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Bedford council approves ordinance consolidating disabled-veteran tax credit to preserve benefit
Summary
The council approved Ordinance 2026-01 to combine stacked veteran tax credits into a single $2,500 disabled-veteran credit after a 2025 legislative change; the vote passed 7–0 and staff will return with options on broader veteran-credit increases and phased implementation.
The Bedford Town Council on Feb. 11 unanimously approved Ordinance 2026-01 to amend the town's veteran tax-credit language so disabled veterans retain a single $2,500 benefit after a 2025 change in state law that eliminates stacking of two separate veteran credits.
Doug Irvin, the town assessor, told the council the legislature changed RSA 72:35 (as reflected in staff materials) and that, without local action, many disabled veterans would see a $500 reduction in their annual credit for 2026. "So that's simply all we're considering here tonight," Irvin said, describing the proposal to consolidate the $2,000 disabled credit and the $500 all-veteran credit into a single $2,500 credit so recipients do not lose benefit.
The council moved the ordinance at the meeting (motion by Councilor Carter, second by Councilor Beck) and voted 7–0 to approve the amendment. Irvin said the town currently has roughly 57 disabled-veteran credit recipients projected for 2026 and emphasized that the ordinance as drafted would not change the tax rate by itself but preserves the existing combined value for affected veterans.
After the formal vote, staff presented additional options for future consideration: raising the $500 optional/all-veteran credit by increments ($100, $200, $250) or increasing the disabled credit by larger steps (including staged increases up toward statutory maxima). Irvin showed comparative charts indicating the number of recipients for the optional $500 credit has fallen (from about 1,000 in 2012 to ~780 in 2025) while disabled-veteran recipients have trended upward. He estimated the net immediate change of the ordinance package at roughly a minus $54,000 (driven by reductions in optional credits), and presented modeled tax-rate impacts for incremental options (staff noted options could add roughly 1¢–3¢ to the tax rate depending on the choice).
Councilors discussed phasing increases over three years as a way to spread tax impacts; staff said to affect 2026 tax billing the council would need to act promptly because applications are due by April 15 and billing values are locked in by early May. The council directed staff to return with refined tables and proposed ordinance language for the March and April meeting dates so voters and the council can consider phased options in time for the tax-year deadlines.
