§ 401.53. Property taxes or rent on occupied homestead owned or rented for part of calendar year.
(a) A property tax rebate or rent rebate in lieu of property taxes is limited to the amount of property taxes, or 20% of the rent paid to a landlord, attributable to the period of any calendar year during which a claimant owned and occupied or rented and occupied the homestead. Hence, when a claimant owned and occupied or rented and occupied the homestead for only a part of the calendar year for which a rebate is claimed, except as provided in § 401.42 (relating to temporary absence of claimant), property taxes or rent paid shall be determined on only that portion of the calendar year during which the homestead was owned and occupied or rented and occupied by the claimant.
(b) Where the claimant vacates his homestead during a calendar year, except as provided in § 401.42, the amount of property taxes or rent paid attributable to that part of the calendar year during which the homestead was owned and occupied or rented and occupied by the claimant and his household shall be determined by multiplying the total amount of the property taxes or rent paid for the entire calendar year by the percentage of 12 months that the homestead was owned and occupied or rented and occupied by the claimant and his household.
(c) The method described in subsection (b) shall also apply where the homestead is purchased during a calendar year and is subsequently occupied by the claimant and his household. The property taxes shall be determined by multiplying the total amount of the property taxes for the entire calendar year by the percentage of 12 months that the homestead was owned and occupied by the claimant and his household.
Example. Claimant H and his wife W owned and occupied their home in Pennsylvania for many years. On September 30, they moved from the home and rented an apartment for $100 a month. The home was listed for sale and was sold on November 30 of the same year. Property taxes for the year, exclusive of municipal assessments, delinquent charges, and interest were $240. In the closing settlement statement, H was charged with $220 and the remainder was charged to the buyer. Although owned by the claimant for 11 months of the year, the homestead was only occupied by the claimant for nine months of the calendar year, therefore, the amount of property taxes on which the claimant is eligible to receive a property tax rebate is $180 (75% x $240). The claimant is also eligible to receive a rent rebate in lieu of property taxes for the three months during which he rented and occupied the apartment; the maximum amount of rent rebate in lieu of property taxes being $60, that is, 20% times the $300 rent paid for October, November, and December. However, the total amount of rebate payable to claimant H for the calendar year may not exceed $200.
Cross References This section cited in 61 Pa. Code § 401.58 (relating to calculations involving fractional parts of a month, fractional parts of a year, or both).
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