North Dakota's disabled veteran property tax exemption is really a credit that takes up to $9,000 off a homestead's taxable value for a veteran rated 50% or higher.

The size of North Dakota's Disabled Veteran's Property Tax Credit follows the veteran's VA disability rating, a surviving spouse can keep it, and a first-time claim is filed on form SFN 24770 by April 1 of the first year the credit is claimed. Here's how each piece works, one step at a time.

In This Guide

Who Qualifies for the North Dakota Disabled Veteran Property Tax Credit

Many veterans search for a disabled veteran property tax exemption in North Dakota and find something shaped a little differently. The Disabled Veteran's Property Tax Credit, created by N.D.C.C. 57-02-08.8 and run by the North Dakota Office of State Tax Commissioner, is a credit against the taxable valuation of a qualifying veteran's homestead rather than a flat exemption of the home. The eligibility test has four parts, and it helps to take them one at a time.

The first part is the rating. A veteran qualifies for the North Dakota credit with an armed forces service-connected disability of 50% or greater, or with an extra-schedular rating, including individual unemployability, that results in being paid at the 100% rate as determined by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. That second route matters for veterans whose combined rating sits below 100% but who are paid at the 100% rate through individual unemployability.

The second part is discharge. The North Dakota credit requires that the veteran was discharged under honorable conditions or is retired from the U.S. Armed Forces.

The third part is the home itself. To claim the North Dakota Disabled Veteran's Property Tax Credit, the veteran must reside on and have an ownership interest in the property, and the property must be owned and occupied as the homestead.

The fourth part is timing. The Tax Commissioner's guideline says the veteran's rating must be 50% or greater on the assessment date, and the rating on the assessment date applies for the whole year. So the rating you hold on the assessment date sets that year's North Dakota credit, even if the rating changes later in the year.

One thing the test leaves out is money. According to the Tax Commissioner's guideline, "The disabled veteran's income and assets do not affect eligibility for the credit." That sets this credit apart from North Dakota's Homestead Property Tax Credit, which has an income cap of $70,000, covered further down.

How Much the Credit Takes Off Your Taxable Value

The North Dakota Disabled Veteran's Property Tax Credit equals the veteran's VA disability compensation rating percentage applied against the first $9,000 of the homestead's taxable valuation. The Tax Commissioner publishes the resulting maximum reductions by rating, reproduced in the table below.

VA disability rating Maximum reduction of taxable value
100% $9,000
90% $8,100
80% $7,200
70% $6,300
60% $5,400
50% $4,500

Each figure is a ceiling: the Tax Commissioner lists them as the maximum reduction of taxable value under North Dakota's Disabled Veteran's Property Tax Credit. They are amounts of taxable valuation, not dollars off your tax bill and not your home's market value. This guide doesn't convert them into a dollar saving; your county auditor or local assessor can show you what the credit did on your own tax statement.

Two limits sit alongside the table. The North Dakota credit does not reduce your liability for special assessments levied on the property, and it terminates at the end of the taxable year in which the applicant dies.

What a Surviving Spouse Keeps

A surviving spouse is written directly into the North Dakota statute. If the disabled veteran is deceased, the surviving spouse is eligible for a credit against the first $9,000 of the homestead's taxable valuation equal to the deceased veteran's disability rating percentage. So under North Dakota's Disabled Veteran's Property Tax Credit, the surviving spouse of a veteran rated 70% would keep the same $6,300 maximum reduction of taxable value the veteran had.

One situation raises the credit. Under N.D.C.C. 57-02-08.8, a surviving spouse who is receiving VA dependency and indemnity compensation (DIC) "receives a one hundred percent credit," which means a credit at the 100% level, up to the $9,000 maximum reduction of taxable value, regardless of the veteran's own rating.

There's one timing condition to check. The Tax Commissioner's guideline says that when the applicant is the surviving spouse of a deceased disabled veteran, the deceased veteran must have been disabled before the assessment date. If you're filing as a surviving spouse, the paperwork described in the application section below still applies, and it's worth gathering the veteran's rating certificate and discharge papers early.

Married Veterans, Co-Owners, Trusts, Mobile Homes and Moving

Ownership arrangements change how the North Dakota credit is calculated, so here's how each one works.

The trust rule is the one most likely to catch a family off guard, since an estate plan written years ago may have put the house in an irrevocable trust. If you're unsure which kind of trust holds your home, the trust document or the attorney who drafted it can tell you before you file.

The Separate Exemption for Paraplegic Veterans and Specially Adapted Housing

North Dakota has a second, separate benefit under a different statute, N.D.C.C. 57-02-08(20)(a). It exempts the fixtures, buildings and improvements of a homestead owned and occupied by a paraplegic disabled veteran of the U.S. armed forces, or by any veteran who has been awarded specially adapted housing by the Department of Veterans Affairs, for the first $120,000 of true and full valuation of those fixtures, buildings and improvements. N.D.C.C. 57-02-08(20)(a) extends North Dakota's paraplegic and specially adapted housing exemption to the veteran's unremarried surviving spouse if the veteran is deceased.

The Tax Commissioner's guideline on this exemption adds the working details. The maximum benefit of North Dakota's paraplegic and specially adapted housing exemption may not exceed $5,400 of taxable value, and the land under the home remains taxable. The guideline also says the paraplegic disability does not have to be service connected, the applicant must be disabled on the assessment date, and a person may also qualify for the Homestead Property Tax Credit.

Note that this exemption is measured differently from the rating-based credit: it starts from $120,000 of true and full value of the buildings and improvements, not from taxable valuation, with the guideline's $5,400 taxable-value ceiling on top. If you may qualify for both the paraplegic and specially adapted housing exemption and the Disabled Veteran's Property Tax Credit, ask your county auditor how the two apply to your home.

To claim the paraplegic and specially adapted housing exemption for the first time, N.D.C.C. 57-02-08(20) requires filing an affidavit with the county auditor showing the required facts and a description of the property. After the first year, a claimant for North Dakota's paraplegic and specially adapted housing exemption must furnish the assessor or other assessment officials, when requested, information supporting the claim for a later year.

How to Apply for the North Dakota Disabled Veteran Property Tax Credit on Form SFN 24770

The North Dakota Disabled Veteran's Property Tax Credit is claimed on the Office of State Tax Commissioner's Application for Disabled Veterans Property Tax Credit, form SFN 24770. The steps below follow what the form, the statute and the Tax Commissioner's web page each say.

1
Step 1

Gather your discharge papers

Form SFN 24770 asks for a copy of the DD Form 214 showing the veteran's honorable discharge when the credit is claimed for the first time.

2
Step 2

Get a VA rate certificate

Form SFN 24770 asks for a certificate from the Department of Veterans Affairs certifying the rate at which the veteran is paid, both when claiming for the first time and whenever the veteran's paid rate changes.

3
Step 3

Complete form SFN 24770

N.D.C.C. 57-02-08.8 requires a first-time claimant to file an affidavit showing the required facts, a description of the property, and a VA certificate of the amount of the disability.

4
Step 4

File by April 1 of your first year

The 2026 edition of form SFN 24770 states that "This application must be filed with the county auditor by April 1 of the first year for which the credit is claimed."

You may notice two different offices named in the official North Dakota materials. The form and N.D.C.C. 57-02-08.8 name the county auditor as the place to file. The Tax Commissioner's Disabled Veteran's Property Tax Credit page describes the application as going to the "local assessor or county director of tax equalization," due by April 1st of the year in which the property is assessed and for which the credit is requested, with documentation of the applicant's service-connected disability and honorable military discharge. A quick call to your county auditor's office before you file can confirm where your county wants SFN 24770 delivered.

After the first year, a claimant for North Dakota's Disabled Veteran's Property Tax Credit must furnish the assessor or other assessment officials, when requested, information supporting the claim for any later year. And because form SFN 24770 asks for a new VA rate certificate whenever the veteran's paid rate changes, a rating increase is a good moment to contact your county office.

If you learned about the credit late, one provision is worth knowing about. N.D.C.C. 57-02-08.8 lets the board of county commissioners cancel the portion of unpaid taxes that represents the Disabled Veteran's Property Tax Credit for any year in which the qualifying owner has held title to the homestead.

Stacking the Credit With North Dakota's Other Property Tax Relief

The Disabled Veteran's Property Tax Credit isn't the only North Dakota program that can lower a veteran's property tax, and two others are worth checking. The Tax Commissioner's guideline says a person who meets the income requirement for the Homestead Property Tax Credit may apply for that program also, and that when more than one credit has the same priority, the credits must be allowed in the order most beneficial to the taxpayer.

The North Dakota Homestead Property Tax Credit is for a homeowner 65 or older, or a person with a permanent and total disability, whose income is not more than $70,000, and its applications are due before March 31 in the year the property is assessed. Our guide to North Dakota senior property tax relief walks through its income tiers and paperwork.

The North Dakota Primary Residence Credit is a separate state credit of up to $1,600 against property tax for a homeowner living in the home as a primary residence, with no age restrictions or income limitations and one credit per household. A homeowner approved for the Disabled Veteran's Property Tax Credit who still has a balance due can receive the Primary Residence Credit, up to $1,600, for remaining property taxes owed, applying online during the annual window of January 1 to April 1.

Program Where to apply Deadline
Disabled Veteran's Property Tax Credit (first year) Form SFN 24770; county auditor per the form, or local assessor or county director of tax equalization per the Tax Commissioner's page By April 1
Homestead Property Tax Credit Local assessor or county director of tax equalization Before March 31
Primary Residence Credit Online at tax.nd.gov/prc January 1 to April 1

The three North Dakota deadlines differ by only a day or two, so if you plan to use more than one program, working to the earliest one (before March 31, for the Homestead Property Tax Credit) keeps all of them in reach.,

For the wider picture of what North Dakota offers veterans, see our guide to VA benefits for senior care in North Dakota.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do disabled veterans pay property taxes in North Dakota?

It depends on the home. The North Dakota Disabled Veteran's Property Tax Credit applies only against the first $9,000 of a homestead's taxable valuation, at the veteran's rating percentage, and it does not reduce special assessments. A homeowner approved for the credit who still owes a balance can apply for North Dakota's Primary Residence Credit of up to $1,600 toward the remaining taxes.

My VA rating is below 50%. Can I get anything?

North Dakota's Disabled Veteran's Property Tax Credit requires a service-connected rating of 50% or greater, or an individual unemployability or other extra-schedular rating paid at the 100% rate. North Dakota's Primary Residence Credit has no age restrictions or income limitations, and the Homestead Property Tax Credit is open to homeowners 65 or older, or permanently and totally disabled, with income of $70,000 or less.

My rating went up this year. When does the bigger credit start?

Timing matters here. Suppose the VA raises a veteran from 70% to 90% after the assessment date: because the Tax Commissioner's guideline says the rating on the assessment date applies for the whole year, that year's North Dakota Disabled Veteran's Property Tax Credit stays at the 70% level, a maximum reduction of $6,300 of taxable value, rather than the 90% maximum of $8,100. The higher rating can only count in a year whose assessment date it is already in effect for, and form SFN 24770 asks for a new VA certificate of the rate the veteran is paid whenever that rate changes.,

How do the surviving spouse rules differ between the two North Dakota benefits?

The two North Dakota statutes word the surviving spouse differently. N.D.C.C. 57-02-08.8 extends the Disabled Veteran's Property Tax Credit to "the surviving spouse if the disabled veteran is deceased," at the veteran's rating percentage, or at 100% for a spouse receiving DIC. N.D.C.C. 57-02-08(20)(a) extends the paraplegic and specially adapted housing exemption to "the unremarried surviving spouse if such veteran is deceased." If your situation involves a remarriage, confirm with your county auditor before you file.

Learn More

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. FinancialNorth Dakota Senior Property Tax ReliefHow North Dakota seniors 65+ cut property taxes with the Homestead Credit's two income tiers, plus the $1,600 Primary Residence Credit. March 31 deadline. VA BenefitsVA Benefits for Senior Care in North DakotaA complete guide to VA senior care benefits in North Dakota: home care, nursing homes, Aid and Attendance, the state veterans home, and how to access them. VA BenefitsVA Aid and Attendance in North DakotaVA Aid and Attendance in North Dakota for 2026: who qualifies, pension maximums up to $34,488 a year (about $2,874 a month), how to apply, and free local help.

Find personalized help applying for North Dakota's disabled veteran property tax credit 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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