Lee County Revenue Commission: H3 Disability Exemption

The exemption is the State's, under Code section 40-9-21, as the State's principal-residence entries explain. The Lee County Revenue Commission administers it as H3, the Act 48 homestead, and publishes the qualification rules in full. Two routes to H3. The age-and-income route needs the owner 65 or older with combined net federal taxable income of $12,000 or less on the most recent federal return; the office verifies dates of birth and can demand an IRS Form 4506-T non-filing verification, which takes about ten business days, for the initial assessment. The disability route needs the owner retired due to total and permanent disability through the Social Security Administration, Veterans Affairs, another government agency, or another qualifying entity. Proof the office accepts on the disability route: an SSA award or benefit verification letter stating the effective date of the total and permanent disability determination (the owner must have retired because of the disability before reaching 65); a VA award or benefit verification letter stating the effective date and that the individual is totally and permanently disabled; documentation of a disability pension or annuity from a private company or a state or federal agency such as the Railroad Retirement Board; or affidavits from two Alabama-licensed physicians. The line that matters. After the initial assessment, an annual recertification form keeps the H3 disability exemption alive - unless the exemption is based on qualification through Veterans Affairs. A veteran whose claim rests on the VA letter should still answer any form the office mails, but the county's published rule does not require the annual recertification of a VA-based claim. The office cites Code of Alabama 1975, Title 40-9-21 as the legal reference.