Low-income residents of the Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake School District who are elderly or disabled have until March 1 to take advantage of higher property tax exemptions.
The district’s Board of Education voted to increase the exemption to a maximum of 50 percent at its Jan. 27 meeting. Though making a change is not unusual since the state revises the limits from time to time, the board felt that given the economic climate, providing extra relief to taxpayers was a worthy action.
The board of education felt strongly that in the current year we have to provide the maximum amount of support possible, said district spokeswoman Christy Multer.
Residents over 65 or who are disabled with an annual income of $0 to $28,000 are eligible for the full 50 percent exemption from property taxes, which are determined by the assessed value a home. The limit increases incrementally up to 5 percent for those making $35,500 to $36,400. A chart is available on the district’s Web site: www.bhbl.org.
The exemption does not change the amount of money the district raises from the property tax.
`That’s not quite as easy a decision as people might think,` said Multer. `The taxes that a low-income senior citizen are exempted from paying still have to be paid by someone.`
Eligible residents should contact their town’s assessor by the March 1 deadline in order to take advantage of the exemption.“