even if you have already applied for tax relief from your city or town.

The filing deadline for tax deferral and abatement applications is March 1st. The filing deadline to apply for exemptions and credits is April 15th. Applications for the low & moderate income tax relief program must be filed between May 1st and June 30th.
However, you should ALWAYS check with the Department of Revenue Administration in any given year as the due date may change, and forms may have been updated.

You can obtain applications for all of these programs from your city or town's tax collector.

These forms and the application for the low & moderate income tax relief also can be downloaded from the New Hampshire Department of Revenue Administration's website (www.revenue.nh.gov), or requested on the phone by calling the “form line,” 230-5001. You can get the abatement form by calling the Board of Tax and Land Appeals at 271-2578, or on its website, www.nh.gov/btla.

Your city or town will have until July 1 to make a decision about your application. If you disagree with the decision or if there is no decision by July 1, you can file an appeal with either the Superior Court or the Board of Tax and Land Appeals by September 1. To get help writing and filing your appeal, you can apply for legal aid at www.nhlegalaid.org

If you are age 60 or over and have been denied property tax relief, contact New Hampshire Legal Assistance at 624-6000. To apply for free legal help on-line, go to www.nhlegalaid.org or call the Legal Advice and Referral Center at 224-3333. Additional information is available at www.nhla.org.

Other legal services are available through the NH Bar Association’s Modest Means Legal Program and the NH Lawyer Referral Service.