Senior Citizen Property Tax Work-off Program

On March 23, 2005, the Board of Selectmen voted to establish a Senior Citizen Property Tax Work-off Program to be coordinated by the Council on Aging.

The Board of Selectmen has voted to establish a Senior Citizen Property Tax Work-off Program to be coordinated by the Council on Aging. Under this program, local property owners over the age of 60 volunteer to provide services to the Town of Littleton in exchange for a reduction on the amount paid on their property tax (calculated from the number of hours worked, paid at the Massachusetts Minimum Wage hourly rate). A total of $46,000 was available for this program in FY 2009, and $50,000 in FY 2010 and FY 2011. The program for Fiscal Year 2011 begins July 1, 2010. For more information, contact the Council on Aging office, 33 Shattuck Street, Room 231, Littleton, MA 01460. 

This program is administed by the Council on Aging, as authorized by votes of Town Meeting and the Board of Selectmen pursuant to Chapter.59, section 5K of the Masschusetts General Laws and DOR IGR 02-210:

"In any . . . town which accepts the provisions of this section, the board of selectmen of a town . . . may establish a program to allow persons over the age of 60 to volunteer to provide services to such . . . town. In exchange for such volunteer services, the . . .  town shall reduce the real property tax obligations of such person over the age of 60 on his tax bills and any reduction so provided shall be in addition to any exemption or abatement to which any such person is otherwise entitled and no such person shall receive a rate of, or be credited with, more than the current minimum wage of the commonwealth per hour for services provided pursuant to such reduction nor shall the reduction of the real property tax bill exceed $750 in a given tax year. It shall be the responsibility of the . . . town to maintain a record for each taxpayer including, but not limited to, the number of hours of service and the total amount by which the real property tax has been reduced and to provide a copy of such record to the assessor in order that the actual tax bill reflect the reduced rate. A copy of such record shall also be provided to the taxpayer prior to the issuance of the actual tax bill. Such . . . towns shall have the power to create local rules and procedures for implementing this section in any way consistent with the intent of this section.

"In no instance shall the amount by which a person’s property tax liability is reduced in exchange for the provision of services be considered income, wages, or employment for purposes of taxation as provided in chapter 62, for the purposes of withholding taxes as provided in chapter 62B, for the purposes of workers’ compensation as provided in chapter 152 or any other applicable provisions of the General Laws, but such person while providing such services shall be considered a public employee for the purposes of chapter 258, but such services shall be deemed employment for the purposes of unemployment insurance as provided in chapter 151A."

See guidelines from the Massachusetts Department of Revenue.