Homestead Exemption for owner-occupied Class II property
  

An Exemption from real estate taxes shall be allowed for the first $20,000 of assessed value.  All new applicants must file between July 1st and December 1st of each year.  Applicant’s eligibility will be approved upon meeting the following requirements: 

1.                  The applicant must be 65 years of age or older by July 1st of the relevant tax year.  (For example, if you will turn 65 between July 1st, 2006 and June 30th, 2007, you may come to the office between July 1st, 2006 and Dec. 1st, 2006 to apply for Exemption on the 2007 tax year.)  

2.                  To qualify for Exemption based on disability, applicant must have a doctor’s signature (on a form provided by the Assessor’s Office) to state applicant is permanently and totally disabled.

3.                  Applicant must be an owner and occupant of the property.

4.                  Applicant must have been a resident of West Virginia for two consecutive years preceding the start (July 1st) of the relevant tax year.

5.                  Applicants must sign oath stating that they do not receive a similar exemption in another state or county.

6.                  Once an application has been made for Homestead, the exemption will automatically roll over each and every year, provided the home remains their residence.  The only reason an applicant would need to reapply would be if he or she should move from that residence to another within the County.

7.                   If an applicant owns and occupies a mobile home, he or she may qualify for the Exemption on the mobile home even if it is personal property (someone else owns the land on which it sits).

8.                  The Constitution of West Virginia, Article 10, Section 1B, Subsection C states that only one exemption shall be allowed per married couple, regardless of the number of owners residing therein, or regardless of the number of residences owned.