Governor Tom Vilsack today (Monday) signed a bill into law which grants tax breaks to seniors. The measure gradually eliminates the state tax on Social Security benefits and increases the amount of other income seniors can earn before income taxes kick in on things like pensions or rental payments, as well as dividends and interest on their investments.
When fully implemented, an individual over the age of 65 will be able to collect 24-thousand from pensions or other investments tax-free, and the earnings threshhold for elderly couples will be 32-thousand before state taxes are assessed.
“This is a very important bill. It’s going to provide a substantial amount of tax relief for people over the age of 65,” Vilsack says. The governor signed the bill into law mid-day Monday during a ceremony at the 2006 Governor’s Conference on Aging in Des Moines.