Goochland County Real Estate Tax Relief for the Elderly and Disabled

Article III of chapter 13 of the county code (sections 13-61 through 13-68) provides the relief. Section 13-63 exempts a qualifying owner from real estate taxes "in an amount not to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000.00)" and qualifies the owner for the deferral of all special taxes on the real estate, such as those of a sanitary or service district; deferred special taxes under section 13-63.1 are paid on sale, on a nonqualified transfer, or from the estate within a year, with five percent annual interest and lien status. Section 13-65 sets the qualifications: title at least twenty-five percent held on January 1; the dwelling the sole residence (with the hospital-and-nursing-home rule); the head of the household 65 or older, or totally and permanently disabled, by December 31 of the preceding year; total combined income from all sources not over $67,000, after excluding the first $10,000 of income of each relative other than a spouse and of nonrelatives who are not bona fide tenants or paid caregivers, and with the full income of a person who moves in to care for the owner excluded where the owner's health requires it; and net combined financial worth not over $250,000, excluding the dwelling and up to ten acres and home furnishings. The section was last amended by Ordinance 5340 on April 19, 2022; the income and worth figures postdate the 2008 amendments listed, so a veteran between the printed figures and a newer resolution should ask the Commissioner's office. The Commissioner administers the relief (section 13-64) and a change in status that exceeds the limits nullifies it (section 13-67). It is not a VA rating of 100% service-connected, and a disabled veteran who does not meet that test can use it.