Disabled Veteran Property Tax Exemption in West Virginia (2026)

Last reviewed August 26, 2026. Every figure, form and deadline on this page is re-checked against the state’s own government sources once a quarter, and the date above is updated when we do it.

West Virginia’s disabled veteran property tax benefit does not lower your tax bill the way most states’ exemptions do. It is the Disabled Veteran Real Property Tax Credit, a dollar-for-dollar refund of the real property taxes you already paid on your homestead, claimed as a credit on your West Virginia personal income tax return using form DV-1. You need a 90 to 100 percent permanent and total disability rating from the VA. There is no dollar cap and no income limit.

People searching for a West Virginia “property tax exemption” often expect a lower county tax bill, the way Ohio’s or Texas’s programs work. West Virginia’s version does not do that. You still pay your full county property tax bill on time, then get it back through your state income tax filing. I explain why that distinction matters on a purchase further down.

How much is the West Virginia credit worth?

Program	What it does	Amount
Disabled Veteran Real Property Tax Credit (DV-1)	Income tax credit, refunds tax already paid	100% of real property tax paid on the homestead, no cap
Homestead exemption (W. Va. Code 11-6B-3), 65+ or permanently and totally disabled	Reduces assessed value before the bill is calculated	$20,000 of assessed value

These are two different mechanisms and you should not confuse them. The homestead exemption changes what the county bills you in the first place. The Disabled Veteran Real Property Tax Credit changes nothing about the bill; it hands the money back through your state income tax return after you have already paid it in full.

The credit has no cap and no income test. If your annual property tax bill on your homestead is $2,400, your credit is $2,400. If it’s $600, your credit is $600. West Virginia Tax Division publication TSD-455 states the credit “is only available for the actual tax paid,” so the number is whatever your county actually collected from you that year, not a fixed dollar figure like Ohio’s or a percentage range like some other states use.

You cannot stack this with two other credits

West Virginia also runs a Senior Citizen Tax Credit (SCTC) and a Homestead Excess Property Tax Credit (HEPTC). Form DV-1 itself carries a stop instruction: if you claim the Disabled Veteran Real Property Tax Credit, you cannot also take the SCTC or HEPTC in the same year. If you claimed either of those credits already, the property tax you paid that year is not creditable under DV-1. Pick one credit; the disabled veteran credit takes precedence when you qualify for it.

Who qualifies in West Virginia?

To claim West Virginia’s Disabled Veteran Real Property Tax Credit you need all of these:

• Honorable discharge from any branch of the U.S. Armed Forces.
• A disability rating of 90 to 100 percent, permanent and total, due solely to service-connected disabilities, as determined by the Department of Veterans Affairs. Form DV-1 uses that exact language: “at least ninety percent totally and permanently disabled due solely to service-connected disabilities.”
• You must own and occupy the property as your homestead. The credit only applies to a residential homestead used or occupied exclusively for residential purposes for at least six months.
• Your property taxes must be paid timely: the first half by October 1 and the second half by April 1. If you pay late, TSD-455 says the credit is not available for that payment.

West Virginia has no partial tier below 90 percent for this credit. A veteran rated 70 or 80 percent does not qualify here, though a veteran of any disability level may still separately qualify for the homestead exemption on other grounds, or for the Senior Citizen Tax Credit at 65 or older, if income limits are met.

Surviving spouses

An unremarried widow or widower of a veteran who previously claimed this credit can continue to claim it, as long as they have not remarried, the property has not been sold, and its tax classification has not changed. Form DV-1 asks these three questions directly on the return each year.

The separate $20,000 homestead exemption

West Virginia also runs a general homestead exemption under W. Va. Code 11-6B-3 for any owner who is 65 or older, or who is certified as permanently and totally disabled, regardless of veteran status. It shields the first $20,000 of assessed value from the county’s ad valorem tax. A veteran rated permanently and totally disabled can qualify for this exemption on the disability basis, separately from the DV-1 credit, and file it directly with the county assessor.

Can the credit be used before closing?

In West Virginia, no, on both of the state’s programs. Neither one gives a lender anything to apply at or before closing.

The Disabled Veteran Real Property Tax Credit is structured backward from an exemption. You have to pay the full property tax bill first, then claim the credit on your state income tax return for that tax year. There is no reduced bill for an underwriter to project, because the county never bills you less in the first place. The benefit arrives as an income tax credit, months after closing, and it never touches your escrow account.

The separate $20,000 homestead exemption does reduce the assessed value the bill is based on, but it attaches based on who owns and occupies the home on July 1. Buy in, say, March 2026 and you own the home on July 1, 2026, so the exemption would apply to tax year 2026. Buy in August 2026 and you missed that year’s July 1 date, so the earliest it can apply is tax year 2027. Either way, the timing depends on your closing date relative to July 1, not on anything a lender can approve in advance.

Ask the lender question anyway, because it is worth asking. A handful of states do force the taxing authority to give a qualifying veteran a written determination before they own the home, and lenders differ widely on how they treat any veteran tax benefit in a file. West Virginia’s program does not lower the assessed value, so there is no reduced bill to project here, but the escrow and documentation questions below still decide how your file gets built.

Where an escrow waiver fits

Because this benefit never lowers the bill your servicer pays, an escrow waiver does not solve the same problem it solves in a state with a true assessed-value exemption. There is no shrinking future bill to work around. VA does not require escrows, so waiving one is a lender and investor decision, and it can still be worth asking about on a tight file. Just understand the tradeoff: with no escrow account, you pay the taxing authority directly and on time yourself, and the credit or reimbursement still arrives later, separately, on the state’s own schedule.

One more VA rule to know, because it runs the other way. On estimating taxes, Chapter 4 says “If taxes are expected to increase, use the increased amount.” There is no matching VA instruction that lets an underwriter write down your taxes, which is why the reduction is always a lender option and never a VA entitlement. The Chapter 4 text is here if you want to read it.

Plan for the gap between closing and approval

These programs run on a yearly cycle, and the taxing authority bills on its own calendar. You are the owner from the day you close, so those bills are yours, in full, including any portion attributable to the period the prior owner held the home. The credit or reimbursement shows up afterward, sometimes a year later, and it does not reach back to pay a bill you let go delinquent. One lender’s VA guide makes the responsibility explicit and requires a signed letter of explanation from the veteran borrower stating they are solely responsible for the property taxes owed for the prior owner. Keep the money set aside and pay the bill when it comes.

How to apply in West Virginia, step by step

1. Pay your county property tax bill in full and on time. First half by October 1, second half by April 1. Keep your receipts. TSD-455 is explicit that late payments are not creditable.
2. Get form DV-1, Disabled Veteran Real Property Tax Credit, from the West Virginia Tax Division (PDF download). Instructions are published separately as a DV-1 instructions sheet (PDF download).
3. Attach your VA disability rating letter showing the 90 to 100 percent permanent and total rating, and a copy of your property tax receipt(s) for the year.
4. File DV-1 with your West Virginia personal income tax return, form IT-140. Complete Part II of DV-1 to total the tax you paid, then carry that Total Tax Paid figure to IT-140, Line 21(B). The current-year IT-140 forms and instructions (PDF download) are on the Tax Division site.
5. For the separate $20,000 homestead exemption, apply with your county assessor’s office. Find the assessor for your county through the West Virginia Tax Division’s county assessor directory, which lists the assessor, mailing address and phone number for every county.

DV-1 is filed every year with your income tax return, on the West Virginia Personal Income Tax filing schedule. There is no separate deadline earlier than your regular WV income tax filing deadline.

Can you get a refund of prior year taxes?

Because this benefit is delivered through your annual income tax return rather than a bill reduction, there is no separate “prior year refund” process the way a homestead exemption program has one. Your DV-1 credit each year covers the property tax you paid in that same tax year, reported on that year’s IT-140.

If you were eligible in a prior year and did not claim the credit, the fix is an amended West Virginia income tax return (IT-140 with an amended box checked) for that year, attaching a DV-1 for that year with your rating letter and tax receipts. West Virginia’s general statute of limitations for amending a return and claiming a refund is the standard state rule for income tax refund claims; confirm the current window with the Tax Division or a tax preparer before you file, since it is a general income-tax rule and not specific to this credit.

If you are the unremarried surviving spouse of a veteran who claimed the credit before, you continue claiming it going forward on the same DV-1 process, you do not need to reapply from scratch.

Other West Virginia programs for disabled veterans

The DV-1 credit is the headline benefit, but West Virginia has other veteran-specific programs worth knowing about.

• Homestead exemption, 65+ or permanently and totally disabled (state/county). The separate $20,000 assessed-value exemption under W. Va. Code 11-6B-3, described above, filed with your county assessor.
• Senior Citizen Tax Credit and Homestead Excess Property Tax Credit (state). Alternative property tax relief programs for owners 65 or older or otherwise eligible. You cannot combine either with the Disabled Veteran Real Property Tax Credit in the same year, per the DV-1 instructions.
• WV Department of Veterans Assistance (state). Runs veteran service officers in every county who help file federal VA disability and pension claims at no cost, plus veteran cemeteries and skilled nursing facilities. Start at West Virginia Department of Veterans Assistance, Benefits.
• Military retirement pay (state income tax). West Virginia fully excludes military retirement pay from state income tax. If retirement income is part of your household’s income picture, that’s worth factoring in separately from this property tax credit.

West Virginia disabled veteran property tax FAQs

Does West Virginia have a property tax exemption for disabled veterans?

Not the way most states run it. West Virginia has the Disabled Veteran Real Property Tax Credit, which refunds the property tax you already paid as a credit against your West Virginia personal income tax. Your county tax bill itself is not reduced. You pay the full bill, then claim the credit on form DV-1 with your IT-140.

What VA rating do you need in West Virginia?

At least 90 percent, and it has to be permanent and total, as determined by the Department of Veterans Affairs. West Virginia does not have a lower tier under this credit. Below 90 percent, this specific credit is not available to you.

How much is the credit worth?

Whatever real property tax you actually paid on your homestead for the year, in full. There is no dollar cap and no income test. A veteran who paid $1,800 in property tax gets an $1,800 credit.

Can I use this and the homestead exemption too?

West Virginia’s separate $20,000 homestead exemption for owners 65 or older or permanently and totally disabled is a different program administered by your county assessor, and a disabled veteran can also qualify for it on the disability basis. You cannot, however, combine the Disabled Veteran Real Property Tax Credit with the Senior Citizen Tax Credit or the Homestead Excess Property Tax Credit in the same year. The state tax return blocks that combination.

Can this be used before or at closing on a home you’re buying?

No, on two counts. It’s a tax-year-end income tax credit you claim after you have already paid the property tax, so there is nothing for a lender to apply at closing. And separately, the $20,000 homestead exemption attaches based on ownership and occupancy on July 1, so a home bought this year generally does not get it until the following tax year.

Does this reduce my property tax bill?

No, and that is the biggest misconception about this benefit. It is a state income tax credit, not a reduction to the property tax bill, so the full, non-exempt amount is still owed to the county. The benefit shows up once a year on your West Virginia tax return.

Can a surviving spouse claim it?

Yes. The unremarried widow or widower of a veteran who claimed the credit in a prior year can continue claiming it, as long as the homestead has not been sold and its classification has not changed, per the state’s own DV-1 instructions.

Where to go next

• Disabled Veteran Property Tax Exemption Guide, every state’s exemption, form and deadline in one directory
• The complete guide to VA home loans
• Property tax discounts for veterans on VA disability, the national overview
• Bad credit VA loans in West Virginia
• Funding Fee Waivers and Refunds Guide, the fee is waived outright at a 10 percent rating or higher, and can be refunded if you already paid it
• West Virginia Tax Division, directory of county assessors