HARRISBURG, Pa.- According to the Pennsylvania State Depart of Revenue, older adults and people with disabilities have until December 31, 2016 to apply for rebates on property tax or rent paid in 2015 from the state’s property tax/rent rebate program.
Claim forms and assistance are available at no cost from the Department of Revenue district offices, local Area Agencies on Aging, senior center and state legislators’ offices.
Assistance is also available by calling 1-888-222-9190, between the hours of 7:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday.
Requests for claim forms by telephone or mail can no longer be considered due to the approaching deadline, but Property Tax/Rent Rebate claim forms (PA-100) and information are available online at www.revenue.pa.gov or from the sources listed above.
To speed processing, applicants are reminded to provide all required income, property tax or rent information.
Applications must be postmarked by Saturday, December 31, 2016.
The maximum standard rebate is $650.00, but supplemental rebates for qualifying homeowners can boost rebates to $975.00.
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 limits are $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. That information is explained in the instructions of the claim form.
So far this year, more than 572,000 households have applied for rebates. As of early December 2016, rebates totaling around $260.7 million have been sent to more than 547,000 homeowners and renters. Last year, more than 556,000 households received more than $265 million in rebates.
The Property Tax/Rent Rebate Program is one of five programs supported by the Pennsylvania Lottery. Since the program’s 1971 inception, older adults and adults with disabilities have received $6.1 billion in property tax and rent rebates. The expanded portion of the rebate program is being paid for with revenue from slots gaming.
