Disabled veterans who possess a Disabled Veteran plate are entitled to a tax exemption on vehicles purchased for personal, non-commercial use, on or after November 1, 2006. To qualify for a sales tax exemption on the purchase of a motor vehicle, all of the following is required:
- The date of purchase for the vehicle must be on or after November 1, 2006.
- The disabled veteran must be putting Disabled Veteran plates on the vehicle at the time of registration. This means that either Disabled Veteran plates are being transferred onto the vehicle at the time of registration, or the disabled veteran has been approved by the Medical Affairs Bureau, the new plates have been forwarded to the branch, and the customer is registering the vehicle with those plates.
The Sales Tax Exemption is authorized by Chapter 260 (Section 15) and Chapter 310 (Section 35) of the Acts of 2006.
Sales Tax Abatement Requests
If a disabled veteran purchases a vehicle on or after November 1, 2006 and registers that vehicle with a Passenger plate, and is later approved for Disabled Veteran plates, he/she may swap the new DV plates onto that vehicle. At that time, the disabled veteran may apply for an abatement of the sales tax that was paid on the vehicle by completing and submitting Massachusetts Department of Revenue (DOR) Form CA-6, which can be downloaded from the DOR website.
Excise Tax Exemptions
All peacetime and wartime veterans as defined in General Laws Chapter 4, Section 7, are now eligible for the motor vehicle excise exemptions provided to veterans with certain service-connected disabilities under General Laws Chapter 60A, Section 1. Previously, the exemptions were expressly limited to veterans of World War I, World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War. The Massachusetts Department of Veterans' Services has prepared a chart showing qualifying peacetime and wartime service eras. The chart is available on its website at: www.mass.gov/veterans. Click on State Veteran Status Eligibility under "QUICK LINKS."
In addition, veterans who have been determined to be permanently disabled by the Medical Advisory Board within the Registry of Motor Vehicles and have been issued Disabled Veteran license plates will now be eligible for an excise exemption (actual loss, or permanent and complete loss of use, of at least one foot or one hand, or permanent impairment of vision meeting certain specifications in at least one eye).
According to Bulletin 2006-15B issued by the Division of Local Services of the Department of Revenue, the expanded eligibility standards will apply to excise assessed for calendar years beginning in 2007. The exemption is limited to one motor vehicle owned and registered by the veteran for personal, non-commercial purposes. (The Excise Tax Exemptions is authorized by Chapter 260, Sections 13 & 14 of the Acts of 2006). |
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