Boston Council Committee Advances Senior Property Tax Cost-of-Living Adjustment to Floor Vote

BOSTON — June 15, 2026 — Boston's Ways and Means Committee moved a senior property tax cost-of-living measure toward a floor vote scheduled for June 24. The committee, chaired by District 6 Councilor Ben Weber, held a June 15 hearing on Docket 0697, which would have the city accept Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 59, Section 5, Clause 41D — a local option indexing the 41C senior property tax exemption income and asset limits to the Consumer Price Index annually. Hinlin Wong, incoming interim chief of assessing, testified that the current 2.7 percent CPI figure would raise the income limit for a single senior from $20,000 to $20,540 and the married couple limit from $40,000 to $41,180, with a similar bump to asset limits, effective fiscal year 2027. Approved 41C applications have declined from 507 in fiscal year 2025 to 446 in fiscal year 2026. Carolyn Villars of Mass Senior Action Council told the committee that had Boston adopted 41D in 2003 when it first became available, the income limit today would exceed $40,000 rather than the current roughly $25,000 — "a missed opportunity," according to Wong himself. No formal vote was taken; the committee aims to bring the order to the full council before the June 30 fiscal year deadline so new limits can take effect July 1.