Accomack County Real Estate Tax Relief for the Elderly and Disabled

Sections 82-97 to 82-103 of the Accomack County Code relieve real estate tax on the dwelling of an owner who is 65 or older or permanently and totally disabled. Title must be held on December 31 of the preceding year; a dwelling jointly held qualifies if either spouse is 65 or over or permanently and totally disabled, and a dwelling held with others qualifies when all joint owners occupy it as their sole dwelling and the exemption is taken in proportion to ownership under Code section 58.1-3211.1(A). Income and worth. Total combined income of the owners, their relatives living in the dwelling and nonrelative occupants cannot exceed the greater of $36,704 or the income limit HUD publishes annually for the metropolitan statistical area for federal housing assistance; up to $6,500 of each relative's or nonrelative occupant's income is excluded, and up to $10,000 of a permanently and totally disabled owner's own income is excluded. Net combined financial worth of the owners and spouses cannot exceed $80,000, excluding the dwelling, up to one acre, and ordinary household furnishings. The schedule in section 82-101 grants 100% relief with income to $19,664 and 50% from $19,665 to $36,704, never more than $500 a year on one property (Ord. of 06-20-2024(1) last amended the limits). Filing. File the affidavit annually after January 1 and before April 1 with the Commissioner of the Revenue, who may require answers under oath and certified tax returns. The county's application asks for a complete signed copy of the prior year's federal and state returns, proof of all income and assets, and a certification of permanent and total disability from the Veterans Administration, the Railroad Retirement Board, the Social Security Administration, or two doctors' affidavits - and warns that an incomplete application voids relief for the year. The county's page describes the program as covering a real estate or mobile home tax; the code's "dwelling" definition reaches an improvement used principally for other than a business purpose. It is not a VA rating of 100% service-connected, and a disabled veteran who does not meet that test can use it.