Get Tax Relief Help if You Qualify

Get Tax Relief Help if You Qualify


Now that you’re learning more about tax relief help available with the Arizona Property Tax Refund Credit, you’re probably wondering if you qualify. 

While homeowners automatically receive this refund each year just for paying their mortgage payments and/or property taxes, senior renters must submit a couple of forms asking for approval. Before you get to that step, you must determine whether you meet all of the eligibility criteria to receive that approval.

On this page, I’m going to tell you about some of the basic qualifications. If you meet these criteria, you can read more details about the tax credit eligibility for senior renters. That is when you can start getting excited about applying for a tax refund that could help you with other living expenses. First, let’s look at the most basic qualifying factors.

You Will Be at Least 65 on December 31

The simplest way to specify the age requirement for this tax relief program is to say that you must be at least 65 years old. Going into more detail, you must reach this age by the last day of the year in which you want to file. That means that you may spend most of the year as a 64-year-old senior and still qualify as long as your birthday falls before the end of the year.

You Pay Your Own Rent

You Pay Your Own Rent?

If you pay your rent without receiving tenant-based Section 8 benefits and you don’t live in public housing, then you have passed the next basic qualification for this tax relief program. Even if you use your fixed Social Security income to make those rental payments, you are paying your own rent without government assistance, and that may qualify you to get a little money back at the end of each year.

You Pay Rent Tax

With the exception of Flagstaff and Tucson, most renters in Arizona pay tax when renting residential units. If you’re not certain that you pay tax, read through your leasing agreement or call your landlord to ask. If you don’t live in Flagstaff or Tucson, there is a good chance that this tax is added to your rental payment each month. The state demands the property tax from the property owner and then the state allows the property owner to pass the tax burden to the senior renter whether you are aware of this or not.  So a senior is essentially paying property taxes on a rental property someone else owns!

Your Rental Unit is Your Main Home

You won’t qualify for this tax relief program if you pay rent tax on an apartment or another rental unit that serves as your vacation home or temporary residence. This program is exclusively for rent paid on a rental unit that serves as your primary home.

How I Qualify for Tax Relief Help Each Year

I was once in the same spot as you are right now. I discovered this valuable tax relief help program, and I wanted to qualify for the refund. First, I had to consider the type of rental property that I called home and how long I had lived there. My current rental residence through the end of 2022 is in a private home that is subject to property tax each year.  I pay my monthly rent, and I pay an amount above my monthly rent which is the allocated tax. This tax is added on to my monthly rent payments at a 2.5% tax rate in the city of my residence (the city of Goodyear). These factors qualified me to file for the tax refund in the first year of my eligibility as my primary resident back then was in an apartment complex.  For other Arizona cities the retail tax rate added on to rent can range from 1.5% to 3%. 

I also lived at my rental residence from the very first day of January to the very last day of December in each tax year that I qualified for the refund. That is an entire year (which is required) so I was confident that my length of residency would allow me to receive the tax relief help in the form of the tax credit.   

If you meet all of the four basic eligibility requirements listed on this page, then head over to my Tax Credit Eligibility for Senior Renters page to learn more information about qualifying for the Arizona Property Tax Refund Credit.

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