County approves tax discount for seniors 70+ who apply by July 24

Commissioners will allow citizens 70 and older who already have L4 exemption to receive the school tax break (L7) if they apply by July 24. Tax commissioner Donna Chapman and chief tax appraiser Greg Hobbs addressed the board and asked for seniors to be allowed more time to apply.

“When most of these seniors got their L4 exemption, they were told they would never have to reapply as long as there were no deed changes,” said Chapman. “These people have worked their tails off and now taxes are going up and everything costs more. Not everybody gets the newspaper or has social media or family to tell them they need to apply for this.”

Hobbs said there are 50 citizens who qualified for L4 and could receive the school tax break if they apply. He said most of them flat out don’t know about the exemption. He and Chapman asked commissioners to allow them to apply through July 24 – the deadline for appeals – and the request was unanimously approved.