"Clause" Exemptions

The Laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Provide for Real Estate Tax Relief for Certain Persons. Each category of tax relief is defined, and the allowable amount stated, in the various clauses of Chapter 59, Section 5 of the General Laws. The table below summarizes who qualifies for these exemptions and the amounts of the various exemptions.

State law also gives each city and town the option of increasing the exemption up to double the amounts. The Somerville Board of Aldermen, with the approval of the Mayor, have elected this option each year. The exemption amounts shown in the tables are therefore base exemption amounts. They can be increased up to double the amounts shown depending upon the amount each applicant's tax bill has increased over the prior year's taxes.

Certain deductions are allowed from the Income Limits shown for the clause exemptions. You should call or come into the Assessors Office in City Hall to find out details. The asset limits do not include the value of owner occupied properties.

Clause Name	Clause #	Basic Qualifications	Other Qualifications	Income Limits	Asset Limits	$$$ Amount
Elderly	17D	Age 70 or Older	Own & Occupy Property 5 Years	None	$54,045	$236
Widows	17D	Surviving Spouse	None	None	$54,045	$236
Other	17D	Minor	Parents are deceased	None	$54,045	$236
Hard-ship	18	Age, Infirmity, Income	Must meet all three (3)	Poverty		Varies
Veterans	22	10% Service Disability or Purple Heart	Mass Resident 6 Months prior to service or 5 Years Mass residency	None	None	$400
Veterans	22B	Loss of two limbs or Both eyes	Mass Resident 6 months prior to service or 5 Years Mass residency	None	None	$1250
Veterans	22C	Disability requires specially Adapted housing	Mass Resident 6 months prior to service or 5 Years Mass residency	None	None	$1500
Veterans	22E	100% disability, File V.A. Certificate annually	Mass resident 6 months prior to service or 5 Year Mass residency, unemployed for all of Previous years	None	None	$1000*
Paraplegic	8A of 58	Paraplegic due to wartime injury	Mass resident 6 months prior to service or Mass residency for 5 years V.A. Certificate	None	None	100%
Blind	37A	Legally Blind	Yearly Blind Certificate	None	None	$500
Tax Deferral	41A	Age 65 or Older, Tax Deferred 8% interest per year	Own & Occupy Property for 5 Years	$40,000	None	Differs Up to 100%
Elderly	41C	Age 65 or Older	Own/Occupy 5 yrs in MA & MA resident 10 yrs	(S)$20,000 (M)$30,000	(S)$40,000 (M)$55,000	$750

*for veterans owning two family or larger houses, Clause 22E is reduced to the same portion as the veterans occupancy of the property.

The Qualifying Date for the Clause Exemptions Is July 1, (Each Year) If you think you may qualify for any of the above exemptions, do not hesitate to contact the Assessing Department. The application deadline is three months from the date the Third Quarter Bill was mailed.

Assessing-Statutory Exemptions and Qualifications

"Clause" Exemptions