Michigan Property Tax Exemption for Disabled Veterans

If you are a Michigan disabled veteran, first, thank you for your service. You should also be aware that if you own Michigan real estate that you use as your homestead, you may qualify for an exemption from real estate taxes collected under Michigan’s General Property Tax Act.  Qualification for this exemption requires that you precisely satisfy the following requirements:

  1. You must be a “disabled veteran”. For the purposes of the exemption statute (Michigan Compiled Laws 211.7b), this means that you must be a Michigan resident discharged from the United States armed forces under honorable conditions who meets one (1) of the following criteria:
    1. You must have been determined by the US Department of Veterans Affairs to be permanently and totally disabled as a result of military service and entitled to veterans’ benefits at the 100% rate;
    2. You must have a certificate from the US Department of Veterans Affairs, or its successor, certifying that you are receiving financial assistance due to disability for specially adapted housing, or
    3. You have been rated by the US Department of Veterans Affairs as individually unemployable.
  2. You can only apply for real estate you own and use as your homestead. A “homestead” within the meaning of the exemption statute is the primary residence of a disabled Michigan veteran or the primary residence of a disabled Michigan veteran’s unremarried surviving spouse. The residence must be owned by the veteran or the veteran’s unremarried surviving spouse and must be the place where the veteran or the unremarried surviving spouse always intends to return. The veteran must have filed a Michigan income tax return claiming resident status or, if the veteran is a new resident who has not yet been required to file a Michigan income tax return, the veteran must intend to file a return claiming Michigan resident status.

 

To apply for the exemption, you, as the veteran, or your unremarried surviving spouse or legal designee must annually file an affidavit (Form 5107, Affidavit for Disabled Veterans Exemption https://www.michigan.gov/documents/treasury/5107STCAffidavit_441749_7.pdf) and associated supporting evidence with your local assessor.  When possible, this submission should be made in January or February of each year to avoid the issuance of a tax billing statement and to give you time to address an incomplete exemption which may jeopardize your exemption for the year.  The final date for granting the Disabled Veterans Exemption for a given assessment year is the date that the December Board of Review is held for that year.

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