California Property Tax Relief for Disabled Veterans

01Who qualifies today

• A qualifying disability. The veteran is rated 100% disabled, or paid at the 100% rate because of unemployability, for a service-connected injury or disease; or is blind in both eyes; or has lost the use of two or more limbs¹.
• Service and discharge. Service in a qualifying period and a discharge under other than dishonorable conditions¹.
• Your home. The property must be the claimant's principal place of residence. It can be owned by the veteran, the spouse or both¹.
• No partial credit. An 80% rating doesn't earn 80% of the exemption; it takes a 100% rating or 100% TDIU¹.

A veteran or surviving spouse who moves into a hospital or care facility can keep the exemption on the home that would otherwise be their residence, as long as it isn’t rented or leased to a third party¹. For families arranging care, that’s an important protection.

02What it's worth

Amounts of assessed value exempted from property tax on the principal residence. Adjusted each year for inflation.

Source: California State Board of Equalization²

The basic exemption applies to everyone who qualifies. The low-income exemption is larger but applies only when household income is at or under the limit². To estimate the savings, multiply the exemption by the tax rate printed on your county bill.

03What SB 296 changes from 2027

SB 296 (Chapter 727, Statutes of 2026) was signed on September 28, 2026, and took effect immediately as a tax levy. It adds section 205.5.1 to the Revenue and Taxation Code for lien dates from January 1, 2027, through the end of 2031, and the section is repealed on January 1, 2032³.

• Half the home's value exempt. In place of the current exemption, 50% of the home's full value, up to $1,000,000, is exempt for a veteran who is 100% disabled (including 100% TDIU), blind in both eyes or has lost the use of two or more limbs³.
• All of it for lower incomes. If household income is no more than $83,474, as adjusted each year, the exemption is 100% of full value up to $1,000,000³.
• A carve-out for modest homes. If the home's full value is no more than $371,778 and household income is above $83,474, the property gets the existing exemption instead³.
• Surviving spouses. An unmarried surviving spouse gets the same amount the veteran would have, if the veteran qualified in life or died of a service-connected cause and was a California resident on January 1 of the year of death³.
• Care facilities. The home still counts as the residence while the veteran or spouse is confined to a hospital or care facility, if it isn't rented out; a family member living there isn't a third party³.
• Proof. The claimant gives the county assessor documentation, including a VA or military letter showing the disability rating³.

The new exemption replaces, rather than adds to, the existing veterans’ exemptions and any other real property exemption on that home³. Ask your county assessor how to claim it for the 2027 lien date; we didn’t find a published claim form for the new section yet.

04Surviving spouses today

An unmarried surviving spouse can claim the current exemption if the veteran would have qualified, or if the veteran died of a service-connected injury or disease even though they weren’t eligible while alive. A VA letter showing a service-connected death is generally enough for the assessor¹.

05How to apply

1. Get BOE-261-G. The Claim for Disabled Veterans' Property Tax Exemption, from your county assessor¹.
2. Attach proof. A VA letter showing the disability and a DD-214 or VA letter showing character of service¹. See getting your VA benefit summary letter.
3. File promptly the first year. To get 100% of the first year's exemption, file by the later of the next January 1 or 90 days after the event that made you eligible; later claims get 85%¹.
4. Low-income: refile every year. Between January 1 and February 15. Claims by December 10 get 90%, and later claims 85%¹.

The basic exemption doesn’t need refiling, but you must tell the assessor if you stop qualifying, using BOE-261-GNT¹.

06A California example

A 74-year-old Navy veteran in Fresno is paid at the 100% rate through TDIU, and his household income is $70,000. For 2026 he files BOE-261-G for the low-income exemption, which takes $271,009 off his home’s assessed value, and he refiles each January²¹. From the 2027 lien date, because his income is under $83,474, SB 296 could exempt his home’s full value up to $1,000,000³.

07Mistakes to avoid

• Missing February 15 for the low-income exemption. Late claims get only 90% or 85%¹.
• Renting out the house after moving to care. That ends the exemption¹.
• Assuming SB 296 applies to 2026 bills. It starts with the January 1, 2027 lien date³.

08Free help

For property tax questions, call your county assessor. For other states, see disabled veteran property tax by state. More state benefits are listed in California benefits by VA rating.