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

The City of Salem 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 Assessor’s Office Veterans Exemptions page, for fiscal 2027, gives clause 22 as “begins at $400 and goes up to $800” (a rating of 10 percent or more, a Purple Heart, or a surviving spouse), 22A from $750 to $1,500, 22B from $1,250 to $2,500, 22C from $1,500 to $3,000, 22E from $1,000 to $2,000 (a VA determination at 100 percent, filed annually), and total exemptions under 22D and 22H. Each range spans the statute and twice it, which an additional exemption of up to 100 percent produces: clause 22J adds to the veterans’ alone and section 5C½ to every personal exemption. The page names neither option, and no council vote was found in the city’s online records; ask the assessors what the city has accepted. The page’s residence tests vary by clause: clauses 22, 22A and 22B still print five consecutive years before the tax year begins, while 22E asks two, where the statute now asks two consecutive years before filing. Fiscal 2027 applications are due April 1, 2027. Chapter 115 benefits, the Commonwealth’s needs-based help with rent, food, fuel and medical costs, are applied for through Salem 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.