Statewide Iowa — Veterans groups are urging legislators to increase a tax break for veterans.
A property tax exemption worth $1,852 is available to veterans who served in a war or were on active duty during peacetime for at least 18 months. Iowa Veterans Affairs Commission chair Elizabeth Ledvina says the exemption reduces the assessed value of a veteran’s home.
The commission is also calling for more money in the fund that provides grants to first-time homebuyers who are veterans of the first Gulf War in the early 1990s or the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan in this century. Each grant is worth $5,000 and Ledvina says there are often more applicants than grants available.
The grants may be used to cover down payments and closing costs on a home, townhouse or condo that will be the veteran’s primary residence.
