Veterans

Veterans (Clause 22) Application

Massachusetts General Law Chapter 59 Section 5 Clauses 22, 22A, 22B, 22C, 22D and 22E provide exemptions to certain veterans (and their spouses or surviving spouses) who meet the following requirements:

1. Residency Requirements - A veteran must have been a Massachusetts domiciliary for at least 6 months prior to entering the service OR have lived in Massachusetts for not less than 5 years prior to receiving this exemption. The veteran, or if deceased, the veteran's surviving spouse or parent must occupy the property as his or her domicile on July 1 of the tax year.
2. Ownership- A qualifying applicant must possess a sufficient ownership interest in the domicile as of July 1 of the tax year. This ownership requirement is satisfied if the person's ownership interest is worth at least an amount ranging from $2,000 to $10,000 depending on the exemption. The person may own this solely, as a joint tenant or as a tenant in common. The holder of a life estate satisfies the ownership requirement. If the domicile is held in a trust, a person can only satisfy the ownership interest if he or she:
   1. Is a trustee or co-trustee and
   2. Possesses a sufficient beneficial interest in the domicle through that trust.
3. Eligibility Requirements - An applicant for an exemption must provide to the assessors whatever information is reasonably required to establish eligibility. This information may include, but not be limited to the Certification of a service connected disability from the Veterans Administration or the branch of service from which separated and evidence of domicile and occupancy and
   1. Clause 22 - $400
      1. Veterans with a service connected disability of 10% or more as determined by the Veterans Administration or the branch of service from which separated.
      2. Veterans who have been awarded the Purple Heart.
      3. Gold Star mothers and fathers.
      4. Spouses (where the domicile is owned by the veteran's spouse) and surviving spouses, who do not remarry, of veterans entitled to exemption.
      5. Surviving spouses of World War I veterans so long as they remain unmarried and so long as their whole worth, less any mortgage on the property, does not exceed $20,000.
   2. Clause 22A - $750
      1. Suffered in the line of duty the loss or permanent loss of use of one foot or one hand or one eye
      2. Received the Congressional Medal of Honor, Distinguished Service Cross, Navy Cross, or Air Force Cross and their spouses or surviving spouses.
   3. Clause 22B - $1,250 - This exemption is available to veterans (and their spouses) who suffered in the line of duty the loss or permanent loss of feet or hands or eyes and their spouses or surviving spouses.
   4. Clause 22C - $1,500 - This exemption is available to veterans (and their spouses) who suffered total disability in the line of duty and who received assistance in acquiring "specially adapted housing" which they own and occupy as their domicile and their spouses or surviving spouses.
   5. Clause 22D - Full, with a cap of $2,500 after 5 years. Surviving spouses of soldiers, sailors and members of the National Guard whose death was the direct result of injury or disease in a combat zone on or after September 11, 2001. The surviving spouse must be domiciled in Massachusetts for 5 consecutive years before applying for the exemption, or the servicemember had to have been domiciled in Massachusetts at least 6 months before entering the service. The exemption ends upon the spouse's death or remarriage.
   6. Clause 22E - $1,000 - This exemption is available to veterans who suffered total disability in the line of duty or their spouse if title to the veteran's domicile is held in the spouse's name and their spouses or surviving spouses.

Paraplegic - Total Exemption - This exemption is available to veterans and the surviving spouses who do not remarry of such veterans who are certified by the Veterans Administration as paraplegic.

Cl. 22A,22B,22C,22E - If the subject property is greater than a single-family house, only that fraction of the exemption that corresponds to the part occupied by the veteran, or if deceased, the surviving spouse is allowed.

Definition of Massachusetts Veteran 

M.G.L. c. 4, sec. 7, cl. 43rd as amended by the Acts of 2004

Revised November 9th, 2004.

Note: Naval and Marine DD214 must indicate Expeditionary Medal. All DD214s must specify campaign: Lebanon, Granada, or Panama.

• For Guard Members to qualify they must have 180 days and have been activated under Title 10 of the U.S. Code -or - Members who were activated under Title 10 or Title 32 of the U.S. Code or Massachusetts General Laws, chapter 33, sections 38, 40, and 41 must have 90 days, at least one of which was during wartime, per the above chart.
• For Reservists to qualify, they must have been called to regular active duty, at which point their eligibility can be determined by the above chart.
• Training Duty Exception: Active duty service in the armed forces shall not include active duty for training in the Army or Air National Guard or active duty for training as a Reservist in the Armed Forces of the United States.
• Minimum Service Exception (for Death or Disability): It is not necessary that an applicant have completed the minimum service for wartime or peacetime campaign if he/she served some time in the campaign and was awarded the Purple Heart, or suffered a service-connected disability per the Discharge Certificate, or died in the service under honorable conditions.