Smith County Appraisal District: Disabled Veteran Exemptions

The exemptions are the State's; the Texas entries explain them. The Smith County Appraisal District (SCAD) grants them for property in Smith County, from 245 SSE Loop 323, Tyler, Texas 75702; 903-510-8600, fax 903-510-8621; weekdays 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The Chief Appraiser is Carol McNeil; the Tax Assessor-Collector, Gary Barber, sits on SCAD's board alongside chairman Mark Whatley. 100% homestead. The district's exemptions page: "Qualifying veterans are entitled to an exemption of the total appraised value of the home. They will not have to pay property taxes on the homestead to any taxing entity." To qualify, a veteran must have "served in the armed forces of the United States," been "classified as disabled by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) as a result of a service-connected disability," received "100 percent disability compensation from the VA," and received "either a 100 percent disability rating or been classified unemployable by the VA." The district directs an applicant to the Comptroller's form 50-114. Partial exemption. Listed among the district's "Other Exemptions," the partial exemption reaches a veteran rated 10 percent or more disabled who is "a Texas resident"; it "can apply to any property you own on January 1" on which taxes are assessed, not only the homestead, and needs "a current dated letter from the Veteran's Administration reflecting the percent of disability awarded," filed by April 30 or within a year of the delinquency date. SCAD's exemption chart sets the amounts: $5,000 at 10 to 29 percent, $7,500 at 30 to 49, $10,000 at 50 to 69, and $12,000 at 70 and over. A veteran who reaches age 65, is totally blind in one or both eyes, or has lost the use of one or both limbs gets the full $12,000 regardless of rating. A surviving spouse may continue the exemption if not remarried, and a surviving child may also qualify; a surviving spouse or child of a service member killed on active duty can qualify too, with a VA letter and a marriage license or, for a child, proof of age and relationship. The district's form for this exemption is the Comptroller's 50-135. Local amounts. SCAD's Homestead Exemptions Offered chart lists what each taxing unit in the county has separately adopted: Smith County itself grants a flat $25,000 over-65 exemption and nothing for the ordinary homestead or disability exemptions, while nine of the county's school districts each grant $140,000 for the ordinary homestead and $60,000 for over-65 and disability, several of them adding further local amounts on top, and the cities set their own, smaller, over-65 figures. None of these taxing-unit figures is specific to a disabled veteran; the veteran exemptions above apply county-wide at the State's figures regardless of what a city or school district has locally adopted. Filing. SCAD's forms link the Comptroller's 50-114 for the residence homestead and 100 percent disabled veteran homestead exemptions and 50-135 for the disabled veteran's or survivor's exemption.