Dear St. George homeowner,
We write to tell you about the upcoming change to how the town bills for property taxes.
When residents own their mobile-home park as a cooperative, state law requires the town to bill us homeowners directly for the property taxes instead of billing the park as a company.
This allows homeowners to pay less in taxes if they qualify for Vermont’s Property Tax Credit. Most park residents will qualify for it. (See below for more information.)
What Is Changing
- From now on the Town will bill each of us for 1/120th of the property taxes for the park.
The town bills residents twice a year, in October and April, so we all need to get ready to pay those bills twice a year.
- To keep residents’ expenses flat, lot rents will go down starting with April rents.
STARTING APRIL 1, 2020,
- MEMBER LOT RENTS WILL DROP TO $420 A MONTH;
- NONMEMBER LOT RENTS WILL DROP TO $445 A MONTH.
Q: What is the math for the lot rent reduction?
A: It is based on the 2019 property tax bills of $50,911.62. (There is a bill for the park itself and one for the 2A leachfield.) Divided by 120 lots that comes to $425/year per lot, or $35/month. So the board is reducing lot rents by that amount.
Q: How much will my new tax bill be?
A: That depends on two things:
- The tax amounts that the state sets this year, and
- Whether you file for the Vermont Property Tax Credit (“income sensitivity”).
The state usually announces new tax rates in June. We don’t know if the pandemic will delay that this year.
We encourage everyone to see if they should file for the Property Tax Credit. To do it you must also file the Homestead Declaration. You can learn more on the Department of Taxes website https://tax.vermont.gov/individuals, or call the department at 866/828-2865 (toll-free).