Many veterans expect a single state exemption. In New Hampshire, the relief is a credit subtracted from your tax bill, and the amount depends on what your town has adopted.
Here’s who qualifies, what it’s worth and how to apply.
New Hampshire's veterans' property tax credits
| Benefit | Who qualifies | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Total disability credit (RSA 72:35) | Total and permanent service-connected disability, or double amputee or paraplegic from service; or the surviving spouse | $700 standard; a town may adopt $701 to $5,000 |
| Certain disabled veterans exemption (RSA 72:36-a) | Home adapted with a VA SAH or SHA grant, plus 100% P&T, double amputation, paraplegia or service-connected blindness (5/200 or less) | Exempt from all property tax on the homestead |
| Veterans' tax credit (RSA 72:28) | Veterans with 90 days of active service in a qualifying war or conflict, spouses and surviving spouses | $50 standard; town option $51 to $750, with the cap rising to $1,000 from April 1, 2027 |
A credit comes straight off the tax bill and is split evenly across the tax payments your town requires each year1. Under the version of RSA 72:35 in force since Aug. 31, 2026, a town’s optional total disability credit replaces the other veterans’ credits and the RSA 72:36-a exemption rather than adding to them, so ask your assessors how the credits combine where you live1.
Who qualifies, including edge cases
- The rating. You give the assessors VA certification that you're rated totally and permanently disabled from service connection. They must accept it as conclusive unless they have specific contrary evidence and give you a chance to respond1. See P&T and TDIU for property tax.
- Discharge. A discharge of the character outlined in RSA 21:50, or honorable separation for an officer1.
- Residence. The credit applies only to the home you occupy as your principal place of abode, including appurtenant land and manufactured housing1.
- Trusts. A home placed in a grantor or revocable trust still counts as owned by you for these credits4.
- Residency for the RSA 72:28 credit. You must have lived in New Hampshire at least one year before April 1 of the year you claim it45.
- April 1 status. You must qualify as of April 1 of the year you first claim6.
Surviving spouse rules
The surviving spouse of a veteran with a total and permanent service-connected disability can receive the RSA 72:35 credit, and a surviving spouse can keep the RSA 72:36-a exemption on an adapted home12. New Hampshire’s definition matters: a surviving spouse who remarries loses that status and regains it after a later divorce, but not if the new spouse dies4. The surviving spouse of someone who died from a service-connected cause may apply the veterans’ credit to any real property in their town3.
What it's worth: an example
A 100% P&T Army veteran lives in a town that has adopted a $4,000 optional total disability credit and owes $9,000 in property tax. The town subtracts $4,000, leaving $5,000, spread across the town’s tax bills1. In a town that hasn’t adopted an option, the standard $700 applies. If the same veteran’s home had been adapted with a VA Specially Adapted Housing grant, RSA 72:36-a could exempt it entirely, subject to how the town’s optional credit interacts21.
Amounts differ town by town, so check your town’s adopted credits before you budget.
How to apply
- Get your VA letter. A benefit summary letter showing the total and permanent rating. See the benefit summary letter.
- Fill out Form PA-29. The state's permanent application, filed with your town's selectmen or assessors5.
- Attach discharge papers. A DD-214 or other qualifying document5.
- Meet the April 15 deadline. File by April 15 before the tax rate is set6.
If you're late, or you move
If accident, mistake or misfortune kept you from filing on time, assessors may still accept the form for that year, but never after the town’s tax rate is approved. The application is permanent, so you don’t refile each year, but if you move you must file an amended application by Dec. 1 after the move6.
Other relief worth checking
Form PA-29 also covers New Hampshire’s elderly exemption, for homeowners 65 or older who’ve lived in the state at least three consecutive years, and a disabled exemption, both with income and asset limits5. They aren’t tied to military service, so an older veteran can compare them with the veterans’ credits. The Division of Veterans Services points families to the Department of Revenue Administration’s town-by-town credit search7.
Other New Hampshire benefits for disabled veterans
- Free benefits review. DVS Veterans Services Officers can review state and federal benefits at no cost8.
- State veterans cemetery. (603) 796-20267.
See disabled veteran property tax relief by state for how New Hampshire compares.