H 5418

HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 6087  FILED ON: 5/4/2026
 HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 5418
  The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
  _________________
  PRESENTED BY:
  Kate Lipper-Garabedian
  _________________
To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
   Court assembled:
   The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:
An Act authorizing the town of Wakefield to establish a means tested senior citizen property tax
  exemption.
  _______________
  PETITION OF:
NAME:  DISTRICT/ADDRESS:  DATE ADDED:
Kate Lipper-Garabedian  32nd Middlesex  5/4/2026
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  HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 6087  FILED ON: 5/4/2026
 HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 5418
By Representative Lipper-Garabedian of Melrose, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No.
5418) of Kate Lipper-Garabedian (by vote of the town) that the town of Wakefield be authorized
to establish a means tested senior citizen property tax exemption in said town. Revenue. [Local
Approval Received.]
  The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
  _______________
  In the One Hundred and Ninety-Fourth General Court
  (2025-2026)
  _______________
An Act authorizing the town of Wakefield to establish a means tested senior citizen property tax
exemption.
  Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority
of the same, as follows:
1SECTION 1. With respect to each qualifying parcel of real property classified as class
2 one, residential in the town of Wakefield there shall be an exemption from the property tax in an
3 amount to be set annually by the board of assessors as provided in section 3. The exemption shall
4 be applied to the domicile of the taxpayer only. For the purposes of this act, "parcel" shall be a
5 unit of real property as defined by the board of assessors under the deed for the property and
6 shall include a condominium unit. The exemption provided for herein shall be in addition to any
7 and all other exemptions allowed by the General Laws.
8SECTION 2. The board of assessors may deny an application if they find the applicant
9 has excessive assets that place the applicant outside the category of intended recipients of the
10 senior exemption created by this act. Real property shall qualify for the exemption under section
11 1 if all of the following criteria are met: (a) The qualifying real property is owned and occupied
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12 by a person whose prior year's income would make the person eligible for the circuit breaker
13 income tax credit under section 6(k) of chapter 62 of the General Laws; (b) The qualifying real
14 property is owned by a single applicant age 65 or older at the close of the previous year or jointly
15 by persons either of whom is age 65 or above at the close of the previous year and if the joint
16 applicant is 60 years of age or older; (c) The qualifying real property is owned and occupied by
17 the applicant or joint applicants as their domicile; (d) The applicant or at least 1 of the joint
18 applicants has been domiciled and owned a home in the town of Wakefield for at least 10
19 consecutive years before filing an application for the exemption; (e) The assessed value of the
20 domicile is non greater than the prior year's maximum assessed value for qualification for the
21 circuit breaker income tax credit under section 6(k) of chapter 62 of the General Laws as
22 adjusted annually by the Department of Revenue; and (f) The board of assessors has approved
23 the application.
24SECTION 3. The board of assessors shall annually set the exemption amount provided
25 for in section 1, provided that the amount of the exemption shall be up to 100% of the amount of
26 the circuit breaker income tax credit under section 6(k) of chapter 62 of the General Laws for
27 which the applicant qualified in the previous year as determined by the Board of Assessors. The
28 total amount exempted by this act shall be allocated proportionally within the tax levy on all
29 residential taxpayers.
30SECTION 4. A person who seeks to qualify for the exemption under section 1 shall,
31 before the deadline established by the board of assessors, file an application, on a form to be
32 adopted by the board of assessors, with the supporting documentation of the applicant's income
33 and assets as described in the application. The application shall be filed each year for which the
34 applicant seeks the exemption.
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35SECTION 5. No exemption shall be granted under this act until the Department of
36 Revenue certifies a residential tax rate for the applicable tax year where the total exemption
37 amount is raised by a burden shift within the residential tax levy.
38SECTION 6. This act shall expire after 3 years of implementation of the exemption; or to
39 see what the Town will do about it.
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