Senate Passes Brenner Bill Helping Spouses of Disabled Veterans

COLUMBUS—The Ohio Senate passed a bill today sponsored by State Senator Andrew Brenner (R-Delaware) that will expand the situations in which surviving spouses of disabled veterans may receive the "homestead" tax exemption.

The special enhanced exemption of $50,000 is available for the homesteads of military veterans who are rated as totally disabled by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs. If the disabled veteran dies, the veteran’s surviving spouse may continue to claim this exemption until the spouse dies or remarries.

Currently, a surviving spouse may claim the exemption only if the disabled veteran received a total disability rating and qualified for exemption before the veteran’s death. Senate Bill 43 allows a surviving spouse to claim the exemption in the rare case that the veteran applies for a total disability rating but dies before receiving it.

"This bill addresses an oversight in current law that left surviving spouses of veterans in the rare but unfortunate situation of having applied for disability status but died before their application was accepted,” said Brenner. "Our veterans are not the only ones who make tremendous sacrifices for our country -- their families do, as well. I would like to thank the constituent who brought this to my attention for her outreach, and her and husband’s service to our country."