Time to see if you can lower your property tax bill

Tax Season

By Will Collette

While the Charlestown Citizens Alliance and the RI Statewide Coalition may have convinced a majority of the Town Council to reject town Democrats’ proposal for broad-based tax relief for all full-time Charlestown residents, there are still ways you might be able to cut your property tax bill this year.

Though we don’t have a Homestead Tax Credit, like the one many of our non-resident property owners enjoy in their home states, we do have targeted tax relief programs for veterans, the blind or disabled, low income elderly and others.

You should contact Charlestown Tax Assessor Ken Swain if you believe you qualify so you can get your application filed by March 1^st to ensure you get credited on the tax bills that will go out this summer.

Credits for veterans, the blind, the disabled and some seniors

I wrote a multi-part series here in Progressive Charlestown that describes each of the tax breaks offered to Charlestown residents. NOTE: for reasons unknown, these tax breaks are not publicized – not by the town, not by the CCA or RISC. I only found out about them when I was looking to see whether Charlestown had anything like a Homestead Tax exemption.

Chalk this up as another unique public service from Progressive Charlestown.

So little has changed that you should find what you need to know by following the links below. Once you determine that you may qualify, it’s time to talk to Ken.

Here are the links to my series of property tax articles:

Part 1: Waiver of interest. If you missed a tax payment through no fault of your own, you may be able to get a break on the interest and payment schedule.

Part 2: Appealing your assessment. If you think your property is assessed for much more than it’s actually worth, you can appeal to get that assessment – and your taxes – reduced. Appeal form here.

Part 3: Tax credits for the blind and disabled. Application form here.

Part 4: Farms, Forest and Open Space. This is a complex tax deal that can be very lucrative if you’re willing to set aside property for these purposes. Several CCA leaders have cashed in.

Part 5: Veterans’ tax credits. There are several different categories each with its own tax credit. Depending on the nature of your military service, you may qualify for several – they can be combined.

Part 6: Senior Citizen tax credits. Charlestown used to grant a senior tax credit simply based on age, but repealed that and replaced it with a means-tested program restricted to low and very low income elderly residents.

Part 7: Get Religion. If you have, or are thinking about starting, a church or temple or new religion, you may be eligible to get a huge tax break. How does ZERO taxes sound?