Stafford County Surviving Spouse Exemption, Killed in Action or Line of Duty

Stafford's page lists, for the surviving spouse of a member killed in action, four "criteria": the member was killed in action after January 1, 2015; the spouse had a qualifying principal residence on the date of death; the spouse has not remarried; and the spouse continues to occupy the property. Its line-of-duty section says it is "being updated" and points to Article 2.5, which is the separate exemption for spouses of first responders. Most of that is behind the law. 2024 Acts chapter 583 widened section 58.1-3219.9 from January 1, 2025 to any member who died in the line of duty with a Department of Defense Line of Duty determination, including by suicide. The statute lets the spouse move to another principal residence. The residence-on-the-date-of-death point in the old statute set when the exemption began, not whether the spouse qualified; a spouse who buys a home later gets the exemption from the date of purchase. The exemption covers tax years from January 1, 2015, whenever the death occurred. A spouse who does not fit the page should apply citing section 58.1-3219.9. Stafford does not publish its average dwelling value, which caps the exemption.