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

The Town of Reading 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 town 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 Assessment Division’s eligibility sheet prints $800 under clause 22, $1,500 under 22A, $2,500 under 22B, $3,000 under 22C and $2,000 under 22E, and 100 percent under 22D and 22F. Each amount is its statute raised 100 per cent, what clause 22J at 100 per cent produces, and the sheet carries no cost-of-living increase; it names no option, and no town meeting vote was found in the town’s online records, so ask the assessors to confirm. The sheet marks changes from prior years in bold and sets exemption applications at December 15th or three months after the actual bills are mailed, whichever is later. The Veteran Services page names William Valliere the Veterans Service Officer at Town Hall, 16 Lowell Street (781-942-6652), where the EOVS directory lists the same office. Chapter 115 benefits, the Commonwealth’s needs-based help with rent, food, fuel and medical costs, are applied for through Reading Veteran Services: William Valliere, Veterans Service Officer. Their amounts are set by the Commonwealth and are the same in every city and town; the statewide chapter 115 entry describes them.