TRENTON– Legislation sponsored by Senator Troy Singleton to provide a gross income tax credit to certain totally and permanently disabled veterans for rent constituting property taxes has passed the Senate Military and Veterans’ Affairs Committee.
“We currently provide property tax relief to veterans who own their home and have been declared 100% disabled by the Department of Veterans Affairs,” said Senator Troy Singleton (D-Burlington). “As the law currently stands, permanently disabled veterans can only receive the tax relief if they own their home, and those who rent their home do not receive tax relief. This bill aims to change that by giving permanently disabled veterans, who are not homeowners but who contribute to property taxes through their rent, the same opportunity to receive property tax relief.”
S-73 would provide that a credit against the tax in an amount equal to rent constituting property taxes be paid by a disabled veteran for occupancy during the taxable year of a residential rental property. The bill would require that a rental property that the disabled veteran occupies is a principal residence.
A “disabled veteran” would be defined as a resident of the State who have been honorably discharged or released under honorable circumstances from active service in any branch of the United States Armed Forces and who has been declared by the federal Department of Veterans Affairs, to have a service-connected disability or 100 percent permanent disability.
The bill would also provide that surviving spouses of disabled veterans, who at the time of death was entitled to the credit, would be entitled to the same credit as the deceased had.
The bill has passed the committee by a vote of 5-0 and will next head to the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee for further consideration.