Homestead Exclusion for Elderly & Disabled Persons
Application Deadline – June 1st
Qualifying owners benefit by having the greater of $25,000 or 50% of the value of their permanent residence excluded from taxation. To qualify, the property owner must meet the following requirements on January 1st of the year he/she applies:
- Is at least 65 years of age or totally and permanently disabled
- Has an income for the prior year of not more than the statutory limit. For 2025 applications based on 2024 income, the limit is $37,900
- Is a Stanly County resident
- The home for which application is made must be applicant’s permanent residence
Income is defined as all moneys received from every source, other than gifts or inheritances received from a spouse, lineal ancestor or lineal descendant. For married applicants residing with their spouses, the income of both spouses must be included, whether or not the property is in both names. Income does include Social Security earnings. The application period is January 2nd to June 1st. To obtain an Elderly or Disabled Exclusion application contact the Stanly County Tax Administrator’s Office or print one from the link below.
You must supply proof of income with the application. If you have to file federal income tax, the first page of your tax return must accompany the Elderly or Disabled Exclusion application.
If you are filing for the disability exclusion, you must furnish proof of total and permanent disability issued by your doctor. You can have your doctor fill out a form AV-9A (Certification of Disability) to submit with your Elderly or Disabled Exclusion application. Those forms are available in the Stanly County Tax Administrator’s Office and on the links below.
AV-9 2025 Elderly or Disabled Exclusion Application
AV-9A 2025 Certification of Disability
Disabled Veteran Exclusion
Application Deadline – June 1st
This program excludes the first $45,000 of value from property taxes on the permanent residence. To qualify, the property owner must meet the following requirements as of January 1st of the year he/she applies:
- Have a permanent and total disability that is service connected or receive benefits under 38 U.S.C. 2101 (specially adapted housing) Note: This benefit is also available to the unmarried surviving spouse of a disabled veteran
- Is a Stanly County resident
- The home for which application is made must be applicant’s permanent residence
The application period is January 2nd to June 1st.
The Disabled Veteran Exclusion application form is available in the Stanly County Tax Administrator’s Office and on the link below.
A form NCDVA-9 (Certification of Veteran Disability) must be completed by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and must accompany your Disabled Veteran Exclusion application. Those forms are available in the Stanly County Tax Administrator’s Office and on the links below. The local Veterans Services Officer can assist in getting these forms to the correct office in the Department of Veterans Affairs in Winston Salem.
AV-9 2025 Disabled Veteran Exclusion Application
NCDVA-9 2025 Certification of Veteran Disability
Homestead Circuit Breaker Deferment
Application Deadline – June 1st
This program defers some property tax on the permanent residence by limiting current year property taxes to either 4% or 5% of income (depending on current year income level). To qualify, the property owner must meet the following requirements as of January 1st of the year he/she applies:
- Is at least 65 years old or permanently and totally disabled
- Have household income for 2024 of not more than $37,900 for 4% limit or $56,850 for 5% limit
- Is a Stanly County resident
- The home for which application is made must be applicant’s permanent residence
- Must have owned and occupied your permanent residence for at least the last five full years prior to January 1st of this year
- If multiple owners of a residence, all owners of the property must qualify for this program and elect to defer taxes under this program
The current year plus the most recent three years of deferred taxes become a lien on the residence and become due with interest upon one of the following disqualifying events:
- The owner transfers the residence
- The owner deceases
- The owner ceases to use the property as a permanent residence
Income is defined as all moneys received from every source, other than gifts or inheritances received from a spouse, lineal ancestor, or lineal descendant. For married applicants residing with their spouses, the income of both spouses must be included, whether or not the property is in both names. The application period is January 2nd to June 1st. The Circuit Breaker Tax Deferment Program application is available in the Stanly County Tax Administrator’s Office, and on the link below.
If you are filing for the disability exclusion, you must furnish proof of total and permanent disability issued by your doctor. You can have your doctor fill out a form AV-9A (Certification of Disability) to submit with your Circuit Breaker Tax Deferment Program application. Those forms are available in the Stanly County Tax Administrator’s Office and on the links below.
AV-9 2025 Circuit Breaker Tax Deferment Program Application
AV-9A 2025 Certification of Disability
Additional Information
An elderly/disabled owner who qualifies for more than one exclusion or deferment may elect to take only one of these types of property tax relief.
The Circuit Breaker must be applied for each year. The Homestead Exclusion or the Disabled Veteran Exclusion requires only a one-time application, but is audited as required by law.
Present Use Value Assessment
The North Carolina General Assembly enacted legislation effective on January 1st, 1974 to allow county tax offices to consider the usable value of a property rather than the market value to determine the assessed value for taxation. This legislation is known as “Present Use Value” (PUV) and was intended to relieve farmers from the burden of increasing taxes due to continually appreciating land values. Significant changes have been made over the years that have broadened the scope of the original legislation.
Who Qualifies?
Most individuals meeting the minimum requirements will qualify for PUV. Also, some business entities or trusts may qualify as long as the members are family related and the primary function of the business entity or trust is the same as the PUV program for which the application is made.
What Land Qualifies?
The following types of land operation are part of the PUV program. The basic requirements of each are listed below:
Agriculture/Aquaculture
- A minimum of ten acres in the production of crops or livestock for commercial sale or five acres in production of aquatic species or have at least 20,000 lbs of aquatic product for commercial sale
- An average gross income of $1000 from the preceding three year period must be shown from the sale of the products produced from the land
- If you have more than one farmed tract, only one of the tracts (parent tract) is subject to the minimum size and income requirements
Horticulture
- A minimum of five acres in the production of fruits, vegetables, nursery or floral products for commercial sale
- An average gross income of $1000 from the preceding three year period must be shown from the sale of the products produced from the land
- Christmas tree farms are part of the horticultural classification and must have five acres in production for commercial sale. However, the gross income requirement is applied at harvest with a rate of $1500 per acre for our designated Major Land Resource Area (MLRA)
- If you have more than one horticultural tract, only one of the tracts (parent tract) is subject to the minimum size and income requirements with the exception of Christmas tree farms
Forestry
- A minimum of twenty acres in the production of forest products for commercial sale
- The forest land must have a written forest management plan from the NC Division of Forest Resources or a private forester and a copy of the plan on file with the Tax Administrator’s Office
- If you have more than one forestry tract, only one of the tracts (parent tract) is subject to the size requirements. No yearly income requirement for forest land since income is produced only when timber is harvested for sale
Wildlife
- Land that is at least a minimum of twenty acres but no more than one hundred acres
- Must protect an animal species that lives on the land and is on the NC protected animal list or conserve a priority wildlife habitat
- Must have a written wildlife habitat conservation plan from the NC Wildlife Resources Commission and a copy of the plan on file with the Tax Administrator’s Office
Other Requirements and Information
- All tracts of land on an application for PUV must be under the exact same ownership
- Must be in active production and under sound management
- Must be in the same county or within fifty miles of the parent tract if located in a different county
- A tract is defined as one or more contiguous parcels of land that meets all the ownership, size, income and sound management requirements
Please contact our office at 704-986-3630 for questions concerning this program. You may pick up a Present Use Value Assessment application at the Stanly County Tax Administrator’s office or print one from the links below.
AV-5 (Agriculture, Horticulture, and Forestry PUV Assessment Application)
