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New law increases property tax break for disabled vets
By Marc Kovac
COLUMBUS
Gov. John Kasich has signed legislation that will provide disabled veterans with an increased break on their property taxes.
House Bill 85 passed the Ohio House and Senate on unanimous votes just before lawmakers left the Statehouse for summer recess, and the governor signed it this week.
HB 85 doubles the homestead exemption amount for eligible military men and women.
The exemption was created more than four decades ago to reduce tax bills for seniors and is open to homeowners age 65 and older and to those who are “totally and permanently disabled” and their spouses.
The exemption was expanded under former Gov. Ted Strickland to include all senior homeowners, but the Republican-controlled Legislature and Kasich changed that as part of a larger tax-reform package. Existing property owners retained their eligibility, but new ones now must earn less than $30,000 a year to qualify.
HB 85 increases the homestead exemption total to $50,000 in property valuation from $25,000 for military men and women with a “service-connected total and permanent disability” certified by the federal government.
There are no income eligibility requirements under the legislation, allowing an expanded exemption for any permanently disabled veteran who qualifies.