The senior assessment freeze: what it does and does not freeze
It freezes the assessed value, not the tax bill. People are surprised by that every year.
The senior citizens assessment freeze homestead exemption holds the equalized assessed value of a qualifying senior's home at a base year, so rising assessments do not raise their taxable value.
Who qualifies
Owner-occupiers aged 65 or over whose total household income falls below a statutory limit. The income test is the part that catches people out — it is household income, and the threshold is set by statute and revised from time to time.
What it does not do
It does not freeze your tax bill. The assessment is frozen; the rate is not. If your taxing bodies raise their levies, your bill rises even with the freeze in place. Every year this surprises somebody who believed the word "freeze" meant the bill.
Annual application
It generally must be applied for every year, with income documentation. Miss the renewal and the frozen base is lost for that year.
Worth combining
The freeze sits alongside the general and senior homestead exemptions rather than replacing them. An owner may hold all three.
The check
If you are 65 or over and have never tested your income against the limit, do it. The limit is higher than many people assume, and the exemption is among the most valuable available.