{"id":126553,"date":"2024-01-16T17:55:35","date_gmt":"2024-01-16T22:55:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/?p=126553"},"modified":"2024-01-16T17:55:35","modified_gmt":"2024-01-16T22:55:35","slug":"governor-shapiro-property-tax-rent-rebates-now-available-for-eligible-older-pennsylvanians-people-with-disabilities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/?p=126553","title":{"rendered":"Governor Shapiro: Property Tax\/Rent Rebates Now Available for Eligible Older Pennsylvanians, People with Disabilities"},"content":{"rendered":"

Governor Shapiro\u2019s expansion of the Property Tax\/Rent Rebate program delivered the largest targeted tax cut for seniors in nearly two decades, expanding access to nearly 175,000 more Pennsylvanians and increasing maximum rebate from $650 to $1000.<\/em><\/u><\/u>\u00a0<\/em><\/u><\/u><\/p>\n

Governor Shapiro continues to deliver on his promise to cut costs and deliver real relief for Pennsylvanians.<\/em><\/p>\n

Bethlehem, PA\u00a0<\/strong>\u2014 Today,\u00a0Governor Josh Shapiro\u00a0<\/strong>traveled to the Litzenberger House, a senior apartment complex in Bethlehem, Northampton County, to announce that hundreds of thousands of older adults and Pennsylvanians with disabilities are\u00a0now eligible<\/a>\u00a0to apply for a rebate up to $1,000 through the\u00a0Property Tax\/Rent Rebate (PTRR) program<\/a>. The maximum standard rebate is now $1,000 (up from $650) thanks to bipartisan legislation Governor Shapiro championed and signed into law last year, delivering on his promise to cut costs and deliver real relief for Pennsylvania seniors.<\/p>\n

The Governor,\u00a0Congresswoman Susan Wild<\/strong>,\u00a0state Rep. Steve Samuelson<\/strong>,\u00a0Secretary of Revenue Pat Browne<\/strong>, and\u00a0Secretary of Aging Jason Kavulich<\/strong>\u00a0also stressed to applicants that the program\u2019s income limits have been increased to $45,000 and made equal for both homeowners and renters \u2014 the first time since 2006 the income limits have been raised. This change makes nearly 175,000 additional Pennsylvanians eligible for the PTRR program.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve traveled all across the Commonwealth, and I\u2019ve heard firsthand from seniors who told me we need to do more to help them keep up with rising prices, \u201csaid\u00a0Governor Josh Shapiro<\/strong>. \u201cWhether it\u2019s in the Lehigh Valley or out in Erie, rising costs are affecting Pennsylvanians in every corner of our state \u2013 and I promised that my Administration would lead the way to cut costs and put money back in your pockets. The Property Tax\/Rent Rebate program has long been a lifeline for our seniors \u2013 especially those on a fixed income \u2013 and that\u2019s why my Administration brought together folks on both sides of the aisle to expand this tax rebate to an additional 175,000 Pennsylvanians. This is what it looks like when we work together to put partisanship aside and get stuff done for Pennsylvania.\u201d\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Governor Shapiro<\/strong>\u00a0encouraged all eligible applicants to use\u00a0myPATH<\/a>, the Department of Revenue\u2019s online filing system, to apply for rebates on property taxes and rent paid during 2023 as the PTRR filing period opens today. There is also a Spanish version of the online application available for the first time this year.<\/p>\n

During today\u2019s visit, the Governor also explained the PTRR program\u2019s income limits will now be tied to the cost-of-living, meaning that people won\u2019t be priced out of the program in the future as they have been in recent years. This will be an important change for a program that at one point annually delivered more than 600,000 rebates to applicants across the Commonwealth but has only benefitted roughly 430,000 applicants in recent years because the income limits remained unchanged for so long.\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cWe increased the income limits for the first time in 17 years and we are providing larger maximum rebates for those who qualify,\u201d said\u00a0Rep. Steve Samuelson, prime sponsor of the legislation which expanded the PTRR<\/strong>.\u00a0 \u201cMore than 170,000 additional people now qualify for this vital program. The expansion of the PTRR helps homeowners and renters all across Pennsylvania.\u00a0 I want to thank Governor Shapiro, who has made helping seniors a priority of his Administration.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cToo many Pennsylvania seniors and persons with disabilities are faced with the threat of losing their home because of property tax increases,\u201d said\u00a0Senator Lisa Boscola<\/strong>.\u00a0 \u201cIt was critical that the state, through House Bill 1100, increased the maximum rebates, increased income limits and provides an annual COLA on the income limits so Social Security COLA\u2019s can no longer make a deserving homeowner or renter ineligible for much needed help.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve long fought to help lower costs for our seniors and protect the benefits they\u2019ve earned after a lifetime of hard work,\u201d said\u00a0Congresswoman Susan Wild<\/strong>. \u201cFrom protecting Social Security and Medicare, to lowering health care costs and securing investments in our community, I look forward to continuing to work with my partners in the state and local government to make life easier for older Pennsylvanians. I applaud the Governor for expanding this critical program for our seniors.\u201d<\/p>\n

Eligibility<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

The PTRR program benefits eligible Pennsylvanians age 65 and older; widows and widowers age 50 and older; and people with disabilities age 18 and older. The table below shows how much homeowners and renters who fit this criteria are eligible for, depending on their income:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
INCOME<\/strong><\/td>\nMAX STANDARD REBATE<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
$0 – $8000<\/td>\n$1,000<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
$8,001 – $15,000<\/td>\n$770<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
$15,001 – $18,000<\/td>\n$460<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
$18,001 – $45,000<\/td>\n$380<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

\u201cThe Department of Aging appreciates the long overdue updates to PTRR finally becoming reality. We have learned from many older adults and our aging network partners across the Commonwealth during our listening sessions for our master plan,\u00a0Aging Our Way, PA<\/em>, that affordable housing remains our biggest concern. Older adults have worked hard their entire lives and deserve to remain in their homes and communities with dignity for as long as they are able,\u201d said\u00a0Secretary of Aging Jason Kavulich<\/strong>. \u201cWe hope older adults, both eligible and newly eligible, will take advantage of this program to help ease the burden of paying mortgage or rent while putting money back into their pockets.\u201d<\/p>\n

How to Apply<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Submitting your application through\u00a0myPATH<\/a>\u00a0is easy and does not require you to sign up for an account. Filing online gives you instant confirmation that your claim has been successfully filed. Applicants also will have access to automatic calculators and other helpful features that are not available through the paper application.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe encourage all Pennsylvanians who are eligible for this program to apply \u2014 and to do so by filing online through myPATH,\u201d said\u00a0Secretary of Revenue Pat Browne<\/strong>. \u201cWith each passing year, we are seeing more and more applicants take advantage of the online filing option. Not only does filing online help ensure the accuracy of the information on your application, but it also helps our agency process applications as quickly as possible.”<\/p>\n

It’s free to apply for a rebate and assistance is available at hundreds of locations across the state:\u00a0Department of Revenue district offices<\/a>,\u00a0local Area Agencies on Aging<\/a>, senior centers, and state legislators’ offices. You must reapply for rebates every year as they are based on annual income and property taxes or rent paid during the prior year.<\/p>\n

About the Property Tax\/Rent Rebate Program<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Rebates will be distributed beginning July 1, 2024, as required by law. New or first-time filers should anticipate that it will take additional time to review their applications and process their rebates. The deadline to apply is June 30, 2024. For more information and to access forms\/instructions, visit\u00a0revenue.pa.gov\/ptrr\u00a0or call 1-888-222-9190 for assistance.<\/p>\n

Since its inception in 1971, the PTRR program has delivered more than $8 billion in property tax and rent relief to some of Pennsylvania’s most vulnerable residents. The PTRR program is supported by the Pennsylvania Lottery and receives funding from gaming.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Information provided to TVL by:
\nTom Andrews
\nHouse Democratic Communications Office<\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Governor Shapiro\u2019s expansion of the Property Tax\/Rent Rebate program delivered the largest targeted tax cut for seniors in nearly two decades, expanding access to nearly 175,000 more Pennsylvanians and increasing … Continue reading Governor Shapiro: Property Tax\/Rent Rebates Now Available for Eligible Older Pennsylvanians, People with Disabilities<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":126554,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[5717,69,482],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-126553","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bethlehem","category-in-the-valley","category-press-release-2"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/shapiro.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/126553"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=126553"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/126553\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/126554"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=126553"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=126553"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=126553"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}