A step-by-step plan and timeline
There is no legal deadline for downsizing. The schedule below is our suggested order of work, not a rule. Shorten it if your next home is ready, and lengthen it if the house is full. If you already know the move is coming soon, the downsizing or senior move page walks through selling routes first.
| When | What to do | Why it comes then |
|---|---|---|
| 6 to 12 months out | Pick where you are going. Tour places. Join waitlists. Talk with your family and, if money is tight, an attorney or CPA. | Many senior communities have waitlists, and the new place sets how much you can keep. |
| 4 to 6 months out | Get a market opinion of the house. Compare a listing with a cash offer in the comparison tool. Measure the new floor plan. | You need a price range before you commit to a move date. |
| 3 to 4 months out | Start sorting: least-used rooms first (attic, basement, garage, guest room). Make the keep, give, sell and discard piles. | These rooms hold the most and carry the fewest memories. |
| 1 to 2 months out | Sort the main rooms. Book movers and any cleanout. Give away or sell the large pieces that will not fit. | Movers and haulers book up, and big furniture takes the longest to place. |
| Last 2 weeks | Pack the kept items. Change your address. Take meter readings. Schedule the smoke and CO inspection if you are selling. | These are fixed tasks with real dates. |
What to keep when you move to a smaller place
Start from the new floor plan, not from the old house. Measure the rooms and closets of the place you are moving to, then decide which furniture fits. Everything else needs a different home.
- Daily use: the bed you sleep in, a favorite chair, the dishes and pans you really cook with, current clothes and medicines.
- Papers you must keep: the deed, tax returns and records of home improvements (they can lower your taxable gain), insurance papers, medical directives, powers of attorney and your will. Ask your attorney or CPA how long to keep each one.
- Things with real meaning: pick a small number of items, such as a box per child or a single shelf. A short list is easier to finish.
- Things to pass on now: if an heirloom is going to a child anyway, handing it over in person often feels better than sorting it later.
Hold off on valuable items like jewelry, art or antiques until you know what they are worth. An appraisal guide for household contents explains how that works.
A sorting method that works
Work one room at a time and finish a room before you start the next. Use four piles: keep, give to family, sell or donate, and discard. Do not add a “maybe” pile. If you cannot decide in a few seconds, put the item in one labeled box for the new place and decide again in six months.
- Start in the room with the least emotion, often the garage or basement.
- Work in short sessions. NASMM’s consumer guide says most seniors can handle an organizing task for only about three hours a day.
- Do the easy categories first: expired food, old paint, broken tools, duplicate kitchen items.
- Ask family to take their items on a set date. Items left past that date get donated or sold.
- Photograph things you are letting go of if the memory matters more than the object.
If you want help, there are three kinds: family and friends, a senior move manager (see our guide to senior move managers), and a cleanout service for what is left. For a full house or an estate, see the whole-house cleanout guide.
Selling the house or keeping it
Selling is not the only choice. You can also keep the house and rent it out, move in with family and keep the house for them, or stay and bring in help. Each choice has a monthly cost, so write the numbers down side by side.
| Choice | What you gain | What to count |
|---|---|---|
| Sell | Cash from your equity. No more repairs, taxes or storm cleanups. | Agent commission, deeds excise tax, repairs, moving, and any tax on gain over the exclusion. See the net proceeds calculator. |
| Keep and rent it out | Steady rent and the house stays in the family. | Landlord duties, insurance for rentals, vacancy, and income tax on rent. Try the sell or rent calculator. |
| Keep and stay (age in place) | No move. Familiar neighbors. | Home changes, help at home, and rising upkeep. See aging in place vs selling. |
| Keep and leave it empty | Time to decide. | Taxes, heat, insurance for a vacant home, and upkeep every month. Insurers often limit coverage on empty houses, so ask yours. |
If you decide to sell, a listing usually brings the most money when you have a few months. A cash or as-is buyer can fit better when the next place is ready now or the house needs more work than you want to do. A cash offer is usually lower than a listing, so compare the two on the same basis.
What downsizing costs
Costs fall in three groups: selling, clearing, and moving. Your actual numbers depend on the house and the buyer, so treat these as places to look, not prices.
| Cost | Where to find real numbers |
|---|---|
| Agent commission, deeds excise tax, attorney, closing items | Cost to sell a house in Massachusetts |
| Smoke and CO certificate from the fire department | Smoke and CO certificate guide |
| Clearing the house, junk hauling, donation pickups | Whole-house cleanout guide |
| Movers and storage | Moving and storage costs in Massachusetts |
| A senior move manager (optional) | Senior move managers in Massachusetts |
| Carrying the old house while it sells | Add up one month of mortgage, property tax, insurance, heat and utilities, then multiply by the months you expect. |
Tax angles: the home sale exclusion and senior property tax relief
Federal income tax on the sale (Section 121)
Most sellers owe no federal tax on the gain from selling a main home, up to $250,000, or $500,000 if married and filing jointly. You must have owned and lived in the home for at least 24 months of the 5 years before the sale, and you can use the exclusion only once in a 2-year period. If you become unable to care for yourself and you lived in the home at least 12 months of the 5 years, time in a licensed care facility counts toward the 24 months. A surviving spouse who has not remarried can still use $500,000 if the sale is within 2 years of the death. Gain above the exclusion, and rules for rentals or inherited homes, are covered in the capital gains guide and the capital gains calculator. Ask a CPA about your situation.
Massachusetts senior property tax relief
These programs are run by your town or by the state. If you move, check what you give up and what you can use in the new home. All amounts below are from the official pages cited at the bottom, and they change, so confirm them with the source.
| Program | Who it helps | Key points (verify current numbers) |
|---|---|---|
| Senior Circuit Breaker credit (state income tax) | Owners and renters age 65+ by December 31 | Tax year 2025: refundable credit up to $2,820. Income cap $75,000 single, $94,000 head of household, $112,000 joint. Owners: assessed value cannot exceed $1,298,000, and property tax plus half of water and sewer must exceed 10% of income. Filed with Schedule CB. Renters can claim it too (25% of rent over 10% of income). |
| Senior tax deferral (Clause 41A) | Homeowners age 65+ on July 1 | Lets you postpone all or part of the property tax. Interest is 8% a year unless your town voted a lower rate. Needs 10 years living in Massachusetts and 5 years owning a home here. The default income limit is $20,000 of gross receipts, which a town may raise. The deferred tax becomes a lien and is repaid when you sell or die. |
| Clause 41C and related exemptions (Clauses 41, 41B, 41C½) | Low-income owners, usually age 70+ (a town may lower it to 65 for 41C) | The state base exemption for Clauses 41, 41B and 41C is $500; a town can raise Clause 41C to $1,000. Income and asset limits vary by clause and town. Eligibility is set on July 1. You apply each year with the assessors, by April 1 or 3 months after the actual tax bill, whichever is later. |
If you get a property tax exemption and then sell, tell your closing attorney. The state fact sheet says you are responsible for making sure the exemption is credited correctly at the closing.
The exemption figures above come from a state fact sheet last revised in November 2016. Towns can adopt higher limits, so ask your local assessors for the current numbers. Your town’s assessor and Council on Aging can tell you which clauses your town accepted.
Moving to a smaller place
- Count the stairs and steps at the entry, inside and to the laundry. A first-floor bedroom and bath matter more over time than extra space.
- Ask what the monthly fee covers in a condo or 55+ community: heat, water, snow, exterior, reserves. For a condo, ask about the 6(d) certificate and the budget.
- Check the waitlist and the deposit rules in a senior community, and what happens to deposits if you leave.
- For a continuing care community (CCRC), read the contract. The state consumer guide says most charge an entrance fee that is separate from the monthly fee, and that monthly fees usually range from $2,000 to $6,000.
- Do not sell before you have somewhere to go. If timing is tight, ask about a later closing date or a rent-back after the sale.
If your next home comes with a mortgage or you need to buy before you sell, see selling and buying at the same time.
Who can help
Call MassOptions at 1-800-243-4636 to be connected with local services and an options counselor. Your town’s Council on Aging (senior center) can help with local programs, rides and tax relief forms. For legal questions such as a power of attorney, a trust or paying for care, talk to an elder law attorney. For tax questions, talk to a CPA. Nothing here is legal, tax or financial advice.