By Staff
Attorney General Troy King is informing all county revenue officials in Alabama that they should honor requests for refunds for taxpayers who were entitled to claim ad valorem tax exemptions going back up to two years, but who failed to do so. Attorney General King recently sent a letter to the officials and enclosed a 2002 Attorney General’s opinion stating that Alabama law provides a two-year period for refunds of property taxes that were overpaid by mistake. The Attorney General said the law applies for two years after overpayment due to any mistake, including if the taxpayer was not aware and did not request the exemption at the time. The refund issue has arisen due to increased public awareness of ad valorem tax exemptions after Attorney General King issued an opinion on Oct. 25, 2006, to Alabama Revenue Commissioner G. Thomas Surtees, saying qualifying taxpayers should be given total- instead of proportionate - ad valorem tax exemption, even if only one of the owners meets the criteria for the exemption. State law provides exemptions regarding homesteads of state residents over age 65 based upon income, or those who are retired due to permanent and total disability, or to those who meet the legal definition for blindness. King’s opinion in October clarified that the exemption applies wholly, for example, even if property is owned jointly and only one spouse is disabled. Ad valorem tax exemptions are not automatically applied, but must be requested by the taxpayer