The rebate program benefits eligible Pennsylvanians age 65 and older; widows and widowers age 50 and older; and people with disabilities age 18 and older. The income limit is $35,000 a year for homeowners and $15,000 annually for renters, and half of Social Security income is excluded. Spouses, personal representatives or estates may also file rebate claims on behalf of claimants who lived at least one day in the claim year and meet all other eligibility criteria.

The maximum standard rebate is $650, but supplemental rebates for qualifying homeowners can boost rebates to $975.

The Property Tax/Rent Rebate Program is one of five programs supported by the Pennsylvania Lottery. Since the program’s 1971 inception, older and disabled adults have received more than $7.6 billion in property tax and rent relief. The rebate program also receives funding from slots gaming.

Homeowners receive:

Renters receive:

In addition, the law gives the following relief to seniors in most need:

• Seniors who live in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh or Scranton, where local wage/income tax rates are very high, will not benefit from a local tax shift to lower taxes on top of the reduction offered by the state funded property tax relief. To ensure that seniors in these communities receive significant property tax relief, each senior household with income under $30,000 has its property tax rebate increase by an additional 50 percent.
• In addition, property tax rebates are increased by an additional 50 percent for senior households in the rest of the state, so long as those households have incomes under $30,000 and pay more than 15 percent of income in property taxes.

Free Assistance

Property Tax/Rent Rebate application assistance is available at no cost from Department of Revenue district offices, local Area Agencies on Aging, senior centers and state legislators’ offices.