I am rated 70% but paid at the 100% rate through IU. Do I qualify?

On the text of §205.5(b), yes. Take a VA letter that shows the unemployability determination specifically rather than just the combined rating — the Benefit Summary Letter has a tick box for it.

My rating is 90%. What can I get?

Not this exemption — California has no partial version. It is worth asking the VA about unemployability if you are unable to work, but talk to an accredited County Veterans Service Officer first, because any request that reopens your file can trigger a review.

Do I have to re-file every year?

Not for the basic exemption. Only the low-income version needs annual filing, and that one is worth roughly $900 a year more — so it is worth checking whether your household is under the income limit.

How much is it actually worth?

About $1,807 a year at the 1% constitutional rate, plus a little more against any voter-approved debt on your bill. Unlike most states the figure rises every year, because §205.5 indexes it to the California CPI.

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property taxstate

Disabled Veterans’ Property Tax Exemption — Basic

Exempts $180,671 of your home’s assessed value in 2026. Once granted it needs no annual filing, and the amount rises every year with inflation.

Verified August 18, 2026

What this benefit is

California exempts $180,671 of your home’s assessed value in 2026 if you are a disabled veteran meeting one of four tests. At the constitutional 1% property tax rate that is worth roughly $1,807 a year.

Once granted, the basic exemption needs no annual filing. It simply continues until something changes.

What it's worth: $180,671 off your home’s assessed value

This is money off your ASSESSED value, not off your bill. At the constitutional 1% rate the 2026 basic exemption is worth roughly $1,807 a year.
The amount compounds annually by the California CPI, so it rises every year. The figure here is the 2026 one.
If your household income is under the limit, the low-income version is worth about half as much again — see that record.

Who is entitled to it

A veteran with a character of service other than dishonorable,
who is rated 100% disabled, OR compensated at the 100% rate due to unemployability, OR blind in both eyes, OR has lost the use of two or more limbs,
on their principal place of residence.

Not sure whether that describes you?

Answer a few questions about this benefit specifically — we only ask what this one actually depends on, and we stop as soon as we know.

The thing most people get wrong

There is no partial version, which makes the IU question enormous

Texas pays a schedule from 10% upward. Florida has several exemptions at different levels. California has one, and it is all or nothing: you either meet one of the four tests or you get nothing at all. A veteran rated 90% receives no Disabled Veterans’ Exemption in California. That is why individual unemployability matters so much more here than the percentage suggests — §205.5(b) reaches a veteran compensated at the 100% rate "due to unemployability" just as it reaches one rated 100%, so an IU determination is frequently the difference between nothing and about $1,800 a year, every year.

How to claim it

Deadline: Within 90 days of qualifying, or by the following January 1

1Get a VA letter showing a 100% rating, or a determination of unemployability, or the blindness or limb finding.
2File claim form BOE-261-G with your county assessor.
3Ask at the same time whether your household income is under the low-income limit — the two are the same form.

Form: BOE-261-G
File with: Your county assessor
Documents you will need: va rating letter ca · proof of residence · dd214
Stays in place once granted: The BASIC exemption has no annual filing requirement — file once and it stays until something changes. The LOW-INCOME version must be re-filed every year, which is the trap.; This is the BASIC exemption. The low-income version does not work this way.

You can file before your VA letter arrives.

File within 90 days of the qualifying event, or by the January 1 after it, whichever is later, to receive 100% of the exemption. Later filings are accepted at a reduced percentage rather than refused outright.

Walk me through it

Common mistakes that cost people this benefit

Being refused on a combined percentage below 100 when you hold IU. The subsection names unemployability; ask the assessor to read it.
Assuming you must be 100% rated. Blindness in both eyes and loss of the use of two limbs are independent routes with no percentage attached.
Filing once and never checking whether the low-income version is open to you. It is worth about $900 a year more and must be claimed by February 15 each year.
Assuming a hospital stay ends it. If the property would be your principal residence but for your confinement, and it is not rented out, the exemption continues.

This one unlocks

Disabled Veterans’ Property Tax Exemption — Low-Income

Worth knowingIndividual unemployability qualifies. §205.5(b) reaches a veteran "rated 100 percent disabled" OR compensated at the 100% rate "due to unemployability". A veteran rated 70% combined and paid at the 100% rate through IU is entitled to this exemption, and is regularly refused by someone reading the percentage.

Worth knowingThe exemption survives a hospital or care facility stay. If the property would be your principal residence but for your confinement, and it is not rented out, the exemption continues.

Worth knowingCalifornia has no partial disabled veterans’ exemption. Unlike Texas, which pays a schedule from 10% upward, a 90%-rated California veteran with no IU determination gets nothing here — which makes the IU question worth far more than it looks.

Questions people ask

I am rated 70% but paid at the 100% rate through IU. Do I qualify?: On the text of §205.5(b), yes. Take a VA letter that shows the unemployability determination specifically rather than just the combined rating — the Benefit Summary Letter has a tick box for it.
My rating is 90%. What can I get?: Not this exemption — California has no partial version. It is worth asking the VA about unemployability if you are unable to work, but talk to an accredited County Veterans Service Officer first, because any request that reopens your file can trigger a review.
Do I have to re-file every year?: Not for the basic exemption. Only the low-income version needs annual filing, and that one is worth roughly $900 a year more — so it is worth checking whether your household is under the income limit.
How much is it actually worth?: About $1,807 a year at the 1% constitutional rate, plus a little more against any voter-approved debt on your bill. Unlike most states the figure rises every year, because §205.5 indexes it to the California CPI.

Sources

authority · statuteCal. Rev. & Tax. Code §205.5
operating · published policyCalifornia BOE — Disabled Veterans’ Exemption
operating · published policyBOE Letter To Assessors 2025/014 — 2026 exemption amounts

This finder provides an informational match, not a government eligibility determination. The responsible agency decides your application.