The Arlington County Board has expanded a program that provides grants to the elderly and disabled to assist them in paying their county real estate taxes.
Elderly and disabled Arlington residents who make less than $77,407 are now eligible to apply for grants, up from an income level $72,000. The asset level to be eligible has increased from $240,000 to $340,000 and will increase to $540,000 next year.
Relief can be all or portions of the tax owed, depending on the applicant.
Walter Zaumseil, chief of Arlington’s bureau of assistance programs, said the expansion of the Tax Relief for Elderly and Homeowners with Disabilities program is a way for the county to “continue to try to keep up tax relief for elderly and disabled folks.”
The program is designed to protect people living on fixed income from increases in real estate taxes, which have gone up dramatically as property values in Arlington have increased in recent years.
Zaumseil said the number of people participating in the program has significantly increased in recent years, with 224 people participating in 2000 and 1,049 expected to participate this year.
