If Virginia's proposed disabled-veterans tax exemption became law, would it cover Hampton's bill due June 5, 2011?

Plain-English summary

Hampton's commissioner of the revenue asked about two proposed bills, House Bill 1645 and Senate Bill 987. They would exempt real property occupied as a principal residence by a veteran with a 100 percent service-connected, permanent, and total disability. Each proposal contained an emergency enactment clause, so it would take effect on passage, but also limited the exemption to "tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2011."

Hampton's tax year began on July 1. Its tax year then in progress began July 1, 2010, and the payment for its second half was due June 5, 2011. The commissioner asked whether the proposed exemption, if enacted, would cover that payment.

The Attorney General answered no. The proposal used the start of the tax year, not the due date of an installment, to determine eligibility. The June 2011 payment belonged to the tax year that began in July 2010. Two payments during that year did not create two separate tax years. Were either bill to become law, the exemption would not cover payments due for the tax year that began July 1, 2010.

The emergency clause and tax-year provision address different questions. If the bill were approved by the General Assembly and Governor, it would become effective immediately, but its exemption would still apply only to tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2011. The opinion addresses the proposals as proposals; it does not report that either bill had passed.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2011. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.

Anyone analyzing a current disabled-veterans property tax exemption should check the law now in force and the locality's tax-year calendar.

Common questions

Did the proposed exemption cover Hampton's June 5, 2011 tax payment?
No, were either bill to become law. That payment was for the second half of the tax year beginning July 1, 2010. The proposed exemption applied only to tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2011.

Would an emergency enactment clause change that answer?
No. It would make an enacted bill effective upon approval by the General Assembly and Governor. It would not replace the bill's separate limit on which tax years qualified for the exemption.

Why did the June 2011 due date not control?
Hampton made two payments during a single tax year. The opinion says splitting payment into two installments did not change when the tax year began.

Does the opinion say the General Assembly passed the bills?
No. The response is conditional: "were it to become law." The opinion analyzes what the proposed language would mean if enacted.

What about a locality whose tax year began on January 1, 2011?
The proposed text referred to tax years beginning on or after that date. The opinion applies it to Hampton's July 2010 tax year and does not decide a particular bill from another locality.

Background and statutory framework

House Bill 1645 and Senate Bill 987 proposed an exemption for qualifying disabled veterans' principal residences. The proposed text said it would apply "for tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2011." An emergency enactment clause would make an approved bill law from passage.

The opinion treats the start date of the tax year as controlling. Hampton's tax year began July 1, 2010, before the proposed threshold. The second-half payment due June 5, 2011 remained a payment for that same tax year, so the proposed exemption would not apply to it.

Citations

• Va. Code § 2.2-505
• House Bill 1645
• Senate Bill 987

Source

• Landing page: https://www.oag.state.va.us/annual-reports-opinions/official-opinions
• Original PDF: https://www.oag.state.va.us/files/Opinions/2011/11-017-Mugler.pdf

Original opinion text

COMMONWEALTH of VIRGINIA
Office of the Attorney General
Kenneth T. Cuccinelli, II
Attorney General

March 2, 2011

900 East Main Street
Richmond, Virginia 23219
804-786-2071
FAX 804-786-1991
Virginia Relay Services
800-828-1120
7-1-1

The Honorable Ross A. Mugler
Commissioner of the Revenue
City of Hampton
Post Office Box 636
Hampton, Virginia 23669

Dear Commissioner Mugler:

I am responding to your request for an official advisory opinion in accordance with § 2.2-505 of the Code of Virginia.

Issues Presented

You inquire whether two bills exempting property for disabled veterans "for tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2011," each containing an emergency enactment clause, would apply to the tax bill due in your locality on June 5, 2011, and which tax bill is assessed for the second half of the tax year that began on July 1, 2010.

Response

It is my opinion that, were it to become law, the exemption at issue would not apply to payments due for the tax year that began on July 1, 2010, including payments due for the second half of the tax year.

Background

House Bill 1645 and Senate Bill 987 would amend the Code of Virginia to exempt from taxation the real property of a veteran who has "a 100 percent service-connected, permanent, and total disability, and who occupies the real property as his principal place of residence." The bills provide that the exemption would apply "for tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2011." The proposed legislation contains an emergency enactment clause, meaning that the proposal would become law from the time of its passage.

Applicable Law and Discussion

Although the proposed legislation would go into effect immediately upon approval by the General Assembly and the Governor due to its emergency enactment clause, by its plain language the law would apply only to "tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2011." The proposed legislation would not apply to a tax year that began before January 1, 2011. You relate that the tax year for the City of Hampton begins on July 1. Therefore, the current tax year began on July 1, 2010, and the proposals by their plain terms would not apply until the following tax year, i.e. a tax year that began "on or after January 1, 2011." The fact that there are two payments made during the course of the tax year does not alter the fact that the tax year began before January 1, 2011. Therefore, I conclude that the second half of the bill for real property of disabled veterans that will come due on June 5, 2011 would not be subject to the exemption until the following tax year.

Conclusion

Accordingly, it is my opinion that, were it to become law, the exemption at issue would not apply to payments due for the tax year that began on July 1, 2010, including payments due for the second half of the tax year.

With kindest regards, I am

Very truly yours,

Kenneth T. Cuccinelli, II
Attorney General