Disabled Veterans Real Estate Tax Exemption

Important Temporary Change DUE TO COVID-19:

The Chesapeake Commissioner of the Revenue's Office is open to the public; however, we strongly encourage citizens to conduct business by mail, email, fax, phone or dropbox at one of our four office locations. Please call 757-382-6698 to determine if coming into the office is necessary.

Disabled Veterans Real Estate Tax Exemption Applications, which normally require a notarization by a Commissioner of the Revenue's Office employee, can temporarily be submitted with a third party notarization or without a notarization.

On April 6, 2011, legislation was approved by the Virginia General Assembly exempting certain disabled Veterans and their surviving spouses from local real estate taxes on their principal place of residency which they own and occupy. In accordance with state law, the level of exemption for which one may be eligible is determined by legal ownership of the property.

For tax years beginning in 2017, eligibility for this tax exemption includes manufactured (mobile) homes owned and occupied by the qualified applicant even if the applicant does not own the land on which the manufactured home is located. If such land is not owned by the veteran, then the land is not exempt. 

A qualified Veteran must be certified by the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) to be a) totally and permanently disabled due to a service-connected disability and b) to have an overall disability rating of 100% or a compensation rating of 100% due to individual unemployability.

The surviving spouse of a qualified Veteran is eligible for the tax exemption if the death of the Veteran occurred on or after January 1, 2011 and the surviving spouse does not remarry and continues to occupy the home as his or her principal place of residence.

To apply for this exemption, review the Eligibility Requirements and file an Application Form with the Commissioner of the Revenue's Office. Links to these documents are provided below.

Resources:

• Eligibility Requirements
• Instructions and Application Form