RSA 72:35 — Tax Credit for Service-Connected Total Disability. –

I. Any person who has been honorably discharged or an officer honorably separated from the military service of the United States and who has total and permanent service-connected disability, or who is a double amputee or paraplegic because of service-connected injury, or the surviving spouse of such a person, shall receive a standard yearly tax credit in the amount of $700 of property taxes on the person's residential property.
I-a. The optional tax credit for service-connected permanent and total disability, upon adoption by a city or town pursuant to RSA 72:27-a, shall be an amount from $701 up to $5,000. The optional tax credit for service-connected permanent and total disability shall replace the tax credits pursuant to RSA 72:28, 72:28-b, 72:28-c, and 72:36-a in its entirety and shall not be in addition thereto.
I-b. Either the standard tax credit for service-connected total disability or the optional tax credit for service-connected total disability shall be subtracted each year from the property tax on the person's residential property.
II. The standard or optional tax credit under this section may be applied only to property which is occupied as the principal place of abode by the disabled person or the surviving spouse. The tax credit may be applied to any land or buildings appurtenant to the residence or to manufactured housing if that is the principal place of abode.
III. (a) Any person applying for the standard or optional tax credit under this section shall furnish to the assessors or selectmen certification from the United States Department of Veterans' Affairs that the applicant is rated totally and permanently disabled from service connection. The assessors or selectmen shall accept such certification as conclusive on the question of disability unless they have specific contrary evidence and the applicant, or the applicant's representative, has had a reasonable opportunity to review and rebut that evidence. The applicant shall also be afforded a reasonable opportunity to submit additional evidence on the question of disability.
(b) Any decision to deny an application shall identify the evidence upon which the decision relied and shall be made within the time period provided by law.
(c) Any tax credit shall be divided evenly among the number of tax payments required annually by the town or city so that a portion of the tax credit shall apply to each tax payment to be made.