Senior citizens or those with disabilities have until Dec. 31 to apply for the state’s 2023 Property Tax/Rent Rebate program.

The rebate comes with higher income eligibility limits and a bigger tax rebate amount.

Through September, more than 500,000 tax rebates totaling more than $304 million for older Pennsylvanians and people with disabilities had been processed, nearly double the amount distributed through the Property Tax/Rent Rebate program at the same point in 2023. Roughly 107,000 first-time applications were received through September. Gov. Josh Shapiro said in October there are thousands of Pennsylvanians who qualify for a rebate but had not submitted an application, including many people who were previously approved for a rebate but hadn’t reapplied.

What’s amazing to us is that the governor and his Department of Revenue know there are thousands of people who qualify for the rebate and haven’t applied or that there are people who have previously been approved but haven’t reapplied.

Programs like the tax/rent rebate program exist to help those who could use a break. If the state can so easily keep track of those who qualify, or who have been approved in the past but haven’t applied yet this year, why doesn’t the state do more outreach? Obviously there is a disconnect between state programs and services to help vulnerable citizens and the state agencies that administer the programs.

We note similar language was included in discussion of the state’s food box for seniors program – there are eligible seniors who aren’t taking advantage of the program.

If the state can track residents who are eligible then there should be an automatic enrollment for senior citizen programs or programs to help those with disabilities, like tax and rent rebates, that can take place when state residents file their taxes. We don’t know why some people don’t enroll in programs that can help them, but the state can do more to bridge the gap than it’s currently doing.