Property tax is a tax on real estate, boats, aircraft or other real property that is paid by the owner of such a property.
The tax is determined on the basis of the value of the property.
Property tax relief is a rebate or refund that the government provides to property owners who pay taxes on their property.
This is a way to lighten the burden of tax on citizens.
Many states have passed legislation and introduced various measures to provide some form of property tax relief or the other to its residents.
For example, California provides property tax relief to taxpayers who had their properties destroyed or damaged.
This law is applicable to owners of real estate, business equipment, mobile homes, boats, and aircraft.
Most items that are assessed property tax are eligible for the tax relief.
In New Jersey, around 1.
3 million residents benefited from increased property tax-relief checks that were mailed out in the summer of 2004, as part of the Fair and Immediate Relief plan.
Checks of up to $1,200 were mailed to homeowners who were aged 65 or older and had a gross income of $100,000 or less.
Tenants with gross income of $100,000 also stood to benefit from the tax rebate checks.
The Homeowner Tax Relief Act of 2004, signed into law by Governor Rendell of Pennsylvania, proposed to provide property tax relief to Pennsylvania residents through income generated from gaming.
Typically, property tax relief is provided through various categories.
Commonly used terms for categories are Homestead Exemption, Senior Citizen Real Property Tax Relief, First-Time Homebuyer Individual Income Tax Credit, Individual Income Property Tax Credit, and Low-Income, Long-Term Homeowners Tax Credit.
The property tax relief helps all the residents by reducing the burden of the tax.
It does so particularly in the case of senior citizens and low- and modest-income families.