Seniors should not be exempt from taxes, any taxes, including property taxes. we are still part of society and our communities.

Here is how my local property taxes are used.

You will see that 60% goes to schools. Half that amount goes to teacher pay and benefits. A tiny portion goes to maintaining open spaces.

The rest goes to a variety of local and county services, including parks, fire and police services, roads, county prison, etc.

My property tax bill on a condo in a 55+ community in a town of 6600 residents is just under $14,000 a year. We have good schools, good parks and recreational areas. Our taxes increase moderately as the cost of providing all the services we rely on also increases.

I have been retired sixteen years and I am 83.

We sent four children to local schools, we benefited from the parks and other services. Once or twice we needed the police and emergency services over 45 years. We had our streets plowed in the winter and repaired in the summer… you get the idea.

Retired sixteen years and still enjoy the benefits and rely on the services provided by our taxes.

My wife and I had no intention of relocating when I retired. It was no surprise our taxes would continue and increase during retirement. It should not be a surprise to anyone. It should also not be a surprise that a surviving spouse may also face the obligation of property taxes – meaning that possibility is part of retirement planning.

Because we are still part of a society. Nobody reaches the point of paying their dues with no further obligation.

Using a $370,000 valued home and the 2024 effective property-tax rates from the Tax Foundation here is a sample of property taxes. Most are far less than the claims made on social media.

Effective rate and annual Tax

Alabama 0.37%, $1,369

New Mexico 0.63% $2,331

California 0.70% $2,590

Florida 0.78% $2,886

Maine 0.98% $3,626

Massachusetts 1.00% $3,700

Michigan 1.19% $4,403

New Jersey 1.88% $6,956

As you can see, property taxes vary greatly – as does the quality of what they provide, like schools.

In my town the average tax bill in 2016 was $15,254. Ten years later in 2025 it was $18,469, a $3214 increase over ten years or an average annual increase of about 2.1%. This was from a combination of the increasing tax rate and property values.

During the same period the average annual inflation rate was 3.12%.

So let me get this straight, if a senior has a mortgage, they pay property taxes, if no mortgage no taxes? There is supposed to be some logic there❓

No school system or municipality or county should increase taxes because the cost of all the services they provide never increase?

Who will pay the taxes not paid by seniors?

What alternative revenue source (sales, income) can provide the stable income necessary to budget income and run a community?

States should provide more local aid? Where does a state get more revenue to do so?

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Most U.S. states—at least 39, and by some counts all 50—offer some form of property tax relief program specifically for seniors (typically age 65+), though the type and generosity of relief vary widely. Most programs are income based.

And in all cases, someone else is paying more to make up the lost revenue.