Montgomery County Refund Under the Disabled Veteran Exemption

The full exemption for a veteran rated 100% permanent and total, or permanently unemployable, is granted by the State Department of Assessments and Taxation under Tax-Property Article section 7-208, and it is a State entry. The county's part is the refund of county tax already paid. County Code section 52-23, enacted in 1994, tells the Director of Finance to refund county property tax paid for the three taxable years before the exemption was first granted when the Supervisor of Assessments certifies the exemption, when the taxpayer qualified for the whole of each year refunded, and when the refund is claimed within three years after the tax was paid. The state rule is different and controls. Section 7-208(g) says a county "shall pay a refund" of county tax for the taxable years in which the exemption was authorized but not granted, provided the veteran applies for the exemption within the three-year period that begins with the calendar year in which the veteran first became eligible. SDAT reads first eligibility from the date of the VA rating decision and measures the refund from the effective date of the disability. Section 7-208(h) adds interest at the county's overdue-tax rate when the county has not paid within 60 days of the application. The county code's whole-year condition and its three-years-after-payment window do not appear in the statute. A veteran whose refund is cut short on those grounds should cite section 7-208(g). Check the refund box on the SDAT application. The county code pays the county share once the Supervisor of Assessments certifies the exemption.