What if there is Arizona tax credit money due to you and you didn’t even know it? You pay your rent from month-to-month, even if it puts a serious strain on your finances. You may never expect to receive any of that money back, but what if I told you that you could get a small percentage of it back at the end of each year? If that has your ears perked up, it’s time to learn more about the Arizona Property Tax Refund Credit.
This is a refund credit, which means that you will receive a refund on your state income tax filing at the end of each year that you qualify. The catch is that you must file a couple of special forms to request the refund if you’re an Arizona senior renter. Property owners may automatically qualify for their own refunds just based on owning property, but senior renters have the extra step of filling out a couple of state tax return forms in order to claim a refund they are entitled to.
If you have never heard about this Arizona’s tax credit that could return some of the money that you have paid in rent, it’s because the state isn’t exactly jumping to announce this benefit to all senior renters who may qualify and neither will your landlord or property manager! That is why I am taking the time to share my knowledge with other seniors. This Arizona tax credit has helped me stretch my income and live comfortably for eight years now, and I want to inform as many of my fellow seniors as possible so that we can all receive the tax refunds that we not only deserve, but also have earned and is owed and due to us.
This is the first question to answer if you want to receive some of your rent money back at the end of the year. If your landlord is required to pay property tax on the rental unit in which you have lived for one full tax year, then you have a good chance of qualifying for this Arizona tax credit. The emphasis there is on one full year. That means from January to December of the tax year you lived in a rental property that is subject to property tax. Guess who the property tax on your rental unit is charged to – YOU, the senior renter!
What does your landlord’s property tax responsibility have to do with you? In most cases, landlords pass those property taxes onto the senior renter. You likely pay rent tax on top of your monthly rental rate, and that is used to cover the property tax for your living space. When you apply for the Arizona Property Tax Refund Credit as a senior renter, you are asking to receive a portion of those tax payments back. If you don’t live in a property that is subject to property tax, then you won’t qualify for this tax relief program for seniors.
While needing more money to live comfortably isn’t a technical eligibility requirement for the tax refund, it is an important factor to consider when determining whether you want to pursue this credit further. Since it does take a bit of effort to learn more about the eligibility requirements and to fill out the correct forms in order to qualify, most seniors take this step because they need more money to live comfortably. If you live mostly or exclusively on your monthly Social Security income benefits, then chances are high that it’s worth your time to pursue Arizona State’s tax relief program for seniors who live and pay their own rent in our state. I am in my 13th leasing year of living and paying rent in Arizona so I am speaking and writing from my personal experience with the Arizona Property Tax Refund Credit and this is the reason I created this website – to help my fellow seniors. My desire and wish is to help you to become a successful first-time filer for this tax credit.