Virginia Property Tax Exemptions: Homestead, Senior and Veteran Relief

Disabled veterans (and qualifying surviving spouses) file an affidavit or written statement with the commissioner of the revenue or other officer designated by the locality where the property is located, on the locality's form, with VA documentation of a 100% service-connected, permanent and total disability. The veteran need not refile unless the principal residence changes, and may apply before buying a home (the officer must respond within 20 business days). Elderly and disabled relief is applied for under the locality's own ordinance.

Any county, city or town may, by ordinance, provide a real estate tax exemption, a deferral, or both for owners who are at least 65 (and, if the ordinance provides, owners who are permanently and totally disabled). The property must be owned and occupied as the person's sole dwelling (certain life estates and trust interests qualify). Relief may cover the tax increase since the year the person turned 65 or became disabled, or since the ordinance took effect. A home jointly held only by a married couple qualifies if either spouse meets the age or disability requirement. Income and asset limits, if any, are set by the locality.

A veteran rated by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs as having a 100% service-connected, permanent and total disability is exempt from real property tax on the dwelling occupied as the principal residence and the land under it up to one acre (more if the locality grants more acreage to elderly and disabled owners), plus certain non-business structures on that land; a manufactured home can be exempt even if the veteran does not own the land. Jointly owned property with a spouse qualifies. The unremarried surviving spouse of such a veteran who died on or after January 1, 2011 keeps the exemption, even after moving to a different principal residence.

Localities may extend their elderly real estate tax exemption or deferral ordinance to owners who are permanently and totally disabled, on terms set by the locality.

Assessment appeals are handled locally: a taxpayer may apply to the local board of equalization by the locality's deadline (for residential property of fewer than four units, the assessor must provide assessment records on written request within 15 days). A taxpayer aggrieved by an assessment may also apply to the circuit court of the county or city, naming the locality, within the latest of three years from the last day of the tax year, one year from the date of the assessment, or one year from certain final determinations. The assessor's (or board of equalization's) valuation is presumed correct, and the taxpayer must rebut it by a preponderance of the evidence.

Due dates are set locally: each county, city or town establishes property tax due dates by ordinance and may require payment in one installment or two equal installments. Late-payment penalties are generally capped at 10% of the past-due tax, and interest at 10% a year for the first year.