701—80.2 (22,35,426A) Military service tax exemption.
	 80.2(1) Application for exemption.
	  a.   	 No military service tax exemption shall be allowed unless the first application for the military service tax exemption is signed by the owner of the property or the owner’s qualified designee and filed with the city or county assessor on or before July 1 of the current assessment year (1970 O.A.G. 437). Once filed, the claim for exemption is applicable to subsequent years and no further filing shall be required provided the claimant or the claimant’s spouse owns the property on July 1 of each year. The assessor, county auditor, and county board of supervisors shall act on the claim in accordance with Iowa Code section 426A.14. A claim filed after July 1 of any calendar year applies to the following assessment year.
	  b.   	 In the event July 1 falls on either a Saturday or Sunday, applications for the military service tax exemption may be filed the following Monday.
	  c.   	 In the event July 1 falls on either a Saturday or Sunday, applications submitted by mail shall be accepted if postmarked on the following Monday.
	  d.   	 An assessor may not refuse to accept an application for a military service tax exemption. If it is the opinion of the assessor that a military service tax exemption should not be allowed, the assessor shall accept the application for exemption and recommend disallowance.
	  e.   	 If the owner of the property is on active duty in the armed forces of this state or of the United States, or is 65 years of age or older or is disabled, the application for military service tax exemption may be signed and delivered by a member of the owner’s family or the owner’s guardian, conservator or designated attorney-in-fact. For purposes of this rule, any person related to the owner by blood, marriage or adoption shall be considered a member of the owner’s family.
	 80.2(2) Eligibility for exemption.
	  a.   	 A person who was discharged from the draft is not considered a veteran of the military service and is not entitled to a military service tax exemption. (1942 O.A.G. 79)
	  b.   	 A military service tax exemption shall not be allowed to a person whose only service in the military was with a foreign government. (1932 O.A.G. 242; 1942 O.A.G. 79)
	  c.   	 Former members of the United States armed forces, including members of the Coast Guard, who were on active duty for less than 18 months must have served on active duty during one of the war or conflict time periods enumerated in Iowa Code Supplement section 35.1. If former members were on active duty for at least 18 months, it is not necessary that their service be performed during one of the war or conflict time periods. Former members who opted to serve five years in the reserve forces of the United States qualify if any portion of their enlistment would have occurred during the Korean Conflict (June 25, 1950, to January 31, 1955). There is no minimum number of days a former member of the armed forces of the United States must have served on active duty if the service was performed during one of the war or conflict time periods, nor is there a minimum number of days a former member of the armed forced of the United States must have served on active duty if the person was honorably discharged because of a service-related injury sustained while on active duty.
Former and current members of the Iowa national guard and reserve forces of the United States need not have performed any active duty if they served at least 20 years. Otherwise, they must have been activated for federal duty, for purposes other than training, for a minimum of 90 days. Also, it is not a requirement for a member of the Iowa national guard or a reservist to have performed service within a designated war or conflict time period.
	  d.   	 With the exception of members of the Iowa national guard and members of the reserve forces of the United States who have served at least 20 years and continue to serve, a military service tax exemption shall not be allowed unless the veteran has received a complete and final separation from active duty service. (Jones v.	Iowa State Tax Commission, 247 Iowa 530, 74 N.W.2d 563, 567-1956; In re Douglas A. Coyle, State Board of Tax Review, No.	197, August 14, 1979; 1976 O.A.G. 44)
	  e.   	 As used in Iowa Code subsection 426A.12(3), the term minor child means a person less than 18 years of age or less than 21 years of age and enrolled as a full-time student at an educational institution.
	  f.   	 A veteran of more than one qualifying war period is entitled to only one military service tax exemption, which shall be the greater of the two exemptions. (1946 O.A.G. 71)
	  g.   	 The person claiming a military service tax exemption must be an Iowa resident. However, the veteran need not be an Iowa resident if such person’s exemption is claimed by a qualified individual enumerated in Iowa Code section 426A.12. (1942 O.A.G. 140)
	  h.   	 A person who has a life estate interest in property may claim a military service tax exemption on such property. (1946 O.A.G. 155; 1976 O.A.G. 125)
	  i.   	 A remainder is not eligible to receive a military service tax exemption on property to which a remainder interest is held until expiration of the life estate. (1946 O.A.G. 155)
	  j.   	 A military service tax exemption shall not be allowed on a mobile home which is not assessed as real estate. (1962 O.A.G. 450)
	  k.   	 A divorced person may not claim the military service tax exemption of a former spouse who qualifies for the exemption. (Letter O.A.G. August 8, 1961)
	  l.   	 A surviving spouse of a qualified veteran, upon remarriage, loses the right to claim the deceased veteran’s military exemption as the surviving spouse is no longer an unremarried surviving spouse of the qualified veteran. (1950 O.A.G. 44)
	  m.   	 An annulled marriage is considered to have never taken place and the parties to such a marriage are restored to their former status. Neither party to an annulled marriage can thereafter be considered a spouse or surviving spouse of the other party for purposes of receiving the military service tax exemption. (Op.	Att’y.	Gen.	61-8-10(L))
	  n.   	 No military service tax exemption shall be allowed on property that is owned by a corporation, except for a family farm corporation where a shareholder occupies a homestead as defined in Iowa Code section 425.11(1), partnership, company or any other business or nonbusiness organization. (1938 O.A.G. 441)
	  o.   	 In the event both a husband and wife are qualified veterans, they may each claim their military service tax exemption on their jointly owned property. (1946 O.A.G. 154) If property is solely owned by one spouse, the owner spouse may claim both exemptions on the property providing the nonowner spouse's exemption is not claimed on other property.
	  p.   	 No military service tax exemption shall be allowed if on July 1 of the claim year, the claimant or the claimant’s unremarried surviving spouse is no longer the owner of the property upon which the exemption was claimed.
	  q.   	 A person shall not be denied a military service tax exemption even though the property upon which the exemption is claimed has been pledged to another person as security for a loan. (1960 O.A.G. 263)
	  r.   	 A qualified veteran who has conveyed property to a trustee shall be eligible to receive a military service tax exemption on such property providing the trust agreement gives the claimant a beneficial interest in the property. (1962 O.A.G. 434)
	  s.   	 A person owning property pursuant to Iowa Code chapter 499A or 499B is eligible for a military service tax exemption. (1978 O.A.G. 78-2-5; 1979 O.A.G. 79-12-2)
	  t.   	 The person claiming the exemption shall have recorded in the office of the county recorder evidence of property ownership and either the military certificate of satisfactory service or, for a current member of the Iowa national guard or a member of the reserve forces of the United States, the veteran’s retirement points accounting statement issued by the armed forces of the United States or the state adjutant general. The military certificate of satisfactory service shall be considered a confidential record pursuant to Iowa Code section 22.7.
	  u.   	 An heir of property that is part of an estate in the process of administration is considered an owner of the property and is eligible for the military exemption.
	 80.2(3) Application of exemption.
	  a.   	 When the owner of homestead property is also eligible for a military service tax exemption and claims the exemption on the homestead property, the military service tax exemption shall be applied prior to the homestead tax credit when computing net property tax. (Ryan v.	State Tax Commission, 235 Iowa 222, 16 N.W.2d 215)
	  b.   	 If a portion of the property upon which a valid military service tax exemption was claimed is sold on or before July 1 of the year in which the exemption is claimed, the seller shall be allowed a military service tax exemption on that portion of the property which is retained by the seller on July 1. The purchaser is also eligible to receive a military service tax exemption on that portion of the property which was purchased, provided the purchaser is qualified for the exemptions and files a valid application for the exemption on or before July 1 of the claim year.
	  c.   	 A military service tax exemption may be allowed even though the taxes levied on the property upon which the exemption is claimed have been suspended by the board of supervisors. (1938 O.A.G. 288)
	  d.   	 A military service tax exemption shall not be allowed if the taxes levied on the property upon which the exemption is claimed have been canceled or remitted by the board of supervisors. (1956 O.A.G. 78)
	  e.   	 The county treasurer shall, pursuant to Iowa Code section 25B.7, be required to extend to the claimant only that portion of the exemption estimated by the department to be funded by the state appropriation.
This rule is intended to implement Iowa Code sections 22.7, 35.1, and 35.2 and chapter 426A.
[ARC 7726B, IAB 4/22/09, effective 5/27/09]