Veterans exemptions start adding up for James City and York counties.

It's May 14. Disabled veterans' tax exemptions are adding up to more than $14 million a year in James City and York counties. York school students improve behavior, but kindergarten is a worry.

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Tax exemptions for disabled military veterans have begun adding up in our area.

York County, which has a large number of military residents, has seen the value of its property tax exemptions grow from $5.1 million in 2024 to a projected $8.1 million in 2026, according to a county spokesperson.

James City County’s exemptions have grown from $4.7 million to $6 million in foregone taxes this year, Chair John J. McGlennon noted in a recent budget discussion.

The taxes are a fraction of the proposed $413 million budget for James City County, or the $317 million budget approved in York. But they significantly offset the $3.4 million James City County expects to receive if it increases its meals tax next year.

In 2010, Virginia voters approved a constitutional amendment to exempt from local real estate taxes the primary residence of a veteran deemed totally disabled by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs as a result of their military service. Their widows were allowed to continue the exemption if they did not remarry.

In 2014, voters approved another amendment extending the exemption to widows of soldiers killed in action, and four years later said they could keep the tax exemption if they move to another home. In 2020, 100% disabled veterans won the right to exempt one vehicle from personal property taxes.

Last year the exemption was expanded further to cover military widows whose spouses died in the line of duty, which includes a broader range of incidents from the original killed in action definition.

“We want to recognize the (veterans’) service,” McGlennon said. But he added he wished the amendments setting up their exemptions provided for some type of means testing rather than a blanket exemption.

The lack of any criteria “has always bothered me,” said Jamestown Member Jim Icenhour, who is an Air Force veteran. Icenhour said the lack of means testing means he would be eligible if he became 100% disabled, even though he has the assets to pay his taxes.

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