For Immediate Release

Property Tax Exemptions Reduce Disabled Veterans’ Taxes

Veterans with a service-connected disability may reduce their property taxes in 2009 by filling out a simple exemption form at the Brazoria County Appraisal District office.

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. 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. 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 Brazoria County Appraisal District at (979) 849-7792. More information is also available from the state Comptroller’s Property Tax Division at (800) 252-9121.