Graves: Tax credit was not requested for his Capitol Hill home

Missouri Congressman Sam Graves erroneously received a $70,200 Homestead deduction off the assessed value of his Capitol Hill row house, the Roll Call newspaper reported last week.

A spokesman for Graves, a northwest Missouri Republican, told Roll Call that the congressman did not request the tax break. The spokesman said Graves had called D.C. government to get the matter cleared up.

The property’s value for tax year 2015 was listed as $831,570, Roll Call said. The taxable value, with the Homestead credit figured in, was $724,504.

The tax credit form states that if the home “is not your principal place of residence,” the occupant is required to inform the Office of Tax and Revenue. Members of Congress are usually not considered residents of the District.

In 2009, Missouri Sen. Roy Blunt got into a similar issue by erroneously receiving a Homestead credit for a $1.6 million Georgetown residence. Blunt claims Missouri as his home, so the exemption should not have applied.

Blunt and his wife said D.C. officials had mistakenly allowed the exemption.

Graves could be required to pay more in property taxes once the adjustment is made to his assessed value.

This story was originally published April 7, 2014 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Graves: Tax credit was not requested for his Capitol Hill home."