There are two provisions that can help reduce property taxes for qualifying veterans and their spouses. The first applies to veterans who own very limited property. The second applies to veterans with service-connected disabilities.
The California Constitution provides a property tax exemption of $4,000 for honorably discharged veterans or the spouse or pensioned parent of a deceased, honorably discharged veteran. To be eligible, an unmarried veteran must have assets valued at no more than $5,000. A married veteran or a veteran’s surviving unmarried spouse must have assets valued at no more than $10,000 in order to be eligible. Thus, a veteran who owns a home would most likely not qualify for the veterans' exemption.
The California Constitution and Revenue and Taxation Code § 205.5 provides a property tax exemption for the primary residence of a disabled veteran (or the unmarried surviving spouse of a disabled veteran) who, because of an injury incurred in military service:
There are two levels of the Disabled Veterans' Exemption; a basic exemption and a low-income exemption:
***Both exemption and income eligibility amounts are compounded annually by an inflation factor. Please contact our office for the current amounts.
Download the Disabled Veteran Claim Form (PDF: 191 kB)
You may also find more detailed information on the web site of the Board of Equalization.
For more information, or for assistance completing and submitting the form, please visit our offices, write us, or contact us by telephone or email.
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Important Notice:
The staff of the Clerk-Recorder-Assessor's Office are forbidden by California legal codes to practice law or provide legal advice; this prohibition includes giving advice about what forms you might need or how you should fill them out.