An Act To Reinstitute the State Property Tax Deferral Program for Seniors
Sec. 1. 36 MRSA §6251, as amended by PL 1993, c. 395, §31, is further amended to read:
§ 6251. Deferral of tax on homestead; joint election; age requirement; filing claim
The municipal assessor shall forward each claim filed under this subsection to the bureau within 30 days of receipt , and the bureau shall determine if the property taxpayer is eligible for deferral. Claims must be filed on a form approved by the State Tax Assessor and must include all information requested by the State Tax Assessor, including without limitation the claimant's and the claimant's heirs' contact information.
Claims from new applicants may not be filed pursuant to this chapter prior to January 1, 1994. For purposes of this section, "new applicants" means any person or persons that have not filed claims prior to April 1, 1991.
Sec. 2. 36 MRSA §6252, sub-§2, as enacted by PL 1989, c. 534, Pt. C, §1, is amended to read:
Sec. 3. 36 MRSA §6252, as enacted by PL 1989, c. 534, Pt. C, §1, is amended by adding at the end a new paragraph to read:
Property for which an individual claims the deferral of taxes under chapter 908-A is ineligible for a tax deferral under this chapter.
Sec. 4. 36 MRSA §6253, as enacted by PL 1989, c. 534, Pt. C, §1, is amended to read:
§ 6253. Claim forms; contents
Sec. 5. 36 MRSA §6254, sub-§1, as amended by PL 2007, c. 695, Pt. A, §45, is further amended to read:
When the circumstances listed in section 6259, subsection 4 occur, the amount of deferred taxes is due and payable 5 days before the date of removal of the property from the State.
If the deferred tax liability of a property has not been satisfied by the April 30th demand date, the State Tax Assessor shall, within 30 days, record in the registry of deeds in the county where the real estate is located a tax lien certificate signed by the State Tax Assessor or bearing the assessor's facsimile signature, setting forth the total amount of deferred tax liability, a description of the real estate on which the tax was deferred and an allegation that a tax lien is claimed on the real estate to secure payment of the tax, that a demand for payment of the tax has been made in accordance with this section and that the tax remains unpaid.
At the time of the recording of the tax lien certificate in the registry of deeds, the State Tax Assessor shall send by certified mail, return receipt requested, to each record holder of a mortgage on the real estate, to the holder's last known address, a true copy of the tax lien certificate. The cost to be paid by the property owner taxpayer, or the owner's taxpayer's heirs or devisees, is the sum of the fees for recording and discharging of the lien as established by Title 33, section 751, plus $13. Upon redemption, the State Tax Assessor shall prepare and record a discharge of the tax lien mortgage. The lien described in section 552 is the basis of this tax lien mortgage procedure.
The filing of the tax lien certificate, provided for in this section, in the registry of deeds creates a mortgage on the real estate to the State and has priority over all other mortgages, liens, attachments and encumbrances of any nature and gives to the State all rights usually instant to a mortgage, except that the mortgagee does not have any right of possession of the real estate until the right of redemption expires.
Payments accepted during the redemption period may not interrupt or extend the redemption period or in any way affect the foreclosure procedures.
Sec. 6. 36 MRSA §6257, as amended by PL 1991, c. 591, Pt. DD, §1 and c. 622, Pt. CC, §1, is further amended to read:
§ 6257. Municipal tax collector to receive amount equivalent to deferred taxes from State
Sec. 7. 36 MRSA §6267, as enacted by PL 1993, c. 707, Pt. G, §10, is repealed.
Sec. 8. Application. This Act applies to property tax years beginning on or after April 1, 2020.
summary
This bill reinstitutes the property tax deferral program for seniors which, until April 1, 1991, provided a mechanism allowing qualifying senior homeowners to defer property tax payments and required the State to pay the property taxes on behalf of the homeowners. The bill makes the existing abatement and appeal processes available in cases in which the State Tax Assessor disagrees with the municipal assessment of a property eligible for enrollment in the program and makes other technical changes to the program to bring it into conformity with current law.