For Immediate Release
Disabled Veterans May Qualify to Have Some or All of Their Property Taxes Waived
Veterans with a service connected disability are encouraged to file an exemption form to have their 2016 property taxes lowered. Some veterans may even qualify for a 100 percent exemption of their taxes.
Texas law provides partial exemptions for any property owned by veterans who are disabled, spouses and survivors of deceased disabled veterans. This includes homesteads donated to disabled veterans by charitable organizations at no cost to the disabled veterans. The amount of exemption is determined according to the percentage of service-connected disability.
A veteran’s percentage of service-connected disability determines the amount of the exemption — from a $5,000 to a $12,000 deduction from the veteran’s property value.
Any eligible person who has not received this exemption should apply by April 30, 2016. An applicant may claim the exemption on only one piece of property, such as a home or any other property the applicant owned on Jan. 1, 2016. The applicant must also be a Texas resident to qualify.
A disabled veteran who receives 100 percent disability compensation due to a service-connected disability and a rating of 100 percent disabled or of individual unemployability from the United States Department of Veterans Affairs or its successor is entitled to an exemption from taxation of the appraised value of the veteran’s residence homestead. Surviving spouses are also eligible upon the veteran’s death with certain restrictions. The disabled veteran or surviving spouse can apply for this exemption by filing a residence homestead exemption application with the appraisal district.
The surviving spouse of a member of the U.S. armed services who is killed in action is allowed a total (100 percent) property tax exemption on his or her residence homestead if the surviving spouse has not remarried since the death of the armed services member.
For more information about the property tax exemption for disabled veterans or to file an exemption, contact the Rains County Appraisal District at 145 Doris Briggs Pkwy, Emory TX 75440.
More information is also available on the Comptroller’s Property Tax Assistance Division’s website at www.window.state.tx.us/taxinfo/proptax/.