Howard Council passes new law to allow Aging in Place tax credit to be used by more older residents

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A invoice accredited by the Howard County Council this week will allow older residents who personal more than one residential property to obtain the county’s Aging in Place tax credit.

The invoice, accredited Monday, eliminated a prohibition stopping older residents with a number of residences in any state or jurisdiction from receiving a residential tax credit. The tax credit applies to residents older than 65 and to those that have lived in their residence for more than 30 years. The credit is price up to 20% of the county tax or an assessed worth of $650,000 in spite of everything different eligible credit have been utilized.

The invoice handed 3-0, with council Chair and District 3 Councilwoman Christiana Rigby and District 2 Councilman Opel Jones each abstaining.

“Our senior inhabitants wants assist to age in a group and in a house that meets their wants. However as a substitute of fixing the foundation causes of our points, which is inadequate various residence provide, we’re merely reducing from one space to Band-aid one other,” Rigby mentioned at Monday’s legislative listening to.

District 4 Councilwoman Deb Jung launched a invoice final 12 months to scale back the Aging in Place tax credit residency requirement from 38 years to 30 years and to improve the worth of the eligible property from $500,000 to $650,000. Rigby then added an modification to Jung’s invoice, creating the a number of residencies prohibition.

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“I have no idea the intention of her modification, however I do know that it adversely impacts seniors who’re residing on fastened incomes and who’ve contributed financially to this county for a lot of a long time,” Jung mentioned.

The general public or council didn’t have an opportunity to overview the modification’s ramifications earlier than the invoice handed 3-2 in October 2022.

“The best way the laws reads, it says ‘residential properties.’ So, a residential property might be a very non-buildable parcel,” mentioned Tim Feaga, who voiced assist for the new invoice at a Sept. 18 public listening to.

The typical tax credit was $925 on common, up from $780 earlier than the rise in assessed worth final 12 months, in accordance to Howard County Director of Finance Rafiu Ighile in a fiscal evaluation letter to the council on Sept. 14.

“I strongly consider that when you’ve got a number of properties, paying the total property tax is truthful. The exclusion can also be an enormous buffer to the county’s revenues as a result of it mitigates the potential inhabitants of more than 8,000 from getting the credit,” mentioned Ighile.

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The County’s Workplace of Finance mentioned in fiscal 2024, 82 candidates utilizing the paper software course of have been deemed ineligible due to the a number of residence prohibitions. The full fiscal influence of the invoice can not be decided as a result of it would depend on the variety of a number of property homeowners who will now develop into eligible for the tax credit, in accordance to a county audit of the invoice.

“We all know the aim of the Aging in Place tax credit is to give seniors who’ve lived in this county for 30 years and are over the age of 65 a bit of break on their property taxes,” Jung mentioned at Monday’s legislative listening to. “I, for one, would really like to see our seniors keep proper right here in Howard County.”

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