Newton Veterans’ Property Tax Exemptions (Clauses 22 to 22F)

The City of Newton grants the veterans’ exemptions of G.L. c. 59, s. 5, clauses 22 to 22F, through its board of assessors. The statute sets them as dollars off the tax bill, $400 under clause 22, $750, $1,250 and $1,500 under 22A to 22C and $1,000 under 22E, and exempts the whole domicile under 22D and 22F; a city can add to them only by accepting a local option, clause 22I, clause 22J or section 5C½. Every figure on this entry carries its source and the day it was read. The City Council’s docket #500-22 accepted G.L. c. 59, s. 5C½ with an additional exemption of 100 percent of each personal exemption, for fiscal years from July 1, 2023; the docket tracker records its approval in the Committee of the Whole on November 10, 2022 and a signed council order. Section 5C½ adds to every personal exemption, the veterans’ included, so a clause 22 veteran can receive up to $400 more and a 22E veteran up to $1,000 more, but not so much that the bill falls below the year before or the taxable value below 10 percent of the full value. Because the city uses section 5C½, clause 22J cannot run there, and no docket on clause 22I was found. The Board of Assessors’ page lists the clause 22 exemption without an amount and offers a veterans’ property tax work-off of up to $3,000. Section 5N caps that work-off at $1,500 or 125 hours; the council asked the legislature to raise Newton’s cap in docket #501-22, and no act doing so was found in the 2023 to 2026 session laws, so confirm the figure with the assessors. Chapter 115 benefits, the Commonwealth’s needs-based help with rent, food, fuel and medical costs, are applied for through Newton Veterans’ Services. Their amounts are set by the Commonwealth and are the same in every city and town; the statewide chapter 115 entry describes them.