19 Apr Do we really have to start over with a Senior Freeze base year?

Q. My old accountant told me that once you qualify for the Senior Freeze, that is your base year. We qualified in 2015 and received a check in 2018. Since then we have not qualified because the state kept changing the income eligibility. Our accountant has retired and his successor has told us that we must start over for a base year. Is that correct?
— Homeowner

A. Unfortunately, yes, the new accountant is correct.

The base year means the first year you met all the eligibility requirements. But if you later become ineligible, you start all over again.

If there was an unusual one-shot circumstance that made you ineligible, such as a one-time income hike that isn’t repeated, you can try to appeal the decision about your base year. But from what you describe, you had several years of higher incomes so it’s unlikely an appeal would be in your favor.

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This story was originally published in April 2024.

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