Applying for a New Hampshire Veteran Property Tax Credit

New Hampshire runs every veteran property tax credit through one application procedure, and the deadlines are the part that costs people money. The filing. RSA 72:33, I: no person is entitled to the credits under RSA 72:28, 28-b, 28-c, 29-a, 35, 36-a and the others listed "unless the person has filed with the selectmen or assessors, by April 15 preceding the setting of the tax rate, a permanent application therefor, signed under penalty of perjury, on a form approved and provided by the commissioner of revenue administration". The application must show that the applicant is the true and lawful owner and was qualified on April 1 of the first year claimed, or, for financial qualifications, at the time of application. It is a permanent application. Paragraph II: the filing "shall be sufficient for said persons to receive these exemptions or tax credits on an annual basis so long as the applicant does not change residence". You file once. If you move, you file an amended permanent application on or before December 1 immediately following the change of residence. The form is prescribed by statute to be useful, which is not always true of tax forms. Paragraph I requires it to carry instructions and an explanation of the grounds for requesting credits under RSA 72, sections for information about the applicant and the property and other property owned, and "a section explaining the appeal procedure and stating the appeal deadline in the event the municipality denies the tax relief request in whole or in part." Missing April 15 is not always fatal. Paragraph I-a: if a person otherwise qualified satisfies the selectmen or assessors "that he or she was prevented by accident, mistake, or misfortune from filing a permanent application or amended permanent application on or before April 15", the officials may receive it late and grant the credit for that year. The hard stop is the tax rate: "no such application shall be received or exemption or credit granted after the local tax rate has been approved for that year." So the practical deadline in a bad year is the rate setting, usually in the autumn. The combat service credit under RSA 72:28-c is outside the April 15 deadline entirely, under RSA 72:33, I-b. See that entry. The decision. RSA 72:34, IV: on or before July 1 prior to the date of notice of tax, the selectmen or assessors "shall send by first class mail a written decision to any taxpayer who timely requests an exemption or tax credit", on a form prepared by the department of revenue administration, advising of the decision and informing the taxpayer of the appeal procedure in RSA 72:34-a. And then the sentence to plan around: "Failure to respond shall constitute denial." Silence is a denial, and the appeal clock runs anyway. RSA 72:34, III limits the grounds for refusal at this stage: the officials shall grant the credit if satisfied the applicant has not willfully made a false statement for the purpose of obtaining it, and the applicant cooperated with any document requests. Confidentiality, in RSA 72:34, II, is better than most states give. For credits with income or asset limits the assessors may request true copies of documents to verify eligibility, and all documents submitted "shall be considered confidential, handled so as to protect the privacy of the individual, and not used for any purpose other than the specific statutory purposes for which the information was originally obtained." All documents and copies "shall be returned to the applicant after a decision is made on the application." That last clause is worth invoking: the town does not get to keep your VA rating letter in a public file. The appeal. RSA 72:34-a: where the selectmen or assessors refuse a credit under RSA 72:28, 28-b, 28-c, 29-a, 35, 36-a and the rest, the applicant "may appeal in writing, on or before September 1 following the date of notice of tax under RSA 72:1-d, to the board of tax and land appeals or the superior court, which may order an exemption, deferral, or tax credit, or an abatement if a tax has been assessed." Two forums, the applicant's choice, and the board of tax and land appeals is the cheaper and less formal of them. Two further requirements. RSA 72:33, V: an applicant claiming ownership through a trust or a life interest under RSA 72:29, VI must file an additional sworn statement on a department form showing they meet that provision. RSA 72:33, VI: the assessing officials may require periodic refiling of the RSA 72:34 information or the trust statement, "but no more frequently than annually", and failure to file may cost the credit for that year. So a permanent application is permanent unless the town asks, and a letter from the town asking for a refiling has to be answered. RSA 72:33, III lets the officials refuse the credit if satisfied the applicant willfully made a false statement to obtain it.