Revision: Jan. 1, 2008, midnight
HB 1315 – AS INTRODUCED
2008 SESSION
10/09
HOUSE BILL 1315
AN ACT allowing municipalities to adopt a home improvement property tax credit for homes 75 years old or older.
SPONSORS: Rep. Webb, Merr 2; Sen. Fuller Clark, Dist 24
COMMITTEE: Municipal and County Government
This bill allows towns and cities to adopt a property tax credit for the costs of a homeowner of a home 75 years old or older to make substantial improvements to maintain the home and increase its value.
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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
08-2508
10/09
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Eight
AN ACT allowing municipalities to adopt a home improvement property tax credit for homes 75 years old or older.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 New Section; Home Improvement Property Tax Credit. Amend RSA 72 by inserting after section 39-b the following new section:
72:39-c Home Improvement Property Tax Credit.
I. A town or city may adopt or modify the home improvement property tax credit granted under this section by the procedure in RSA 72:27-a.
II. An owner of residential real estate where the home is at least 75 years old, and who meets the home improvement expenditure requirements in paragraph III shall have the assessed value for tax purposes of the person’s qualifying residential property retained without change from the year of first qualifying under this section, except as provided in paragraph IV, without regard to increases in the appraised value of the property after being granted the credit. The municipality shall continue to update and report the true assessed value, provided, however that the person’s tax bill shall be calculated using the assessed value of the year of the freeze on the assessment or as adjusted by paragraph IV. A property tax credit shall be granted to the owner to the extent that the tax bill in any subsequent year is lower than the amount calculated using the true assessed value of the property. The freeze on assessment used for calculating tax liability shall expire upon failure to meet the expenditure requirements in paragraph III or upon the death of the owner or the sale or transfer of the property to any other person other than a surviving spouse remaining in the property as his or her principal place of residence.
III. The owner’s expenditure requirements in consecutive years after application, in order to qualify for the credit in this section, shall be as follows:
(a) In the property tax year that the owner applies for the credit under this section: at least $15,000 in improvements.
(b) By the end of the following tax year: at least $30,000 in improvements.
(c) By the end of the third tax year: at least $60,000 in improvements.
(d) By the end of the fourth tax year: at least $105,000 in improvements.
(e) By the end of the fifth tax year: at least $150,000 in improvements.
(f) If in any year of years one through 5 the owner satisfies the $150,000 total expenditure requirement the owner shall be granted the freeze provided in paragraph II.
IV. The frozen value of property used in paragraph II shall be proportionately recalculated if the town or city adopts a revenue neutral reappraisal affecting the property. After meeting the expenditure requirements in paragraph III, the property assessment for purposes of tax liability may be increased by not more than 2 1/2 percent in any reappraisal of the property.
V. The term “residential real estate” as used in this section means the same as defined in RSA 72:29. The term “improvements” shall mean substantial renovations, repairs, paint, roof repair and replacement, structural improvements, and other expenditures for home improvement which increase the value of the home. Improvements shall not include plumbing fixtures, minor fixes, or maintenance.
VI. Procedures for application, investigation of applications, and appeals shall be as provided in RSA 72:33, RSA 72:34, and RSA 72:34-a.
2 Historic Home Property Tax Exemption; Adoption Procedure; Reference Added. Amend the introductory paragraph of RSA 72:27-a, I to read as follows:
I. Any town or city may adopt the provisions of RSA 72:28, RSA 72:29-a, RSA 72:35, RSA 72:37, RSA 72:37-b, RSA 72:38-b, RSA 72:39-a, RSA 72:39-c, RSA 72:62, RSA 72:66, or RSA 72:70 in the following manner:
3 Definitions; References Added. Amend RSA 72:29, VI to read as follows:
VI. For purposes of RSA 72:28, 29-a, 30, 31, 32, 33, 35, 36-a, 37, 37-a, 37-b, 38-a, 38-b, 39-a, 39-c, 62, 66, and 70, the ownership of real estate, as expressed by such words as “owner,” “owned,” or “own,” shall include those who have equitable title or the beneficial interest for life in the subject property.
4 Property Taxation; Application Procedure; Reference Added. Amend the introductory paragraph of RSA 72:33, I to read as follows:
I. No person shall be entitled to the exemptions or tax credits provided by RSA 72:28, 29-a, 30, 31, 32, 35, 36-a, 37, 37-a, 37-b, 38-b, 39-b, 39-c, 62, 66, and 70 unless the person has filed with the selectmen or assessors, by April 15 preceding the setting of the tax rate, a permanent application therefor, signed under penalty of perjury, on a form approved and provided by the commissioner of revenue administration, showing that the applicant is the true and lawful owner of the property on which the exemption or tax credit is claimed and that the applicant was duly qualified upon April 1 of the year in which the exemption or tax credit is first claimed, or, in the case of financial qualifications, that the applicant is duly qualified at the time of application. The form shall include the following and such other information deemed necessary by the commissioner:
5 Appeals; Reference Added. Amend RSA 72:34-a to read as follows:
72:34-a Appeal From Refusal to Grant Exemption, Deferral, or Tax Credit. Whenever the selectmen or assessors refuse to grant an applicant an exemption, deferral, or tax credit to which the applicant may be entitled under the provisions of RSA 72:23, 23-d, 23-e, 23-f, 23-g, 23-h, 23-i, 23-j, 23-k, 28, 29-a, 30, 31, 32, 35, 36-a, 37, 37-a, 37-b, 38-a, 38-b, 39-a, 39-b, 39-c, 41, 42, 62, 66, or 70 the applicant may appeal in writing, on or before September 1 following the date of notice of tax under RSA 72:1-d, to the board of tax and land appeals or the superior court, which may order an exemption, deferral, or tax credit, or an abatement if a tax has been assessed.
6 Interpretation by Commissioner of Revenue Administration. Amend RSA 72:36, I to read as follows:
I. The commissioner’s interpretation of RSA 72:28, 72:29, 72:29-a, 72:30, 72:31, 72:32, 72:33, 72:34, 72:34-a, 72:35, 72:36-a, 72:37, 72:37-a, 72:37-b, 72:38-a, 72:38-b, 72:39-a, 72:39-b, 72:41, 72:62, 72:66, [and] 72:70, and RSA 72:39-c; and
7 Effective Date. This act shall take effect April 1, 2008.