In January of 2013, the Woburn City Council voted unanimously to approve the Veterans’ Tax Work-Off Program. The Valor Act (now M.G.L. Part I, Title IX, Chapter 59, Section 5N) passed on May 31, 2012 and revised on November 15, 2021, offers Woburn homeowners who are veterans, as defined in M.G.L. clause forty-third of section 7 chapter 4 an opportunity to earn a maximum tax credit of $1,500 per year* and work a total of 117.5 hours to earn the $1,500 property tax credit (a tax worker shall not make more than minimum wage – $12.756 an hour).
The program coordinator selects applicants, based on their skills, and pairs them up with a department in need of a tax Work-Off worker with their skills. For the program’s introduction, we start off with ten (10) positions available to veterans, but depending on the interest and need for tax work-off workers, this is subject to change.
The amount by which a person’s property tax liability is reduced in exchange for the volunteer services shall not be considered income. While providing such volunteer services, that person shall be considered a public employee for the purposes of chapter 258 and those services shall be deemed employment for the purposes of unemployment insurance as provided in chapter 151A
Veteran status is required to be verified by the city’s Veterans’ Services Department.
Eligibility Requirements:
- Must be a veteran as defined in G.L clause forty-third of section 7 of chapter 4.
- Must be a resident of the city of Woburn.
- Must own & live in the home for which the veteran pays taxes.
- Must have skills appropriate for the position. If the applicant is disabled, he/she may appoint a volunteer to work on their behalf. The VSO will verify and approve this request and the veteran’s status on the Property Tax Work-Off Veterans’ Disability Verification form.
Application Process:
- The applicant must complete the Tax Work Program application
- The applicant must be validated by the VSO/Veterans Agent of their veteran status using the Property Tax Work-Off Veteran’s Status Certification.
- Applicant to complete
Recording of Hours Worked:
- The Tax Work-Off worker is responsible for tracking their hours and having the Time Sheet appropriately recorded.
- When hours or departmental project is completed, Property Tax Work-Off worker will obtain final signoff by the department representative and return the time sheet to the Property Tax Work-Off Program VA staff member.
Payment Processing:
- The VSO/Veterans Agent will submit a check request to Accounting.
- When a check has been issued, the VA staff will notify the program recipient and schedule an appointment when the check can be “signed-over” to the Town Treasurer/Tax Collector to be applied against the veteran’s property tax bill. The monies received from this program may ONLY be used to be applied to the property owner’s property tax account.
- Policy Eligibility
- Massachusetts General Laws 59
- Program Policy
- Program Application
- Time Sheet Tracking Form
Please call, visit our office or e-mail Bob Davis at Rdavis@cityofwoburn.org with any questions about the Veterans’ Tax Work-off Program.
* All monies received from this program may ONLY be used to reduce the tax liability due to the veterans’ property tax account.
