Texas continues to do its part to help military veterans and their families. A full homestead property tax exemption that began in 2009 for totally disabled veterans will extend to their surviving spouses after January 1.

This means spouses of disabled veterans who have died won't have to give up the property tax exemption their late spouses were entitled to.

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State Controller Susan Combs says in 2009, Texas military veterans began receiving an exemption for the full appraised value of their residential homesteads -- if they were rated as 100 percent disabled or regarded as unemployable by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

Based on information from county appraisal districts, about 35,300 veterans currently receive that exemption, but starting January 1, the veterans' surviving spouses will be allowed to apply for and keep the exemption.

Combs says Senate Bill 516 allows the total homestead exemption only if a surviving spouse does not remarry, and the property remains the homestead of the surviving spouse.

Eligible surviving spouses will have to apply for the tax exemption through their county appraisal district.  The application form can be found in a link on the State Controller's website.

Texas has always held military veterans and their families in high regard.  That's one reason so many Texas men and women serve in the military services, and why so many veterans move to Texas after their service.

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