For some vets, property taxes could be a thing of the past

GREENE COUNTY―For the more than 100 Greene County veterans with the most severe service-connected disabilities, a recently signed state law could soon mean an end to property taxes.

Partial property tax breaks are nothing new for many veterans across New York, but now those who are deemed permanently and totally disabled by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) will be eligible for a 100% exemption.

“This actually started back around January when [state legislators] tried passing a botched exemption once before and the language was so exclusive that almost no veteran that I've ever seen in the seven years of doing this would ever be entitled to receive it,” said Tyler Lynch, director of the Greene County Veterans Service Agency, during a recent meeting of county lawmakers.

“Recently, they fixed some of the language and have passed a law where a veteran who is receiving that one hundred percent permanent and total status from the VA will be exempt from all property taxes,” Lynch said.

Final legislation was ultimately included as part of the latest state budget.

The exemption, set to take effect with the 2027 assessment rolls, would apply to the qualifying veteran’s primary residence but must first be adopted by counties, local governments and school districts.

“It will be a local option, so towns will have to opt into this,” said Lynch. “So, there may be some advocating on our parts for it.”

When originally proposed, the exemption was mandated for local taxing jurisdictions, explained Greene County Administrator Shaun Groden.  

“But with the state budget adoption, it was converted to an ‘opt in’ exemption,” Groden said.

In Greene County, the impact on other taxpayers would be minimal, noted Raymond Ward, director of Greene County Real Property Tax Service.

“It's less than a dollar to the average taxpayer, average single-family homeowner in Greene County,” he told county legislators during a recent meeting.

“But it starts to get bigger and bigger as we get out to school districts and start adding in special districts because, you’ve got to remember, it's a hundred percent exemption for everything. So, it's wholly exempt,” Ward said.

As of now, there are approximately 114 veterans in all of Greene County who could be eligible for the exemption, Lynch said.

According to data compiled by Ward and sent out to local officials, the 114 veterans are those currently receiving the Alternate Veterans Exemption and also have a 100% disability rating.

“At this time, we do not know whether all of these veterans have also been or will be classified as permanently and totally disabled by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs,” Ward noted, adding that his tax impact analysis has assumes that all 114 would be eligible for the new exemption.

Based on that analysis, $417,736 in total tax revenue would be reallocated to other taxpayers. That includes $63,009 in county taxes, $62,400 in town taxes, $10,917 in village taxes, $38,082 in special district taxes, and $243,328 in school taxes.

The towns with the most potentially qualifying veterans include Catskill with 21, Cairo with 19, Greenville with 14, and New Baltimore with 16.

“So, there’s really not that many,” Lynch said. “But it's definitely a big help for some of these veterans who are completely disabled and could use the extra assistance.”