Director: 100% disabled veterans property tax exemption becomes mandatory, effective Oct. 1, 2026

The director of the Board of Real Property Tax Services told the Greene County Legislature that a recently signed state bill changing the 100% disabled veterans property tax exemption includes chapter amendments that convert the measure from a local option to a mandatory exemption and delay its effective date.

"The governor felt that this was a duplication of an already existing disability exemption... so it is no longer going to be a local option. It's a mandatory exemption," the director said, adding that the effective date in the chapter amendments was changed from Jan. 2, 2026, to Oct. 1, 2026, meaning assessment rolls prepared after Oct. 1 will reflect the change.

The director said the amendments clarified language so the exemption applies to the residential portion of property (correcting a drafting error where the bill used the word 'law' instead of 'land'), and he warned that several qualification details remain ambiguous. He cited questions about whether eligibility requires a Total Disability based on Individual Unemployability (TDIU) designation or eligibility for a specific VA housing grant, and said he will meet with state officials and the New York State Assessors Association to seek legal clarification.

The director estimated that, depending on how "pecuniary assistance" and TDIU are interpreted, the number of eligible property owners could fall significantly from his earlier expectations. He urged members to withhold local implementation action until state legal guidance arrives and noted associations representing county assessors have asked for clarity.