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

The City of Westfield 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 Real Estate Abatements & Exemptions page sets out "Clauses 22, 22A, 22C, 22E - Veterans" with eligibility requirements and no amounts, beside clause 37A at $500 and 41C at $750 at the statute’s own figures, so the figures here are the statute’s; no acceptance of the local options was found on the city’s site. The page prints the residence test as a Massachusetts resident at the time of induction into the military, or two years’ residence in Massachusetts before filing, matching the statute’s two consecutive years before filing, and asks that the veteran occupy the property as his or her domicile on July 1 of the tax year. The Veterans Services page names James Jordan the VSO, Julie Barnes the Director and Gene Theroux the Graves Officer at (413) 572-6247, where the EOVS directory lists Julie Barnes at 45 Noble Street with the same phone and lists the same office for Montgomery. The city’s Westfield Veterans Council page lists American Legion Post 124, Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 219, Marine Corps League Detachment 141, VFW Post 872 of Southwick and the Purple Heart Trail Foundation as the council’s member organizations. Chapter 115 benefits, the Commonwealth’s needs-based help with rent, food, fuel and medical costs, are applied for through Westfield Veterans’ Services: Julie Barnes, Director. Their amounts are set by the Commonwealth and are the same in every city and town; the statewide chapter 115 entry describes them.