Senate Bill 228 would expand North Carolina’s disabled veteran property tax homestead exclusion by changing the way the exclusion is calculated. Under current law, the first $45,000 of appraised value of a qualifying primary residence is excluded from taxation. This bill replaces that flat-dollar exclusion for disabled veterans with an exclusion equal to the veteran’s disability rating percentage multiplied by the appraised value of the home. For example, a veteran with a 70% disability rating would receive a 70% exclusion of the home’s appraised value, subject to the bill’s eligibility rules.
The bill also revises related rules for surviving spouses and co-owned property. A surviving spouse of a disabled veteran could receive the greater of the exclusion amount the veteran had at death or the existing $45,000 exclusion, if the veteran’s death was service-connected and other eligibility requirements are met. The bill keeps the general structure of the homestead exclusion program, including application deadlines and documentation requirements, but updates the definitions and calculation method to align tax relief more closely with federal disability determinations.
Impact
This bill would amend G.S. 105-277.1C, North Carolina’s disabled veteran property tax homestead exclusion statute, and would affect county property tax administration by changing how assessors calculate the exclusion for qualifying disabled veterans and certain surviving spouses. It would shift the benefit from a fixed-dollar exclusion to a percentage-based exclusion tied to the veteran’s VA disability rating, which could increase or decrease the tax benefit depending on the home’s value and the veteran’s rating. The bill is effective for taxes imposed for taxable years beginning on or after July 1, 2025.
Sentiment
The available context suggests generally favorable sentiment toward the bill, as reflected in its title and subject matter: it is framed as tax relief for disabled veterans, a constituency that typically receives broad bipartisan support. No committee transcripts or recorded votes were provided, so there is no direct evidence of debate, amendments, or opposition in the materials supplied. Based on the text alone, the bill appears designed to expand and modernize an existing benefit rather than create a new program.
Contention
The main policy issue raised by the bill is the change from a predictable flat-dollar exclusion to a disability-rating-based formula. Supporters would likely view this as a more equitable way to match tax relief to the severity of a veteran’s service-connected disability, while critics could argue it makes the benefit less uniform and potentially more complex to administer. Another possible point of concern is the interaction with other property tax relief programs, since the statute continues to bar recipients from receiving multiple forms of relief at once, and the bill preserves detailed eligibility and documentation requirements for veterans, surviving spouses, and co-owners.