12 Mar Can I apply for a back year of the Senior Freeze?

Q. I have a question about establishing the base year for the Senior Property Tax Freeze program. I was qualified for the program in 2021. Since I didn’t know this program existed, I didn’t apply in 2022. This year I do plan to apply to the program, but how can I make sure that my base year will be set at 2021, not 2022?
— Homeowner

A. You’re going to have a challenge with this.

The base year is what determines your level of benefit for the Senior Freeze.

Your best bet is to apply for the year you missed as well as for the current year. You will first be denied, but then you can appeal.

In our experience, there are times the Treasury Department accepts appeals, but they’re usually for somewhat extraordinary circumstances, such as because of a medical emergency.

Not knowing about the program is not usually accepted as the reason you didn’t apply.

But that said, nothing ventured, nothing gained.

You should file the applications and go through the process.

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This story was originally published in March 2024.

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