Many disabled veterans eligible for tax exemptions

BESSEMER — About 72 disabled veterans in Gogebic County are newly eligible for property tax exemptions on their homesteads, John Frello, service officer for the Gogebic County Council of Veterans Affairs said.

The veterans must appear before their municipality’s board of review in December to apply the new exemption to the 2013 tax year.

Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder signed Senate Bill 352 on Nov. 12, amending the property tax act to include permanently and totally disabled veterans, as well as individually unemployable veterans. The exemption previously applied only to disabled veterans receiving assistance for specially adapted housing.

Spouses of deceased qualifying veterans are also eligible, Frello said, as long as they have not remarried.

If veterans miss their December board of review date, there is no recourse, Frello said.

Ironwood’s board of review has been set for Dec. 10 and Bessemer’s is tentatively slated for Dec. 16, Frello said.

Bessemer Township, Ironwood Township, Erwin Township, Marenisco Township, and Wakefield Township are all scheduled for Dec. 10, and Watersmeet Township is set for Dec. 12.

Veterans must file affidavits showing the facts required by the new law, along with a description of the property, Frello said. The forms are available at city or township clerk offices, and must be filed there, as well. The affidavits must be notarized.

Veterans or surviving spouses must meet with Frello to obtain a certificate of eligibility to show they meet disability requirements. Frello said veterans should bring any information they have to his office demonstrating their qualification.

The process must be repeated each year, Frello said. For 2014, he said veterans should appear before their municipalities’ boards of review in March, so that their summer property taxes are zeroed out.

For more information, contact Frello at 667-1110.