Pittsfield Seniors! Here’s How To Apply For Your $1,500 Abatement

I've got some great news to pass along to you from Roberta McCulloch-Dews, the Administrative Services Director for the City of Pittsfield. If you're a property owner in Pittsfield and at least 60 years old, you may be eligible for a $1,500 abatement from your property tax through a special program.

The program is called the Senior Tax Work-Off Program. It's for the 2023 fiscal year and applications are now available. Eligible candidates must be Pittsfield residential property owners 60 years of age and older at the time of the application.

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Here's the lowdown according to a media statement from the City of Pittsfield and the Mayor's Office. Program applications must be postmarked or received by the Assessors’ Office by May 31, 2022. Active municipal employees are not eligible for the Senior Citizen Tax Work-Off Program.

There will be a limit of two participants per eligible property; however, the total abatement cannot exceed the maximum exemption of $1,000. Income eligibility shall be determined by using the locally adopted income eligibility guidelines of Massachusetts General Law Chapter 59, Section 5, clause 41D (plus an additional $5,000). The selection of participants will be based on need and shall be valid for one year.

In the event that other opportunities become available, qualified volunteers not selected for this program will be placed on a waiting list in order of need. The city is not obligated to offer another position if a volunteer declines an assignment.

Please note participants who leave the program either voluntary or involuntary will not be eligible for return the following fiscal year. If you are married, your yearly income cannot exceed $40,221 for an individual, yearly income cannot exceed $33,959.

All volunteer work must be completed between June 1, 2022, and Nov. 30, 2022. An application for this program can be found on the city's website here.

Applications are also available at the Assessors’ Office, which is in City Hall, room 108, 70 Allen St. For more information, please contact the Assessors’ Office at 413-395-0102.