Back to Alabama

HB77 • 2026

Taxation and Revenue; disabled veterans' homestead taxes inclusion in debt-to-income ratio under certain circumstances prohibited

Taxation and Revenue; disabled veterans' homestead taxes inclusion in debt-to-income ratio under certain circumstances prohibited

Taxes
Enacted

This bill passed the Legislature and reached final enactment based on the latest official action.

Sponsor
Paschal
Last action
2026-03-17
Official status
Enacted
Effective date
2026-10-01

Plain English Breakdown

The bill summary and text do not provide additional details beyond what is stated in the candidate explanation.

Disabled Veterans Property Tax Debt-To-Income Ratio Exemption Act

This act requires tax officials to issue exemption certificates for disabled veterans with a 100% disability rating and prohibits settlement agents from considering homestead taxes when calculating debt-to-income ratios.

What This Bill Does

  • Requires tax assessing officials to issue a tentative certificate of exemption from ad valorem taxation for a homestead to veterans with a 100 percent disability rating who qualify for a permanent ad valorem homestead exemption due to disability upon providing certain information.
  • Prohibits settlement agents from considering homestead ad valorem taxes in determining a borrower's debt-to-income ratio upon receiving a tentative certificate of exemption.
  • Makes the tentative certificate of exemption permanent once the veteran purchases their new home.

Who It Names or Affects

  • Disabled veterans with a 100 percent disability rating
  • Tax assessing officials
  • Settlement agents and loan closing officers

Terms To Know

ad valorem taxes
Taxes based on the value of property.
debt-to-income ratio
A financial measure that compares how much a person owes to how much they earn.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The act only applies to veterans with a 100 percent disability rating.
  • It does not specify what happens if the required information is missing or incorrect.

Bill History

  1. 2026-03-17 House

    Enacted

  2. 2026-03-10 Senate

    Motion to Read a Third Time and Pass - Adopted Roll Call 765 (Yeas 35, Nays 0)

  3. 2026-03-10 Senate

    Third Reading in Second House (Yeas 35, Nays 0)

  4. 2026-03-10 Senate

    Signature Requested

  5. 2026-03-10 House

    Enrolled

  6. 2026-03-10 House

    Ready to Enroll

  7. 2026-02-05 Senate

    Read for the Second Time and placed on the Calendar

  8. 2026-02-04 Senate

    Reported Out of Committee Second House

  9. 2026-01-20 House

    Motion to Read a Third Time and Pass - Adopted Roll Call 68 (Yeas 101, Nays 1)

  10. 2026-01-20 House

    Third Reading in House of Origin (Yeas 99, Nays 0)

  11. 2026-01-20 Senate

    Pending Committee Action in Second House

  12. 2026-01-20 Senate

    Read for the first time and referred to the Senate Committee on Finance and Taxation General Fund

  13. 2026-01-14 House

    Read for the Second Time and placed on the Calendar

  14. 2026-01-14 House

    Reported Out of Committee House of Origin

  15. 2026-01-13 House

    Pending Committee Action in House of Origin

  16. 2026-01-13 House

    Read for the first time and referred to the House Committee on Military and Veterans' Affairs

Official Summary Text

This act is the Disabled Veterans Property Tax Debt-To-Income Ratio Exemption Act. This act: (1) requires tax assessing officials to issue a tentative certificate of exemption from ad valorem taxation for a homestead to veterans with a 100 percent disability rating and who qualify for a permanent ad valorem homestead exemption due to disability upon the veteran providing certain information; (2) prohibits settlement agents from considering homestead ad valorem taxes in determining a borrower's debt-to-income ratio upon receiving a tentative certificate; and (3) provides that a tentative certificate of exemption becomes permanent upon a veteran purchasing a homestead.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text
HB77 ENROLLED
Page 0
HB77
ARHR4Q7-2
By Representatives Paschal, Fidler, Starnes, Stubbs, Smith,
Brown, Wadsworth, Whorton, Fincher, Bolton, Rehm, Lamb,
Givens, Underwood
RFD: Military and Veterans' Affairs
First Read: 13-Jan-26
PFD: 02-Dec-25
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
HB77 Enrolled
Page 1
PFD: 02-Dec-25
Enrolled, An Act,
Relating to the Department of Revenue; to provide for
certain disabled veterans to be issued tentative certificates
of exemption from homestead ad valorem taxes when applying for
home mortgage loans; and to prohibit settlement agents and
loan closing officers from considering homestead ad valorem
taxes when calculating the debt-to-income ratio of these
veterans upon receiving a certificate.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF ALABAMA:
Section 1. (a) This act shall be known and may be cited
as the Disabled Veterans Property Tax Debt-To-Income Ratio
Exemption Act.
(b) A tax assessing official shall issue a veteran who
has received a 100 percent disability rating from the United
States Department of Veterans Affairs and who may claim an
exemption under Section 40-9-19 or 40-9-21, Code of Alabama
1975, for permanent and total disability, a tentative
certificate of permanent and total disability prior to
purchasing a homestead upon receiving all of the following:
(1) An affidavit, on a form supplied by the Department
of Revenue, that includes all of the following information:
a. The name of the disabled veteran and the name of his
or her spouse, if applicable.
b. Whether the homestead will be jointly owned by the
disabled veteran and his or her spouse, if applicable.
c. An attestation by the veteran that the homestead is
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
HB77 Enrolled
Page 2
c. An attestation by the veteran that the homestead is
to be occupied as the veteran's principal place of residence.
(2) The purchase agreement for the homestead.
(3) Documentation from the United States Department of
Veterans Affairs, or its successor agency, indicating that the
veteran has a 100 percent service-connected, permanent, and
total disability.
(c) A tax assessing official shall issue a tentative
certificate of permanent and total disability within 20 days
of receiving all of the information required pursuant to
subsection (b).
(d) A tentative certificate of permanent and total
disability shall be considered a valid certificate of
permanent and total disability pursuant to Sections 40-9-19
and 40-9-21, Code of Alabama 1975, upon the purchase of a
homestead by a veteran.
(e) A settlement agent or loan closing officer may not
consider ad valorem taxes for a homestead when calculating the
debt-to-income ratio of a potential borrower who has provided
a tentative certificate of permanent and total disability to
the agent or officer.
(f) The Department of Revenue shall establish the form
of the tentative certificate of permanent and total disability
which shall include a section indicating that the disabled
veteran, with a 100 percent permanent and total disability
rating, is eligible for exemption from ad valorem taxes
pursuant to Section 40-9-19 or 40-9-21, Code of Alabama 1975,
on a homestead property.
Section 2. This act shall become effective on October
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
HB77 Enrolled
Page 3
Section 2. This act shall become effective on October
1, 2026.57
HB77 Enrolled
Page 4
1, 2026.
________________________________________________
Speaker of the House of Representatives
________________________________________________
President and Presiding Officer of the Senate
House of Representatives
I hereby certify that the within Act originated in and
was passed by the House 20-Jan-26.
John Treadwell
Clerk
Senate 10-Mar-26 Passed
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91