Hudson voters overwhelmingly approved a warrant article earlier this month adjusting the town’s Disabled Veteran Tax Credit, a change prompted by recent state legislation and concerns that some of the community’s most seriously injured veterans were unintentionally losing a portion of their longstanding tax relief. The measure passed by a decisive margin, 2,444 to 276, reflecting broad public support for restoring the benefit to its intended level.
The warrant article asked voters whether the town should modify its previously adopted provisions under RSA 72:35 to increase the Service-Connected Total and Permanent Disabled Veterans Tax Credit to $4,000, effective with the final property tax bill of the 2026 tax year. The current credit is $3,000, an amount last set by voters in March 2021. According to town officials, 71 property owners currently receive the credit.
Board of Selectmen Vice Chair Bob Guessferd explained during the February Deliberative Session that the proposal was brought forward in response to a recent change in state law that altered how municipalities must administer veterans’ tax credits. Historically, towns were required to combine the $600 Optional Veterans Tax Credit with the Service-Connected Total and Permanent Disabled Veterans Tax Credit, allowing eligible veterans to receive both. However, new legislation eliminated the ability to combine the two credits, meaning that unless towns increased their local disabled veterans credit, some veterans would see a reduction in their overall tax relief.
“The urgency of increasing this tax credit effective for the 2026 property tax year is due to the passage of recent legislation by state legislators,” Guessferd said. “That legislative action removed the requirement that municipalities were under to combine the $600 optional veterans tax credit with the Service-Connected Total and Permanent Disabled Veterans Tax Credit. This legislation now bars municipalities from combining them both on a disabled veteran’s property tax bill.”
Guessferd said the warrant article was designed to correct that unintended consequence. “The proposal seeks to increase the Service-Connected Total and Permanent Disabled Veterans Tax Credit from $3,000 to $4,000,” he said. “The reason for this is twofold. It is intended to both make up for the loss of the Optional Veterans Tax Credit for disabled veterans, as well as recognize that it has been five years since this credit was last increased.”
During the Deliberative Session, resident Daniel Barthelemy spoke in support of the article, emphasizing that the proposal was not an expansion of benefits but a restoration of what veterans had previously received. “I support Article 12,” he said. “This isn’t an expansion of benefits, it’s a correction to one. Recent state law eliminated the ability to combine the optional veterans tax credit and the permanently and totally disabled veterans tax credit, which means some of our most seriously injured veterans saw a benefit reduction. This resolves fairness and preserves the original intent of the policy, and I think that the town should support it.”
The Board of Selectmen unanimously recommended the article on a 5–0 vote, and voters ultimately agreed by a wide margin. With approval secured, the increased credit will take effect for the final property tax bill of 2026, ensuring that Hudson’s disabled veterans receive the full level of support originally intended under the town’s tax relief program.
