The three property tax exemptions a veteran has

It is a reduction in what you pay CRIM for your house, and it comes in layers. The base layer belongs to any veteran simply for being one, on their main residence. On top of that base, the disabled veteran can have the dwelling totally exempt, subject to a lot-size limit. And separately there is the partial exemption for a service-related disability of fifty per cent or more, which the act expressly says is granted in addition to the regular one, not instead of it. The word governing all three is residence: the exemption exists because that is the house where you or your immediate family live, and the act says it ceases as soon as the property stops being used as such — though the right is recoverable if you rebuild on the same property or acquire another and establish your home there.

For the general exemption: being a veteran, or the surviving spouse of one, and that the dwelling was built or acquired in good faith as the main residence. The act defines dwelling as the building in which the veteran or surviving spouse has established their domicile and that of their immediate family, plus the lot on which it sits; and clarifies that if the building has more than one dwelling, apartment or place of residence, the term covers only the part the veteran actually occupies. For the total exemption: being a disabled veteran, and that the house — built, acquired or remodelled, or to be built, acquired or remodelled in future — and the lot do not exceed one thousand square metres in an urban zone or one cuerda in a rural zone, and that it is the residence of the veteran or their immediate family. For the partial exemption: receiving disability compensation of fifty per cent or more from the Veterans Administration; that the house was the residence of the veteran, or of the veteran and their immediate family, as of 1 January of the taxable year; and the disability rating is taken as established as of 1 January of each year by the Department of Veterans Affairs through a written certification.

• For the general exemption: that the dwelling be the main residence, built or acquired in good faith by the veteran or surviving spouse.Verified against the official source
• For the disabled veteran’s total exemption: that the house and lot not exceed one thousand square metres in an urban zone or one cuerda in a rural zone, and that it be the residence of the veteran or their immediate family.Verified against the official source
• For the partial exemption: receiving disability compensation of fifty per cent or more from the Veterans Administration, and that the house was your residence as of 1 January of the taxable year.Verified against the official source
• That the disability rating be certified in writing by the Department of Veterans Affairs as established on 1 January of the year.Verified against the official source

• The original or a photocopy of your discharge certificate from the branch of the Armed Forces where you served. It need not be presented each year if you leave a photocopy in the Collector’s files.
• A written certification from an official of the Department of Veterans Affairs attesting to your disability rating as of the 1 January immediately preceding the taxable year for which you request the exemption.
• A sworn statement that the property was being used as the residence of the veteran or their immediate family on 1 January of the taxable year.

1. 1

   Step 1: Identify which of the three exemptions is yours

   If you are a veteran or the surviving spouse of one and the house is your main residence, the general exemption is yours. If you are a disabled veteran, the total exemption on the dwelling and lot within the size limit is yours as well. And if you receive disability compensation of fifty per cent or more from the Veterans Administration, the partial exemption is also yours, which the act expressly says is granted in addition to the regular exemption. They are not alternatives to choose between: the act adds them.

2. 2

   Step 2: Apply to CRIM, and ask about retroactivity

   The act says applications for the general exemption are made in the manner determined by the Municipal Revenue Collection Center, and adds a detail worth money: once approved, their effect is retroactive for up to a maximum of three years, all subject to Act No. 81 of 30 August 1991, the Autonomous Municipalities Act. If you have been paying for years without having applied, ask expressly about that retroactivity when you file.

3. 3

   Step 3: The partial exemption is claimed each year, when paying

   This is the part people lose by not knowing it. The act says the partial exemption shall be claimed by the interested party each year at the time of paying taxes, presenting three documents to the Internal Revenue Collector: the original or a photocopy of the discharge certificate; a written certification from an official of the Department of Veterans Affairs with the disability rating as of the 1 January preceding the taxable year; and a sworn statement that the property was used as the residence of the veteran or their immediate family on 1 January of that year. It is not automatic: if you do not claim it that year, you do not have it that year.

4. 4

   Step 4: If your disability is permanent, you apply only once

   The act carries two reliefs that save an annual errand. First: you need not present the original or photocopy of the discharge certificate each year, provided you leave a photocopy in the Collector’s files. Second, and this is the big one: where the disability rating has been established as permanent, the veteran is not bound to present evidence of the rating annually — it suffices to file with the Collector a certification that the rating was established as permanent — and neither must they file an annual exemption application: filing it the first time they request it is enough.

5. 5

   Step 5: If you move, the exemption ceases, but it is recoverable

   The act is clear in both directions. The exemption granted to a disabled veteran ceases when the property is no longer used as their dwelling or their immediate family’s. But the right to the exemption is recoverable once they rebuild their home on the previously exempt property, or when they acquire another property and establish their home there. The same applies to the partial exemption: it ceases as soon as the property stops being used as a residence. Tell CRIM when you move rather than waiting for it to be discovered.

All three exemptions are administered by the Municipal Revenue Collection Center (CRIM), and the act empowers its Executive Director to issue the necessary regulations, which once approved by the Governor have force of law. The partial exemption is claimed before the Internal Revenue Collector at the time of paying taxes. The official text of Act 203-2007 and its translation are in SUTRA.

• Believing there is a single veteran exemption: the act carries three and the partial stacks on the regular.
• Not claiming the partial exemption when paying: the act says it is claimed each year.
• Filing evidence of the disability rating every year when the disability has already been established as permanent.
• Presenting the discharge certificate each year without leaving a photocopy in the Collector’s files.
• Not asking about the up-to-three-years retroactivity when applying for the general exemption.
• Keeping the exemption after moving: it ceases when the property stops being your residence.
• Believing losing the exemption on moving is final: it is recoverable if you rebuild or acquire another dwelling.
• Relying on the 2007 amounts without confirming them with CRIM.

These are the government pages this guide is based on.

• Oficina del Procurador del Veterano Puertorriqueño

  Procurador del Veterano

  sutra.oslpr.org

• SUTRA record of Act 203-2007

  Oficina de Servicios Legislativos

  sutra.oslpr.org