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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
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State
Rep. Dan Surra |
  
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More Pa. disabled veterans qualify for property tax exemption
HARRISBURG, May 13 – State Rep. Dan Surra is reminding disabled veterans that they may qualify for a real estate tax exemption on their home.
Pennsylvania's Disabled Veterans Real Estate Tax Exemption Program was created in 1988, but legislation passed by the General Assembly in 2007 opened up the program to even more disabled veterans.
Previously, disabled veterans of all incomes had to prove they were eligible for the exemption by showing that their annual expenses exceeded their annual income. The new law assumes that disabled veterans whose annual income does not exceed $75,000 automatically qualify for the exemption. Veterans who earn more than that can still qualify by demonstrating that their expenses exceed income.
The new law also changed the time between periodic reviews that are required to establish if a disabled veteran is still in need of the exemption from once every two years to once every five years. The change reduces paperwork for veterans and allows many of them to remain eligible for the property tax exemption for a longer period of time.
To be eligible for the Disabled Veterans Real Estate Tax Exemption Program, a veteran must:
· be a resident of Pennsylvania;
· have served in the U.S. Armed Forces during a war or armed conflict and been honorably discharged or released;
· be blind or paraplegic, suffered the loss of two or more limbs, or be declared by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to have a 100 percent permanent service-related disability.
Disabled veterans that qualify can receive the property tax exemption on their primary residence. Annual income must be $75,000 or less or, if more, the veteran must show that eligible expenses exceed income. Surra stressed that the tax exemption may be passed on to the surviving spouse of a qualified veteran.
Disabled veterans can learn more about the Disabled Veterans Real Estate Tax Exemption and apply by contacting their county veterans' affairs office.
The Elk County Veterans Affairs Office is located in the Courthouse Annex, 300 Center St. in Ridgway; the phone number is 814-776-5370.
The Clearfield County Veterans Affairs Office is at 650 Leonard St., Suite 101 in Clearfield; the phone number is 814-765-4611.
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