As our population continues to age we find that senior-related issues are getting more and more complicated.  Many seniors today expect to live a rich life well into their 80’s.  And with this increase in population, we are seeing that they want to have a say in all aspects of their quality of life.  Long gone are the days when as a society we expected our seniors to fade away and leave the new to the younger generation.  The issue is that our policies have not kept up with the reality.  Seniors today do not want to go into a home because they are slowing down, but they might need some accommodations at different stages.  Most of us would prefer to remain in our own homes with our belongings and memories as long as possible.  We should not feel like we must move out just because we have stairs in our home or because some things are getting harder to do.  And given that many of us rely solely on our social security, there is generally not any money available to retrofit our homes to make it safer to stay.  Unfortunately, there is still not a federal tax credit that allows us to remodel our homes for this purpose.  There are however, a number of states and localities that offer this on a smaller scale.

One of those is Virginia and their program is called Livable Homes Tax Credit.  This program has been in place since 2008 and essentially it allows for individuals or licensed contractors filing Virginia income tax returns who have incurred costs for the purchase or construction of new residential units with accessibility or universal visitability features, or for the retrofitting of existing residential units with these features to qualify under specific guidelines.  “Tax credits are available for up to $5,000 for the purchase of a new residence and up to 50% for the cost of retrofitting existing units, not to exceed $5,000,”according to the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development.  Some of the improvements can include – exterior access with a zero step entrance, 32 inch doorways, hallways and passages at least 36” wide, accessible light switches, electrical outlets and kitchen and bathroom facilities.

You should reach out to your state/local officials and find out if there is something comparable in your locality and then reach out to your member of Congress and tell them how important this is to you and all seniors.

Federal tax Credits for aging in place is an idea that has been talked about for over a decade, it is time we see some action on this!