veterans' property tax benefit

State law allows a reduction of $10,000 on the assessment of homestead property owned by military Veterans who are at least 50% disabled. The reduction can be as much as $40,000 if voted by the town and readers will remember that several Franklin County towns recently approved this additional reduction as a small way of expressing thanks to our military veterans. The benefit shows up on the property tax bill as a reduction in homestead education tax due

In the past, the property tax adjustment for these disabled veterans was calculated after the vets' exemption was applied to the tax bill. The 2011 legislature made changes that now call for the property tax adjustment to be calculated before the vets' exemption is applied resulting in a greater benefit for disabled veterans: less homestead property tax due.

The program changes in two ways:
First, for claims filed by April 15, 2011 eligible veterans will receive a larger property tax adjustment. Veterans do not have to do anything to get this larger adjustment, the tax department is manually adjusting the payments.
Second, beginning in 2012, verification for eligibility for this program will be handled by the Vermont Office of Veterans Affairs.

There were several reasons for the change. For the past few years veterans have had a hard time getting verification from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. The Vermont Office of Veterans Affairs can assist veterans in obtaining this verification better than the towns. There has been inconsistency in how this benefit was implemented from town to town because town office officials are just not familiar with veteran benefits. When disabled veterans interact with the Office of Veterans Affairs on a regular basis, they are more likely to receive other benefits for which they are eligible.

Some folks have expressed concern about the state having information about their federal benefits, especially since some veterans do not report their federal disability compensation on their state income tax return. Although it is not taxed, VA benefits are considered when determining eligibility for income sensitivity. The Vermont Department of Taxes already has a listing of who receives the exemption. Changing the verifier from the town to the Office of Veterans Affairs won’t result in the Tax Department receiving additional information.

This additional benefit will not come to the veteran in a check, it will show as a reduction in the education tax due. The application process for the property tax adjustment will not change, only the application process for the vets exemption.

For more information contact Clayton Clark,Veteran Services Director, Office of Veterans Affairs,118 State Street, Montpelier, Vermont 05620-4401, (802) 828-3379.

As always, you can also contact me at cbranagan@leg.state.vt.us. I'll do whatever I can to help you.

Rep. Carolyn Branagan
Fairfax/Georgia