Philadelphia Mulls Extending Deadline for Tax Relief Program
Philadelphia residents may have more time to sign up for the Longtime Owner Occupants Program (LOOP) if legislation introduced by the City Council passes. The proposed legislation aims to retroactively extend the deadline for this program, which offers property tax relief to homeowners with low-to-moderate incomes.
As it currently stands, the deadline for the Longtime Owner Occupants Program is Saturday. However, if this legislation is approved, homeowners would have until January 31, 2024, to apply for tax year 2023.
City Councilmember Quetcy Lozada, who introduced the bill, expressed her intentions behind it. She stated, “I introduced this bill so we could learn more about the program, inform the community, and extend the deadline to make sure as many people can sign up for this tax relief program as possible.”
The primary objective of the Longtime Owner Occupants Program (LOOP) is to combat displacement in rapidly gentrifying neighborhoods. It achieves this by permanently capping property values for eligible homeowners.
Under LOOP, a homeowner’s reassessment value can be capped at 150% of the previous year’s value. For example, if a home was assessed at $100,000 in 2022, the property value in 2023 could not exceed $150,000.
Additionally, homeowners have the option to freeze their property value at 175% of the lowest assessment issued in the past five years. This provision, known as the “lookback provision,” was approved by the Council last year and applies to property assessments for tax year 2023 and beyond.
To qualify for LOOP, applicants must meet several criteria:
- Have lived in their home for at least 10 years.
- Be homeowners whose primary residence’s assessment increased by 50% from the previous year or 75% over the last five years.
- Be current with property taxes or have a payment plan.
- Have an income that falls below the program’s limits. For a family of four, that limit is $137,250.
It’s important to note that the program is capped at $35 million, and homeowners cannot enroll in both LOOP and the Homestead Exemption program simultaneously.
The Homestead Exemption program currently allows residents to deduct $80,000 from their property value before property taxes are calculated, potentially reducing their annual tax bill by about $1,119. This marks a significant increase from the previous exemption of $45,000, which saved homeowners approximately $629 annually.
