State officials announce tax relief for live-in health care workers

BOSTON – Governor Maura Healey has announced critical support for thousands of health care workers in the form of a tax exemption for thousands of Personal Care Attendants, or PCAs. 

PCAs are defined as health care professionals who help the disabled maintain independence by aiding in daily living activities. 

Per the order, many PCAs will no longer have to pay state or federal income taxes, which is projected to save eligible individuals $5,000 or more each year. 

The exemption will apply to PCAs who live with the people they care for, a group representing 18,000 of the state’s roughly 60,000 PCAs. 

“During an affordability crisis in our country, our Administration is exploring every action that we can take to ease financial burdens on Massachusetts residents and support critical segments of our workforce,” said Health and Human Services Secretary Kiame Mahaniah.  

“This exemption,” he said, “brings substantial tax relief for trained live-in friends and family members who are providing crucial health care services for MassHealth members with disabilities. We are proud of this step to support PCAs and the people they care for in continuing to live, work and thrive in Massachusetts.” 

Other changes and reforms for the PCA workforce in the last few years include increases to their hourly wage and the number of paid holidays, as well as ongoing work toward the implementation of a PCA retirement plan. 

“We are working every day to identify ways to make life more affordable for the people of Massachusetts,” said Governor Healey. “Personal Care Attendants do incredibly challenging work to care for the most vulnerable among us, and they shouldn’t have to also worry about being able to afford to meet their own basic needs.” 

“We want highly qualified, dedicated individuals to pursue and stay in careers as PCAs,” she said. “I’m proud of Secretary Mahaniah and his team for pursuing this ruling that will save PCAs thousands of dollars every year and grateful to the PCA Workforce Council’s efforts to support our hardworking PCAs.”