WV Homestead Tax Exemption: Who Qualifies, Savings, and How to Apply

The WV homestead tax exemption removes the first $20,000 of assessed value from your primary residence before your county calculates property tax. It’s available to West Virginia homeowners who are at least 65 or permanently and totally disabled, have lived in the state for two consecutive years, and occupy the home as their main residence. On lower-value homes, the exemption can wipe out the property tax bill entirely.

Who Qualifies

Three things have to line up: a personal qualification, residency, and occupancy.

The personal qualification is either age or disability. You need to be 65 or older, or certified as permanently and totally disabled — meaning a physical or mental condition that prevents you from working and is expected to last at least 12 months or result in death.¹ If both spouses qualify, the household still receives only one exemption per home.

For residency, you must have lived in West Virginia for the two consecutive calendar years before the tax year you’re claiming. A West Virginia voter registration card or motor vehicle registration works as proof. Military members get an exception: if you were a West Virginia resident when you entered active duty, kept the state as your legal residence throughout your service, and returned after retirement or a service-connected disability discharge, you satisfy the residency requirement without waiting two years.¹ A related exception applies if you left the state but returned within five years and had been a resident for at least two of the previous ten years.

For occupancy, the home must be your primary residence, used as your dwelling for more than six consecutive months of the calendar year before you apply.² Vacation homes, rentals, and investment properties don’t qualify. You also cannot receive a similar homestead exemption in another state, and your application must include a sworn statement to that effect.

What the Exemption Actually Saves You

The $20,000 comes off your home’s assessed value, not its market value. In West Virginia, assessed value is 60% of the appraised fair market value.³ So a home appraised at $100,000 has an assessed value of $60,000, and after the exemption the taxable assessed value drops to $40,000. Your dollar savings equal $20,000 multiplied by your county’s combined levy rate per dollar of assessed value.

If your home’s assessed value is $20,000 or less — roughly $33,333 in market value — the exemption eliminates the property tax on that parcel entirely.⁴

The exemption applies to mobile, manufactured, and modular homes, including cases where you own the home but lease the land. If the $20,000 reduction is larger than the home’s assessed value, the unused portion cannot be applied to any other property you own.⁵

How to Apply

File with the county assessor’s office where your home is located. Some counties require in-person filing; others, including Kanawha County, accept online applications.⁵ If illness, absence, or a disability keeps you from going in person, a duly authorized agent can file for you.⁶

Bring proof of identity and age — a West Virginia driver’s license or birth certificate — along with the property’s parcel identification number, which appears on your property tax statement.

If you’re claiming based on disability, you’ll need one of the following:

A written statement from a licensed physician certifying you are permanently and totally disabled.
A letter from the Social Security Administration confirming you receive permanent disability benefits, or a current Medicare card together with a voided benefit check.
A letter from the Department of Veterans Affairs certifying permanent and total disability.
Lawfully recognized records from workers’ compensation or the pneumoconiosis program certifying permanent and total disability.

Any other lawfully recognized documentation of permanent and total disability also qualifies.⁶ The statute is deliberately broad, so if your disability was established through a different legal process, ask your assessor whether your paperwork will be accepted.

The December 1 Deadline

Your application must be filed on or before December 1 following the July 1 assessment date for the tax year you want covered.⁶ Counties start accepting applications at different times, some as early as April, but December 1 is the hard cutoff statewide.

Miss it, and the statute treats the late filing as a waiver of the exemption for the entire tax year. County boards of equalization cannot override a missed homestead deadline, and there is no hardship exception. You pay the full bill and reapply for the next year.

After You’re Approved

If you qualified by age, you file once and don’t need to refile unless you move. If you qualified by disability, you also file once, but you sign a statement agreeing to notify the assessor within 30 days if your disability status changes or benefits stop. Otherwise the exemption rolls over automatically each year.⁶

The exemption attaches to whichever home you occupy on the July 1 assessment date and applies to taxes for the following year. If you sell or transfer the home, the new owner loses the exemption on the next July 1 unless they independently qualify and apply. If you move to a different home, the exemption doesn’t transfer until the following July 1, so plan for a possible gap year.¹ File a fresh application with the assessor in your new county well ahead of December 1.

Penalties for a False Claim

Filing a false homestead exemption claim is a misdemeanor. A conviction carries a fine of $50 to $150, up to six months in county jail, or both.⁷ The same penalty reaches anyone who knowingly helped prepare the application or supplied false information. The state can also require restitution of the unpaid taxes.

Two Related Credits Worth Checking

Getting the homestead exemption may open the door to a separate state income tax benefit called the Senior Citizens Tax Credit. To qualify, you must participate in the homestead exemption program, have paid your property taxes, and have household income at or below 150% of the federal poverty guidelines.⁸ For the 2025 tax year, the income limits are $23,475 for one person, $31,725 for two, $39,975 for three, and $48,225 for four, with $8,250 added for each additional person. These figures typically adjust upward each year.

Honorably discharged veterans with a VA disability rating of 90% to 100% permanent and total have access to a different benefit, the Disabled Veteran Property Tax Credit, which applies to the same type of owner-occupied residential property, including mobile and manufactured homes. To keep the credit, pay your property taxes on time: the first half by October 1 and the second half by April 1.⁹ You cannot claim both the Senior Citizens Tax Credit and the Disabled Veteran credit, so if you might qualify for either, compare the numbers before you file.⁸

1
West Virginia Legislature. West Virginia Code 11-6B-3 – Twenty Thousand Dollar Homestead Exemption Allowed
2
West Virginia Legislature. West Virginia Code 11-6B-2 – Definitions
3
West Virginia Legislature. West Virginia Code 11-1C-7 – Assessed Value and Fair Market Value
4
West Virginia Tax Division. Property Tax Exemptions
5
Kanawha County Assessor. Homestead/Disability Exemption
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West Virginia Legislature. West Virginia Code 11-6B-4 – Claiming Exemption
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West Virginia Legislature. West Virginia Code 11-6B-10 – Criminal Penalties and Restitution
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West Virginia Tax Division. Senior Citizens Tax Credit
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West Virginia Tax Division. TSD 455 – Disabled Veteran Real Property Tax Credit