Proposed senior, veteran property tax tweak to appear on Mat-Su ballots
The change would allow residents to continue receiving the tax break after a midyear move.
What you need to know:
- Mat-Su voters will decide Nov. 4 whether to allow seniors, disabled veterans and qualifying surviving spouses to receive their annual property tax exemption even if they move to a new property after the current Jan. 1 deadline.
- The update would not change who is eligible for the $279,000 annual exemption. If approved, it would take effect next year.
- The Assembly also approved a permanent cap on the borough manager’s proposed annual property tax rates — 9.5 mills areawide and 0.5 mills nonareawide — mirroring an earlier cap that expired in 2023. The cap does not limit what the Assembly can approve as part of the annual budget process.
PALMER — Mat-Su voters will decide whether to approve a proposed property tax update that would allow qualifying residents to continue receiving an exemption after a midyear move.
A current voter-approved property tax exemption allows more than $279,000 in annual exemptions for residents age 65 or older, disabled veterans, and their surviving spouses age 60 or older, as long as they occupy the home as of Jan. 1.
The update would change that rule to give the exemption for the current tax year to those same residents, even if they move after the Jan. 1 deadline. It would not change or expand who qualifies to receive the exemption.
The question will appear on ballots as part of the Nov. 4 borough elections.
If approved, the updated exemption policy would take effect next year.
About 9,000 senior citizen-owned properties and 2,600 disabled veteran-owned properties received exemptions this year under the current rule, according to borough tax data.
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The Mat-Su Assembly unanimously approved the ballot measure during a regular meeting Tuesday.
A separate measure, also approved unanimously during the meeting, caps the annual areawide property tax mill rate proposed by the borough manager at 9.5 mills — or $950 per $100,000 of assessed value — and the nonareawide mill rate at 0.5 mills, or $50 per $100,000 of value.
That change does not require voter approval and will not appear on ballots. It mirrors a similar cap approved by the Assembly in 2018 that expired in 2023. The new measure does not have an end date. The cap limits only what the manager can propose as part of the borough’s annual budget, not what the Assembly ultimately approves.
-- Contact Amy Bushatz at contact@matsusentinel.com