Governor Maura Healey signed into law a $1 billion tax relief package alongside legislative leaders that includes an expanded Child and Family Tax Credit that is now the most generous in the country, increases to the Rental Deduction, Senior Circuit Breaker Tax Credit, and Housing Development Incentive Program (HDIP), and changes to the Estate Tax and Short Term Capital Gains to address areas of the tax code where Massachusetts is an outlier.

Governor Healey also announced that she is launching a Cutting Taxes, Saving You Money tour in communities across the state to raise awareness about the relief coming for families, renters, seniors and businesses.

Some of the provisions that will benefit older adults in Massachusetts include the following:

• Increasing the tax credit for a dependent child, disabled adult, or senior from $180 to $310 in taxable year 2023, and then to $440 in taxable year 2024 and beyond, per dependent, while eliminating the child/dependent cap.
• Senior Circuit Breaker Tax Credit – doubles credit, indexed to inflation, which equates to an increase from $1,200 to $2,400
• Increasing the rental deduction cap from $3,000 to $4,000, impacting approximately 881,000 Massachusetts renters.
• Increasing the Earned Income Tax Credit from 30 to 40 percent of the federal credit, helping 396,000 taxpayers with incomes under $57,000.
• Property Tax Liability Reduction for Senior Volunteer Services – permits municipalities to increase the maximum property tax abatement available to seniors who perform volunteer services from $1,500 to $2,000