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Veterans Exemption — $10,000 Base, Town-Voted to $40,000

At least $10,000 of appraised value is exempt for a wartime veteran receiving disability compensation at 50% or more — and towns may vote the figure up to $40,000. The 50% route is not the only one: a veteran receiving a non-service-connected 'improved pension', a veteran receiving permanent military retirement pay for a medical discharge, and the surviving spouse of an eligible veteran all qualify.

Verified August 27, 2026

What this benefit is

At least $10,000 of appraised value is exempt for a wartime veteran receiving disability compensation at 50% or more — and towns may vote the figure up to $40,000. The 50% route is not the only one: a veteran receiving a non-service-connected 'improved pension', a veteran receiving permanent military retirement pay for a medical discharge, and the surviving spouse of an eligible veteran all qualify.

What it's worth: $10,000 of appraisal value at the state base — up to $40,000 where the town has voted it

  • Towns vote the additional exemption; Norwich, for example, adds $30,000 for a $40,000 total. Ask your town clerk what yours has voted.
  • The $10,000 base and the $40,000 town-voted ceiling are confirmed current.
  • Veterans receiving a non-service-connected pension — the improved pension — qualify. There is no rating to compare against the 50% figure on that route.
  • Veterans receiving permanent military retirement pay for a medical discharge qualify.
  • Surviving spouses of eligible veterans qualify.
  • The filing is annual, by 1 May. A veteran rated totally and permanently disabled files proof only in the first year for a given home.
  • The veterans office recommends requesting the VA proof letter by 1 April, because the letter takes time to arrive and the deadline does not move.

Who is entitled to it

  • You receive disability compensation at 50% or more.
  • The property is your established residence, owned in fee simple.
  • Your home is in Vermont.

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.

How to claim it

Deadline: Before May 1, annually
  1. 1File before May 1 with the town listers a written statement from the VA or military department showing the compensation is being paid — the statute names that document in terms.
  2. 2Ask your town clerk what the town has voted above $10,000 — the spread runs to $40,000 and the town line decides most of the money.
  3. 3Spouses, widows, widowers and children receiving death compensation, DIC or a qualifying pension hold the exemption in their own right — including under joint ownership.
Form
Written statement of compensation from the VA or military department
File with
The town listers, before May 1 — via the Office of Veterans Affairs
Documents you will need
va benefit summary letter
Annual
Claimed once a year.
Known gapProvenance, stated plainly: every Vermont state host refuses automated connections, and the legacy legislature server speaks only plain http our retrieval cannot complete. The statutory text here was captured verbatim as served from leg.state.vt.us via search relay, and the town-vote practice from Norwich’s municipal record. A person with a browser should confirm against the current statute — and until then this record carries that caveat rather than false confidence.
Worth knowingThe exemption reaches beyond the 50% compensation route: death compensation, dependence and indemnity compensation, or a qualifying pension paid through a military department or the VA also carries it — for the veteran’s spouse, widow, widower or child, including jointly owned homes.
Worth knowingAny part of the property used for business or rental is excluded from the exemption.

Sources

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