King Announces Property Tax Exemptions to Reduce Disabled Veterans’ Taxes

Contact Information:
(817)596-8100

Today, State Representative Phil King (R-Weatherford) announced that veterans with a service-connected disability may reduce their property taxes in 2009 by filling out a simple exemption form at the Parker or Wise County Appraisal District office.

“This exemption has been a long time coming and is going to give veterans an exemption that they so greatly deserve.” King stated, “It is my hope that the State of Texas will continue to find ways to give back to those who have done so much for us.”

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.

The disabled veteran exemption is available to:
• a disabled veteran;
• a surviving spouse of a deceased disabled veteran, as long as the spouse remains unmarried;
• a surviving minor child of a disabled veteran, if the veteran’s spouse is deceased and if the child is both under 18 and unmarried;
• a surviving spouse of a person killed while on active duty, whether the spouse has remarried or not at application time; and
• a surviving minor child of a person killed while on active duty, if the child is both under 18 and unmarried.

Any eligible person who has not received this exemption should apply by April 30 of the year in question. An applicant may claim the exemption on only one piece of property, such as a home or any other property the applicant owned on January 1. The applicant must be a Texas resident to qualify.

The appraisal district may require proof of the disability, such as documentation from the Veterans Administration or the branch of the armed services in which the veteran served. Applicants may need proof of marriage, age or spouse’s or parent’s death.

For more information about the property tax exemption for disabled veterans, contact the Parker County Appraisal District at (817) 596-0078 or the Wise County Appraisal District at (940) 627-3081. More information is also available from the state Comptroller’s Property Tax Assistance Division at (800) 252-9121.