An Arkansas veteran who qualifies for the disabled veteran property tax exemption is exempt from payment of all state taxes on the homestead and personal property they own.

The Arkansas exemption under Arkansas Code § 26-3-306 is a full exemption of the qualifying homestead and personal property rather than a fixed-dollar reduction in assessed value, and it carries no separate income cap. It is a state benefit, written into Arkansas law and claimed at your county collector's office, separate from the disability compensation and pension benefits the federal U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) pays.

In This Guide

Who Qualifies for the Arkansas Disabled Veteran Property Tax Exemption

Arkansas keys this benefit to specific awards rather than to rating bands. The statute names them, and a veteran either holds one or doesn't.

Arkansas Code § 26-3-306 puts it this way: a disabled veteran who has been awarded special monthly compensation by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs for the loss of, or the loss of use of, one or more limbs, for total blindness in one or both eyes, or for a service-connected 100% total and permanent disability is exempt from payment of all state taxes on the homestead and personal property owned by the disabled veteran. In plainer terms, that is three separate doors, and any one of them is enough on its own.

That structure has a consequence worth knowing before you assume you're out. The special monthly compensation routes are not rating-percentage routes. A veteran whose combined rating sits below 100% can still qualify if the VA has awarded special monthly compensation for limb loss, loss of use of a limb, or total blindness. If your award letter mentions special monthly compensation, pull it out before you decide the exemption isn't for you.

The property side is simpler. The exemption attaches to the homestead, meaning the veteran's principal place of residence. A rental you own across the county or a lake place you visit in summer isn't your homestead.

This matters to a large group of Arkansans. VA's National Center for Veterans Analysis and Statistics reports 207,308 veterans in Arkansas in its FY2024 state summary, and 93,885 of them, 45.3%, are age 65 and over. Age isn't what opens this particular door, though. The exemption turns on a VA award, not on a birthday.

What the Arkansas Disabled Veteran Property Tax Exemption Covers

Arkansas's disabled veteran homestead exemption covers more than the homestead itself. A qualifying disabled veteran is exempt from payment of all state taxes on the homestead and the personal property owned by the disabled veteran. Your county collector can tell you exactly which items on your assessment are covered in your case.

Two points are worth stating plainly, because they are the questions families ask first.

There is no separate income cap on this exemption, and the exemption is not a fixed-dollar reduction in assessed value. A qualifying veteran is not billed a smaller amount on that property; § 26-3-306 exempts the payment itself.

It also isn't the program most Arkansas seniors are thinking of. The disabled veteran exemption is separate from the assessment freeze at Arkansas Code § 26-26-1124, and it is not based on age or income. That freeze is its own track: eligibility runs on age or disability with no income requirement, the taxable assessed value of the homestead is frozen at its value at the next assessment date after the owner turns 65 or becomes disabled, and homeowners apply for it with their county assessor's office. If both could apply to your household, ask the county which one leaves you with the smaller bill. The Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration publishes the details of that program, and our guide to senior property tax relief in Arkansas walks through it.

How Trust and LLC Ownership Changed for 2026

Older Arkansas homeowners often hold the family home inside a revocable living trust, put there years ago on an estate planner's advice. Until recently that arrangement could complicate a homestead claim.

Act 675 of 2025, passed as HB1809, amended § 26-3-306 so that homestead property owned through a qualifying revocable or irrevocable trust or a limited liability company can also qualify for the exemption in certain circumstances, effective for the 2026 assessment year.

The statute's qualifier, in certain circumstances, is doing real work there: the amendment opens the door for trust-held and LLC-held homestead property without making every arrangement qualify. If your home sits in a trust or an LLC, bring the trust instrument or the operating agreement with you when you go to the county collector, and ask them to confirm the ownership qualifies before the assessment year runs.

What Happens to the Arkansas Property Tax Exemption for a Surviving Spouse and Children

The Arkansas veteran property tax exemption does not end at the veteran's death. Upon the death of a disabled veteran who qualifies for and receives the exemption, § 26-3-306 extends it to the surviving spouse, provided the spouse remains unmarried, and to minor dependent children.

The two conditions in that sentence matter. The spouse has to remain unmarried, and the children have to be minor dependents. For a widow or widower already stretched by a funeral and a halved income, confirming the exemption stays on the property is one of the more valuable calls to make in the first months, and the county collector's office is where that call goes.

How to Claim the Exemption

Arkansas routes this claim through your county, and the office is the county collector's. That is a different office from the county assessor, where homeowners file for the senior assessment freeze.

1
Step 1

Gather your VA award documentation

You need the letter establishing either your special monthly compensation award for loss or loss of use of one or more limbs or total blindness in one or both eyes, or your service-connected 100% total and permanent disability.

2
Step 2

Contact your local county collector's office

Arkansas directs veterans to their local county collector's office to learn more about the exemption or to apply for it.

3
Step 3

Bring proof of ownership and residence, including any trust or LLC paperwork

The exemption attaches to your principal place of residence, so the collector needs to see how the property is held.

4
Step 4

Ask a county Veterans Service Officer if the paperwork stalls

Arkansas Veterans Service Officers (VSOs) are employees of the Arkansas Department of Veterans Affairs (ADVA), and their responsibilities include assisting veterans and their families in applying for federal and state benefits and managing claims for compensation and pensions.

If you are unsure which VA award you hold, or you need a copy of it, start with ADVA rather than guessing. The agency was formed in 1923 to connect state and federal benefits to Arkansas veterans and their eligible dependents, and it carries that mission through a network of district and county Veterans Service Officers who are ADVA employees, accredited through the VA by way of a recognized veterans service organization. VA states that the services an accredited VSO representative provides on your VA benefit claims are always free, while an accredited attorney or claims agent can charge fees.

How It Fits With Your Federal VA Benefits

Families ask how the Arkansas exemption sits alongside what the VA pays them. Start with what the law establishes. The Arkansas exemption is a benefit created and administered under state law, a separate program from the federal VA's disability compensation and pension benefits, and it is claimed at the county collector's office. What it does is exempt payment of the state taxes on qualifying property; it isn't a check the VA writes you.

The distinction matters most when a veteran is also pursuing VA Aid and Attendance, the pension add-on for veterans who need help with daily activities. In 2026, the maximum Aid and Attendance pension is $29,093 a year for a qualifying veteran with no dependents and $34,488 a year for a veteran with one dependent, paid out in monthly twelfths. Aid and Attendance is needs based, with a 2026 net worth limit of $163,699 and a requirement that you need another person's help with daily activities such as bathing, dressing, or feeding.

Those two programs test completely different things. The Arkansas exemption asks what the VA awarded you and where you live. Aid and Attendance asks what you own and what you can no longer do for yourself. That difference is about how each program is written, not a forecast of how your own numbers land. If you receive or are applying for a needs based VA benefit, take your specific situation to an accredited Arkansas Veterans Service Officer or to the VA before you assume anything about the interaction. A VSO's help on a VA benefit claim is free; an accredited attorney or claims agent can charge you fees.

For the federal picture, our Arkansas Aid and Attendance guide covers eligibility, the rates, and how to file, and our overview of VA benefits for senior care in Arkansas shows how these pieces sit alongside VA health care and the state veterans homes. If you are comparing states, the national disabled veteran property tax exemption by state directory lines them up side by side.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I qualify if my VA rating is below 100%?

Possibly, yes. Arkansas Code § 26-3-306 has three doors, and only one of them is the 100% total and permanent route. The other two run through special monthly compensation: an award for the loss of, or loss of use of, one or more limbs, or an award for total blindness in one or both eyes. A veteran holding one of those awards qualifies regardless of where the combined rating lands. Check your award letter for the phrase special monthly compensation before you rule yourself out.

My husband died last year. Can I keep the exemption?

If he qualified for and received the exemption, § 26-3-306 extends it to the surviving spouse so long as the spouse remains unmarried, and to minor dependent children. Contact the county collector's office that handled his claim and ask them to confirm the carryover is attached to the property for the coming assessment year, so the bill does not arrive as a surprise.

Our house is in a living trust. Can the exemption still apply?

Act 675 of 2025 speaks to exactly that. The act, passed as HB1809, amended § 26-3-306 so homestead property owned through a qualifying revocable or irrevocable trust or a limited liability company can qualify in certain circumstances, effective for the 2026 assessment year. The statute qualifies that with in certain circumstances, so take the trust document to the county collector and have them confirm your specific arrangement before you count on it.

How does this fit with my VA compensation or pension?

Arkansas's exemption is created and administered under state law, distinct from the VA's disability compensation and pension programs, and what it changes is a county property tax bill rather than a federal payment. That's a statement about how the two programs are structured, not a prediction about your household. VA pension, including its Aid and Attendance rate, is needs based, with a 2026 net worth limit of $163,699 whose calculation counts the claimant's and dependents' assets and income for VA purposes while excluding the primary residence, the car, and basic home items. So if you receive or are applying for a needs based VA benefit, put the question to an accredited Arkansas Veterans Service Officer or to the VA rather than to a guide. A VSO's help on a VA benefit claim is free.

Learn More

VA BenefitsVA Aid and Attendance in ArkansasVA Aid and Attendance in Arkansas for 2026: who qualifies, monthly rates up to $2,874, how to apply, and free help from ADVA and county service officers. VA BenefitsVA Benefits You Can Use for Senior Care in ArkansasA complete guide to VA senior care benefits in Arkansas: home care, nursing homes, Aid and Attendance, state veterans homes, and how to access them in 2026. FinancialArkansas Senior Property Tax ReliefArkansas homeowners 65+ can freeze their home's taxable assessed value, no income test, plus a Homestead Credit up to $600. Who qualifies and how to apply. VA BenefitsDisabled Veteran Property Tax Exemption by StateMost states fully or partially exempt a service-connected disabled veteran's home from property tax. See how the three models work and find your state. VA BenefitsVA Benefits for Senior Care: A Complete GuideA complete guide to VA benefits for senior care: long-term care, Aid and Attendance, pensions, DIC, and home grants for older veterans and surviving spouses.

Find personalized help claiming the Arkansas disabled veteran property tax exemption at brevy.com.

The information on Brevy.com is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional legal, financial, or medical advice. Rules vary by state and program and change frequently. Always verify with the relevant agency or a qualified professional. Brevy is not a law firm, financial advisor, or healthcare provider.

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