West Virginia’s answer to “Is there a disabled veteran property tax exemption?” is yes, in two parts. The Disabled Veteran Real Property Tax Credit, passed in 2023, refunds the property tax a qualifying veteran pays on their home, and the long-standing homestead exemption takes $20,000 off the assessed value for owners who are 65 or older or totally and permanently disabled123.
Each is claimed in a different place, so it helps to understand both.
The Disabled Veteran Real Property Tax Credit
A disabled veteran taxpayer is someone honorably discharged from any branch who is rated 90% or more service-connected by VA, or who meets VA’s individual unemployability requirements4. The credit equals the West Virginia property tax timely paid to the county sheriff on a homestead used only as a residence, and it’s refundable: if it’s more than the income tax owed, the state pays the difference2.
It covers only tax paid on time. The first half must be paid before October 1 and the second half before April 1; late or delinquent tax doesn’t count52. The home must have been used by the owner for at least six months5.
How to claim the credit
- File a West Virginia income tax return. Even if you don't otherwise need to6.
- Complete Form DV-1. Enter the total tax paid on IT-140 line 21(B)5.
- Attach proof. Your VA disability rating letter and the property tax receipts5.
You can’t take this credit in the same year as the Senior Citizen Tax Credit or the Homestead Excess Property Tax Credit; since it refunds 100% of the tax, it stands alone6.
The $20,000 homestead exemption
Any owner who is 65 or older, or certified as permanently and totally disabled, can have the first $20,000 of a homestead’s assessed value exempted, after two consecutive years of West Virginia residency3. A VA letter certifying total and permanent disability is accepted proof7, and WVDVA notes that veterans rated 90% to 100% permanent and total may qualify1.
File the claim with the county assessor by December 1 following the July 1 assessment day. Seniors file once; a disabled claimant also files once but must tell the assessor if they stop being eligible7.
The homestead residency rules
The homestead exemption has a residency test that catches some families off guard. The owner must have lived in West Virginia for the two consecutive calendar years before the tax year, and anyone receiving a similar exemption in another state can’t claim it here; the application includes a sworn statement saying so3. A resident who moved away and came back within five years can qualify without the two-year wait if they lived in the state for two of the previous ten years3.
That matters for a veteran who wintered in Florida, or who moved to be near grandchildren and then returned home to the mountains. Ask the assessor how your parent’s history applies before the December 1 deadline7.
Which help fits your family
Think of the two programs as layers. The homestead exemption shrinks the bill for any owner who is 65 or older or totally and permanently disabled, veteran or not3. The disabled veteran credit then pays back the tax that remains, but only for veterans rated 90% or more or paid at the individual unemployability rate, and only when the tax was paid on time42.
A veteran rated 70% who is 66 years old gets the homestead exemption but not the credit, and can ask the State Tax Department about its other property tax credits. A 90% veteran who is 50 can use the credit and, with VA’s total and permanent certification, the homestead exemption too76. A WVDVA service officer can walk through your parent’s situation8.
Surviving spouses
An unmarried surviving spouse of a veteran who had already received the credit may keep claiming it, until death or remarriage, as long as the home isn’t sold or reclassified425. The DV-1 asks whether you are claiming as a widowed spouse and whether you remarried that year.
When the credit ends
A West Virginia example
A 68-year-old Marine veteran in Beckley rated 100% pays his property tax in two timely halves. He has the $20,000 homestead exemption from the assessor, which lowers the bill. The next spring he files his IT-140 with Form DV-1, his VA rating letter and both receipts, and the state refunds the tax he paid352.
Free help
WVDVA’s service officers can help you get your VA rating letter and explain the credit; the assessor’s office handles the homestead exemption18.
Mistakes to avoid
- Paying late. Late tax can't be credited5.
- Claiming the senior credit too. The disabled veteran credit must stand alone6.
- Missing December 1. That's the homestead claim deadline7.
Related: Aid and Attendance in West Virginia and disabled veteran property tax relief by state.