HARRISBURG – Application forms for the Department of Revenue’s Property Tax/Rent Rebate Program are now available for eligible residents to begin claiming rebates for property taxes or rent paid in 2015.
Each resident who prepared or filed a paper rebate form last year (not using computer software) should have received a 2015 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 2015 rebates and providing copies of the PA-1000 Rent Certificate.
There is no charge to apply for a rebate. 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 2015 and met all other eligibility criteria.
The deadline to apply for a rebate on property taxes or rent paid in 2015 is June 30, 2016. Rebates will be distributed beginning on July 1, as specified by law.
More than $269 million in property tax and rent rebates were sent to more than 564,000 homeowners and renters across the state for taxes and rent paid in 2014.
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.
Importantly, some applicants who previously received rebates may continue to qualify despite Social Security cost-of-living adjustments that may have pushed their income past the eligibility limits. This is explained in the instructions for the claim form.
The maximum standard rebate is $650, but supplemental rebates for certain qualifying homeowners can boost rebates to $975. 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 $5.9 billion in property tax and rent relief. The program is funded by the Pennsylvania Lottery and revenue from slots gaming.