Pennsylvanians feeling the pressure to hurry up and fill out their property tax/rent rebate application by June 30 can breathe a little more easily because the deadline has been extended to December 31.
The due date was pushed back because the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue has additional funds to pay the rebates.
Spokeswoman Elizabeth Brassell said the deadline has been pushed back every year for the past 10 years she has worked at the department.
“Each year we extend the deadline to make sure that everyone who’s eligible for the program has time to apply for the tax relief they’re owed,” Brassell said.
Those eligible are Pennsylvanians who are a minimum of 65 years old, widows and widowers 50 years or older and people with disabilities who are 18 years or older.
The maximum standard rebate will be about $650, but if a homeowner is qualified for a supplemental rebate, their refund can rise to $975.
“People who live in Philadelphia, Scranton, Pittsburgh, areas of particularly high tax burdens or people who live in the rest of the state who pay more than 15 percent of their income on property taxes are automatically eligible for these supplemental rebates that can provide an additional $325 dollars,” Brassell said.
Brassell said the Pennsylvania Lottery and slot dollars fund the rebates.
“Each year there’s a portion of those dollars allocated to the program, and if applicants haven’t sort of used up all the funds by June 30, that’s when we take a look and we extend the deadline through December 31,” Brassell said.
To receive the rebate, eligible people can not make more than $35,000 a year if they are homeowners or $15,000 a year if they rent, and half of Social Security income is excluded.
Brassell said the first batch of refund checks will be distributed July 1, and the remainder will go out as applications are processed.
