Mercer County Assessor: the Homestead, Disability and Active-Duty Military Exemption Tabs

The Assessor's own tabs. The county's site points to the Assessor's own site, mercerassessor.com, whose Exemptions page carries four tabs; the three read here render only through JavaScript and were read in a headed browser window. Homestead and Disability. Both exemptions are "An Exemption from real estate taxes ... for the first $20,000 of assessed value", applied for between July 1 and December 1 at the Assessor's Office. The homestead tab requires age 65 by July 1 of the relevant tax year (sign up at 64 if 65 before the next July 1), proof of age, owner-occupancy with the applicant's name on the deed, West Virginia legal residency with property tax payments for the two preceding years, no similar exemption in another county or state, and the constitutional one-exemption-per-married-couple rule (Article X, Section 1B, Subsection C). The disability tab takes the initial Social Security award letter or a doctor's certification on the Assessor's form that the applicant is permanently and totally disabled, with the same ownership, residency and one-per-couple rules, and rolls over annually while the home remains the residence. Neither tab names the disabled-veteran credit: the State's Code 11-13MM-4 credit (a refundable personal income tax credit equal to the real property tax timely paid on the homestead, for a veteran rated ninety percent or more or paid for individual unemployability; see the State entry) applies to Mercer County veterans, and the assessor's certification starts the claim. Military. The active-duty tab: "The Soldiers and Sailors Civil Relief Act of 1940 and Executive Order 9-88 (W. Va. Code 11-5-1) allows a taxpayer, who is an active duty member of any branch of the United States Military Service, to receive tax-exempt status on personal property owned during the current assessment period." The office verifies with current deployment orders presented each year, dated as close to the assessment period as possible, kept confidential on file. The assessment period runs July 1 to October 1; a mailed assessment must enclose a legible copy of the orders. The vehicle rules: "West Virginia Resident stationed out of state - ONE vehicle exempt. West Virginia Resident stationed in West Virginia - NO vehicles exempt. Non-Resident stationed in West Virginia - ALL Personal Property exempt. If the active military taxpayer has only a leased vehicle then there will be NO exemption." Where. Mercer County Assessor Tommy Bailey, 1501 West Main Street, Suite 110, Princeton, WV 24740, 304-487-8397 (fax 304-487-8399); the county site's Assessor page lists "Information on property tax exemptions (Homestead, veterans, seniors)" among the office's services. The Senior/Disabled and 11-13MM income rules are the State's; see the West Virginia entries.