Bedford County Disabled Veteran Real Estate Tax Exemption

Bedford County's Commissioner of the Revenue takes the statewide disabled-veteran real estate exemption on the county's own application, with the VA letter showing a disability that is 100% service-connected, permanent, and total. The exemption covers the dwelling, up to one acre, and certain accessory structures. The application has to be handed in at the office at 122 East Main Street in Bedford, because the county will not take it by email. There is no income test, and the form says correctly that the veteran refiles only if the principal residence changes. The county's page and form state three conditions more narrowly than the statute: The form says the surviving spouse "must continue to reside in primary residence", and its notes print that condition as part of the statute. Section 58.1-3219.5(B) has said since 2019 that the exemption "applies without any restriction on the spouse's moving to a different principal place of residence". A surviving spouse who moves within Virginia keeps the exemption on the new home. The form asks whether the home is "owned by the Veteran and/or jointly with Spouse". Section 58.1-3219.5(D) and (E) also cover a life estate, a revocable trust, and an irrevocable trust with a life interest, and give a prorated exemption on a home co-owned with someone else. The page calls the disabled veteran exemption a "partial exemption". It is a full exemption of the dwelling and the acre. The form does not mention individual unemployability. A veteran paid at the 100% rate for unemployability with a permanent and total finding should file the VA letter that says so.