Disabled Veteran Property Tax Exemption in Arkansas (2026)

Last reviewed August 26, 2026. Every figure, form and deadline on this page is re-checked against the state’s own government sources once a quarter, and the date above is updated when we do it.

Arkansas gives a 100 percent property tax exemption, with no dollar cap, to a veteran with a service-connected 100 percent total and permanent disability rating, or one who receives special monthly compensation for losing a limb or losing sight in one or both eyes. It covers your homestead and your personal property, including vehicles. As of a 2025 law change, you file your VA documentation with the county collector one time, not every year.

Arkansas is also one of the few states that lets the exemption follow a purchase mid-year through proration, which matters if you are buying a home right now. More on that below.

How much is the Arkansas exemption worth?

Arkansas does not scale this exemption by disability percentage and does not cap it at a dollar amount. If you meet the qualifying rating, your home and your personal property owe no state property tax at all, for as long as you own and occupy it as your homestead.

Who qualifies	What is exempt
Service-connected 100 percent total and permanent disability rating	100 percent of homestead and personal property tax, no cap
VA special monthly compensation for loss, or loss of use, of one or more limbs, or for total blindness in one or both eyes

There is no partial tier for a 70 percent or 90 percent rating under this statute. A veteran below 100 percent, without one of the qualifying SMC awards, does not get a reduced version of this benefit under Arkansas law. That is a hard line, not a phase-in.

Because the exemption removes the entire tax bill rather than a slice of assessed value, its dollar value depends entirely on your local millage and your home’s assessed value; a $200,000 home in a county with a 1 percent effective rate saves roughly $2,000 a year, a $350,000 home in the same county saves roughly $3,500. Ask your county collector for the number on your specific parcel.

Who qualifies in Arkansas?

To claim the Arkansas exemption you generally need:

• A service-connected 100 percent total and permanent disability rating from the VA, or an award of special monthly compensation for the loss, or loss of use, of one or more limbs, or for total blindness in one or both eyes.
• Ownership of the homestead, or a qualifying life estate, and personal property assessed in your name.
• Occupancy of the property as your homestead. Rental property, land-only parcels, and special improvement district charges do not qualify.

You cannot double up. If you receive the disabled veteran exemption, you are not also eligible for the separate Amendment 79 homestead tax credit or the age-65 assessment freeze on the same property, because those exist to reduce a tax bill you are not paying in the first place.

The 2025 filing change: one time, not annual

Until 2025, Arkansas law did not say how often a veteran had to prove eligibility, so some county collectors required the VA Summary of Benefits letter every year, with practical deadlines such as October 15. Act 876 of 2025 rewrote that: the letter is now required only once to establish eligibility. After that, you only have to notify the collector if your total-and-permanent status changes, or if you move and need to register a new homestead. If a county page you find still describes an annual resubmission requirement, that page has not caught up with the 2025 law.

Surviving spouses and minor dependent children

An unremarried surviving spouse of an eligible disabled veteran can keep the exemption. If the spouse remarries, the exemption stops; if that later marriage ends, eligibility can be reinstated. Minor dependent children can also qualify, with restrictions the county collector will walk you through. Bring proof of the veteran’s death and your marital status when you apply.

Ownership through a trust or LLC

Pulaski County’s collector notes that beginning with the 2026 assessment year, homestead property solely owned by the disabled veteran or surviving spouse through an LLC or a revocable or irrevocable trust also qualifies. If your home is titled that way, confirm the same treatment with your own county collector, since administration is local.

Can the exemption be used before closing?

In Arkansas, yes, and this is unusual. Most states tie eligibility to who owned the home on one fixed date, so a purchase mid-year has to wait for the next tax year. Arkansas instead prorates the exemption to the date of the transaction. The law that set this up has been on the books since 1989: when an exempt veteran sells a home, the exemption is prorated to the date of sale, the selling veteran owes no tax for the part of the year they owned it, and the buyer owes tax only for the balance of the year.

County collectors run that same math the other direction for a purchase. Saline County’s own instructions tell veterans buying or selling a homestead to bring in the closing settlement papers so the office can prorate the bill for the time of ownership. That means a veteran who closes in June can generally get the exemption applied for the second half of that same tax year, not the following one, once the settlement statement and VA documentation are on file.

Lender treatment is a separate question from state law. Arkansas allowing the proration does not automatically mean your lender will count the reduced tax bill at closing for qualifying purposes. That is a lender or investor overlay decision, and it varies by lender even when the state clearly permits the reduction. Ask your loan officer whether they will use the prorated number or the full bill before you write an offer, and get the answer in writing if the file is tight on debt to income.

Four states put a pre-purchase determination in the statute. Arkansas is not one of them

State rule. Four states let a qualifying veteran get something in writing from the taxing authority before they own the home:

• Virginia: file the normal exemption paperwork plus documentation of the purchase agreement and the commissioner of the revenue must process it and send an approval or denial letter, with the exemption amount, within 20 business days. Va. Code § 58.1-3219.6(B). The exemption itself takes effect only after you become the owner.
• Maryland: you may apply for a specific dwelling you intend to purchase, and the Department of Assessments and Taxation must send a preliminary approval or denial, with the amount, within 15 business days. Md. Code, Tax-Property § 7-208(d)(5). No second application is needed once you own it.
• Utah: a qualifying disabled veteran claimant may apply before owning the residence with a real estate purchase contract, filed in the county where the home sits, and the county must send a receipt with preliminary approval or denial and the calculated amount within 15 business days. Utah Code § 59-2a-502(5).
• Alabama: for closings on or after October 1, 2026, the tax assessing official issues a tentative certificate of permanent and total disability before purchase, within 20 days, and the statute says a settlement agent or loan closing officer may not consider the homestead ad valorem taxes when calculating debt-to-income once you hand over that certificate. Ala. Code § 40-9-21.3.

One correction worth having, because it gets repeated a lot: outside of Alabama these laws bind the county or the state tax office, not your lender. They force the taxing authority to answer you in writing before closing. They do not order a lender to waive or exclude the tax. Alabama is the only one of the four that reaches into the loan file itself. North Carolina has a bill that would add a prequalification process, House Bill 94, which passed the House 112 to 0 in May 2025 and has sat in Senate Rules since. It is not law, so do not plan around it.

In Arkansas it is a lender decision, so shop it

Lender overlay and market practice. There is no Arkansas statute telling the taxing authority to pre-approve you before you own the home, so whether this benefit helps you qualify comes down to lender policy. Here is what that looks like in practice, from lender guidance we collected directly in August 2026:

• Some lenders will use the reduced tax figure before closing, and some will not. One wholesale lender told us plainly it will consider a veteran real estate tax exemption and a reduced property tax number in the qualifying payment, as long as underwriting gets the local exemption rules and proof you meet them. If the documentation is short, underwriting uses the full tax amount instead. Another wholesaler checks it state by state and county by county on every single closing. If your lender says no, that is not the final answer on the benefit. It is that lender’s answer. Ask another one.
• Every lender will require proof of eligibility if the lower tax is doing work in your file. If the reduced tax is what lowers your debt ratio or raises your residual income, expect to document it: your VA rating decision or award letter showing the qualifying disability, the taxing authority’s own published exemption rules, and usually the completed exemption application. One lender’s VA guide requires proof of 100 percent disability from VA plus a copy of the completed county application for property tax exemption, and where the application has to be notarized it takes an unsigned copy up front and conditions it to be signed at closing.

Lender overlays apply everywhere. State permission is not lender permission. One large investor allows the anticipated reduced tax for qualifying only for primary residences in California, Florida, Maryland, Texas, Utah and Virginia, and only with proof the veteran applied to the taxing authority before the note date. Arkansas is not on that list.

Practically, ask your loan officer two questions before you write an offer: will you use a reduced tax figure to qualify me, and will you waive the tax escrow. Different lenders give different answers on the same file, and that is normal, not a mistake.

What we can do instead: waive the escrow

If the exemption cannot be counted yet, the fallback is to not escrow the taxes at all, so your monthly housing expense is not carrying twelve months of a tax bill that is about to shrink. VA does not require escrows, so this is a lender and investor decision, and many will allow it on a strong file. There are lenders that will waive the tax escrow on a VA loan even when the property taxes have not been waived yet, so this is a real option and not a rare favor. Some will waive it with no restrictions at all, others want the eligibility proof and the correct paperwork in the file first. Waiving escrow does not require the taxing authority to approve anything, which is why it is usually the easier ask of the two. Understand the tradeoff: with no escrow account, you pay the taxing authority directly and you are on your own for those tax bills until the exemption is actually approved, and approval can take a while. Budget for it and pay the bill on time; a delinquent tax bill on a home you just bought is an expensive way to save a few dollars of monthly payment.

One more VA rule to know, because it runs the other way. On estimating taxes, Chapter 4 says “If taxes are expected to increase, use the increased amount.” There is no matching VA instruction that lets an underwriter write down your taxes, which is why the reduction is always a lender option and never a VA entitlement. The Chapter 4 text is here if you want to read it.

Plan for the gap between closing and approval

These applications take a while to process, and the taxing authority’s calendar does not wait for your loan. A tax bill can come due between your closing date and the day your exemption is approved, and you are the owner, so that bill is yours. That can include taxes attributable to the period the prior owner held the home. One lender’s VA guide makes it explicit and requires a signed letter of explanation from the veteran borrower stating they are solely responsible for the property taxes owed for the prior owner. Keep the money set aside and do not assume the first bill will be reduced, especially if you waived escrow and Arkansas is billing you directly.

How to apply in Arkansas, step by step

1. Get your VA Summary of Benefits letter. The VA mails this every January. If you do not receive it, request it at VA.gov, by calling 1-800-827-1000, or at a VA regional office. If the letter does not show your total-and-permanent onset date, add a copy of your Rating Decision Form that does.
2. Take it to your county collector, not the assessor. Arkansas splits the roles: the assessor sets your property’s value, the collector bills and collects the tax and administers this exemption. There is no single statewide form; each of Arkansas’s 75 counties handles the paperwork locally, by mail, fax or in person.
3. Make sure your name matches the title and the personal property assessment. You must be listed as owner of record on the real estate and be the one assessed for your personal property, including vehicles, for the exemption to attach to both.
4. File once, not every year. Since Act 876 of 2025, you no longer resubmit the VA letter annually. You only have to tell the collector if your rating status changes or you move to a new homestead, in which case you file a fresh letter at the new address.
5. Buying or selling mid-year? Bring your closing settlement statement to the collector so they can prorate the bill to your date of ownership instead of applying it only from the next tax year.

Use the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration’s county officials directory to find the assessor and collector contact information for the county where you are buying. Do not guess at your county’s process; the paperwork and the office hours vary.

Can you get a refund of prior year taxes?

Arkansas property tax is treated as voluntarily paid once you pay it, and several county collectors, including Saline County’s, are explicit that they cannot refund prior years of DAV eligibility if the Summary of Benefits letter was not on file at the time you paid. In practice this means the exemption runs forward from the point your documentation is accepted, not backward.

What does move backward is a wrongly granted exemption. Act 876 of 2025 also gave county collectors authority to claw back up to three years of taxes, plus penalties, interest and costs, from a taxpayer who was erroneously granted the exemption. That cuts against the veteran, not for you, so keep your VA documentation current and tell the collector promptly if your status changes.

Other Arkansas programs for disabled veterans

The property tax exemption is the biggest one for homeowners, but Arkansas has a few other programs worth knowing about.

• Amendment 79 homestead tax credit (state). Regular Arkansas homeowners, including veterans who do not qualify for the full DAV exemption, can claim a general homestead credit against their real property tax, plus a freeze on assessed value increases for owners who are 65 or older or disabled. A veteran already receiving the full DAV exemption cannot stack this credit on the same property, since there is no tax bill left to credit.
• Personal property assessment (state and county). Even with the exemption, Arkansas still requires you to file an annual personal property assessment listing your vehicles and other taxable personal property with the county assessor by the state’s normal assessment deadline. The exemption removes the tax owed, it does not remove the requirement to assess.
• County veteran service officers (county). Most Arkansas counties have a veteran service office, often located with or near the collector’s office, that helps file VA claims and can help track down a missing Summary of Benefits letter or Rating Decision Form.
• VA funding fee exemption (federal). Separate from any state program, a service-connected disability rating of 10 percent or higher from the VA exempts you from the VA funding fee on a VA loan, which is a far larger dollar figure than this property tax exemption on most purchases. See the funding fee breakdown for the current rates.

Arkansas disabled veteran property tax FAQs

How much is Arkansas’s disabled veteran property tax exemption worth?

There is no cap. If you qualify, your homestead and your personal property, including your vehicles, are exempt from all state property tax. There is no $58,000 or $180,000 ceiling like some states use. It is a full exemption, not a reduction in value.

Do I have to be rated 100 percent to qualify in Arkansas?

Yes, with a narrow exception. You qualify with a service-connected 100 percent total and permanent disability rating, or with special monthly compensation for the loss of, or loss of use of, one or more limbs, or for total blindness in one or both eyes. Arkansas has no partial exemption for lower ratings under this statute.

Do I have to resubmit my VA letter every year?

No, not anymore. Act 876 of 2025 changed the law so your Summary of Benefits letter is submitted one time to establish eligibility. You only have to notify the county collector if your rating status changes or you move to a new homestead. Some county pages still describe the old annual routine, which the 2025 law replaced.

Can I use the exemption on a home I am buying right now?

Yes, and this is where Arkansas differs from most states. The statute prorates the exemption to the date of ownership. When an exempt veteran sells, the exemption is prorated to the sale date so the veteran owes nothing for the time they owned it and the buyer owes tax only for the rest of the year. County collectors apply that same proration logic to purchases, so bring your closing settlement papers to the collector’s office.

What happens to my property tax bill if I qualify?

Once the exemption is on the account, the county drops the property tax bill to zero. A lender still has to qualify you on some tax figure at closing, and how much of the coming reduction they will count is a lender decision, not a state one, so ask your loan officer directly.

Can a surviving spouse keep the Arkansas exemption?

Yes, with conditions. The surviving spouse must remain unmarried, or the exemption ends if they remarry and is only reinstated if that later marriage is terminated. Minor dependent children can also qualify with restrictions. Confirm the documentation your county collector wants.

Does the Arkansas exemption cover my car too?

Yes. The statute exempts personal property as well as the homestead, and county collectors apply it to your annual personal property assessment, including vehicles, not just your real estate bill. You still have to file your personal property assessment each year, you just owe no tax on the assessed value.

Where do I apply, the assessor or the collector?

The county collector, not the assessor. Arkansas splits the roles: the assessor sets value and the collector bills and collects tax. You send your VA documentation to the collector’s office in the county where your home is.

Where to go next

• Disabled Veteran Property Tax Exemption Guide, every state’s exemption, form and deadline in one directory
• The complete guide to VA home loans
• Property tax discounts for veterans on VA disability, the national overview
• Bad credit VA loans in Arkansas
• VA renovation loans in Arkansas
• Funding Fee Waivers and Refunds Guide, the fee is waived outright at a 10 percent rating or higher, and can be refunded if you already paid it