Ohio Disabled Veteran Property Tax Exemption (2026)

Ohio's disabled veteran property tax exemption erases the tax on tens of thousands of dollars of a qualifying veteran's home value, with no income limit at all. The Ohio Department of Taxation certified that reduction at $58,000 for tax year 2025 real property, the most recent amount it has published. If you're a veteran with a total (100%) service-connected disability rating, this enhanced homestead exemption lowers your home's taxable value, and it stays with a surviving spouse after the veteran dies.

This guide walks through exactly who qualifies, what the exemption is worth, how a surviving spouse keeps it, how to file with your county auditor, and how it fits alongside your federal VA benefits.

In This Guide

• Key Takeaways
• Do You Qualify for Ohio's Disabled Veteran Property Tax Exemption?
• How Much Is the Ohio Disabled Veteran Property Tax Exemption Worth?
• What About a Surviving Spouse?
• How to Apply, Step by Step
• How It Works With Your VA Benefits
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Learn More

Do You Qualify for Ohio's Disabled Veteran Property Tax Exemption?

This is a State of Ohio property-tax benefit, created under Ohio's homestead exemption law (Ohio Revised Code sections 323.151 and 323.152), and it's separate from the federal VA's disability compensation and pension programs.1 To claim it, you have to meet Ohio's definition of a "disabled veteran," which is narrower than you might expect.

Under the statute, a disabled veteran is someone who:1

• Was discharged or released from active duty under honorable conditions, and
• Has received a total (100%) service-connected disability rating from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, or a total disability rating for compensation based on individual unemployability (often called TDIU).1

Two points are worth slowing down on. First, the rating has to be a total rating. A veteran rated at 70% or 80% for a service-connected condition doesn't meet this bar, even though those are significant disabilities. Second, individual unemployability counts the same as a straight 100% rating here, so a veteran whose combined rating is below 100% but who the VA has determined can't maintain substantially gainful employment still qualifies.1

The exemption applies to the home you own and occupy as your primary residence, called your homestead in Ohio law.1

No income limit applies

Ohio's regular homestead exemption for homeowners who are 65 or older, or permanently and totally disabled, comes with an income test. The disabled veteran version does not. Disabled veterans qualify for this enhanced exemption regardless of income, so a veteran with a substantial pension or investment income is just as eligible as one with none.1 If you're looking into the age-based relief instead of the disabled veteran benefit, our guide to Ohio's senior property tax relief covers that separate program.

How Much Is the Ohio Disabled Veteran Property Tax Exemption Worth?

Here's how the math works. The exemption doesn't hand you a fixed dollar off your tax bill. Instead, it removes a chunk of your home's value from what gets taxed, and your savings depend on your local tax rate.

The statute starts from $50,000 of your home's true (market) value and adjusts that figure for inflation each year. The Ohio Department of Taxation publishes the adjusted amount tax year by tax year: $56,000 for tax year 2024 real property and $58,000 for tax year 2025 real property.1 So for tax year 2025, the county calculates your property tax as if your home were worth $58,000 less than it actually is.

The department's published table runs through tax year 2025 real property, so there is no certified figure for the 2026 tax year yet.1 Confirm the amount that applies to your current bill with your county auditor before you budget around it.

Because the benefit is tied to your millage rate rather than a flat credit, the actual dollars saved vary from county to county. A veteran in a district with a higher effective tax rate saves more in real dollars from the same reduction than one in a lower-rate district.1 Your county auditor can tell you the precise figure for your address.

What About a Surviving Spouse?

One of the most reassuring parts of this exemption is what happens when the veteran dies. The benefit doesn't disappear.

A homestead owned and occupied by the surviving spouse of a disabled veteran receives the same reduction the veteran had.1 That means the spouse continues to have that year's certified amount removed from the home's taxable value, keeping the tax relief in place through what is often a financially fragile time.

The reduction continues through the tax year in which the surviving spouse dies or remarries.1 In practice, a surviving spouse who stays in the home and doesn't remarry keeps the exemption for the rest of their life. A spouse who remarries loses it starting after that tax year. The spouse does need to file the homestead application to have the reduction approved in their own name, so this isn't automatic paperwork you can skip.

How to Apply, Step by Step

You claim the exemption by filing a homestead exemption application with your county auditor, the local official who administers property-tax relief in Ohio.1 The state's homestead exemption rules are published online, and your county auditor processes the application.

If you'd like help gathering your VA documentation, the Ohio Department of Veterans Services and your local County Veterans Service Office assist veterans with benefit paperwork at no cost. They're a good first call if you're not sure how to pull your current rating decision.

How It Works With Your VA Benefits

A common worry is whether claiming a state tax break interacts with the federal side. This exemption is a State of Ohio property-tax benefit, a separate program from the federal VA's disability compensation and pension benefits.1 It lowers what your county taxes your home on rather than paying you, so it is not the same transaction as your VA pension or VA Aid and Attendance. If you receive, or are applying for, a needs-based VA Pension or Aid and Attendance, which the VA assesses on income and net worth, confirm your own situation with an accredited representative.

That last point matters for families stacking benefits. Aid and Attendance is a federal VA pension for a veteran who needs help with daily activities, and its 2026 maximum annual pension rate (MAPR) is $29,093 a year for a veteran with no dependents and $34,488 a year for a veteran with one dependent.2 Those are ceilings rather than payments: the VA pays the difference between the MAPR and your countable income, so a veteran with income receives less.2 The VA publishes these rates as annual amounts, and a monthly amount is the yearly award divided by 12, which works out to about $2,424 a month with no dependents and $2,874 a month with one dependent, the one monthly rate the VA states outright (38 CFR 3.276(e)(1)).2 Aid and Attendance runs on its own eligibility rules and its own agency.2 A qualifying disabled veteran in Ohio can hold the property-tax exemption and receive Aid and Attendance at the same time, because the two are administered separately.1 For a full walkthrough of that pension and the other VA programs that pay for senior care, see our guide to VA benefits for senior care in Ohio.

Ohio is home to one of the largest veteran populations of any state, so this is far from a niche benefit.3 Hundreds of thousands of Ohio veterans and their families are in a position to use it, and many who qualify never file.

Learn More

Find personalized help claiming the disabled veteran property tax exemption in Ohio 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.