More legal questions arise in Nye DC/Virginia residency/tax issue

By J.R. Hoeft

Are there any NoVA/DC property tax attorneys out there?

In yesterday’s debate between Glenn Nye and Rep. Thelma Drake (R-VA02), Drake asserted that Nye was purportedly doing something improper by taking a “homestead deduction” in Washington DC because he did not live there.

After some further research, Glenn Nye, co-owner of the property with his brother, does not need to live there in order to be entitled to the property tax exemption because his brother claims the property as his primary residence.

Here’s what the law says:

Homestead Deduction

This benefit reduces your real property’s assessed value by $64,000 prior to computing the yearly tax liability.

The Homestead benefit is limited to residential property. To qualify:

1. An application must be on file with the Office of Tax and Revenue;
2. The property must be occupied by the owner/applicant and contain no more than five dwelling units (including the unit occupied by the owner); and
3. The property must be the principal residence (domicile) of the owner/applicant.

According to DC law, as long as one owner declares the property their principal residence and occupies it (in this case, Nye’s brother Kent), then the other does not need to live there.

The problem is, for the past 21 months, Kent Nye has not occupied the property. He has been serving overseas.

“If Thelma Drake had done any research at all, she would know that Kent Nye has maintained his house in Washington as his primary residence before and while in Iraq,” wrote Rick Fromberg, Nye’s campaign manager. “Drake claims that those working and serving overseas should not be able to maintain primary residence in the United States, and is asserting that they should have to pay a higher tax rate for their dedication.”

As most military folks in this area are well aware, an overseas tour is not out of the ordinary. And, that service is to be commended. However, it’s unclear if that’s why Kent Nye was overseas and if the time away that he was serving can be exempted.

In yesterday’s debate, Glenn Nye stated that his brother was no longer in the military. If that’s the case, would the homestead deduction on the property still apply?