Disabled Veteran Property Tax Exemption in New Hampshire (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.

New Hampshire’s disabled veteran property tax break is a $700 yearly credit against your tax bill if you have a total and permanent service-connected disability rating, or are a double amputee or paraplegic because of a service-connected injury. It is a credit, not a reduction in your home’s assessed value. Your city or town can vote to raise it as high as $5,000, and the amount only exists where the town has adopted it. You file form PA-29 with your local selectmen or assessors by April 15.

A separate, narrower state law gives a full exemption from all property tax if your home was specially adapted with a VA Special Adapted Housing (SAH) or Special Home Adaptation (SHA) grant and you meet a 100 percent permanent and total rating, double amputee, paraplegic, or qualifying blindness standard. Most disabled veterans in New Hampshire are working with the $700 to $5,000 credit, not the full exemption, and I show you the difference below.

How much is New Hampshire’s disabled veteran credit worth?

Law	Who qualifies	What you get
RSA 72:35, standard credit	Total and permanent service-connected disability, or double amputee/paraplegic from service, or unremarried surviving spouse	$700 a year, subtracted from the tax bill
RSA 72:35, optional credit	Same group, only where the city or town has voted to adopt the higher amount	$701 to $5,000 a year, set by the town, subtracted from the tax bill in place of the standard $700
RSA 72:36-a, full exemption	100 percent P&T (per 38 C.F.R. 3.340), or double amputee/paraplegic, or blindness of 5/200 or less, and the home was acquired or adapted with a VA Special Adapted Housing (SAH) or Special Home Adaptation (SHA) grant	Exempt from all property tax on that homestead
RSA 72:28, ordinary veterans’ credit	Any qualifying wartime veteran, no disability required	$50 a year standard, or $51 to $750 if the town adopts the optional version

Two things make New Hampshire different from most states. First, the main veteran disability benefit is a flat-dollar credit off your bill, not a reduction in your home’s taxable value, so its dollar value does not scale with a more expensive house. Second, every dollar amount above $700 is a local decision. New Hampshire has no county government administering property tax; all 250-plus cities and towns set their own optional amount, or do not adopt one at all. The Department of Revenue Administration publishes what each municipality has adopted and how many veterans it granted the credit to, in its annual Exemptions and Veterans’ Tax Credits report. Ask your town’s selectmen or assessing office what your specific town has adopted before you assume a number.

The statute’s odd interaction: the optional credit can replace the full exemption

RSA 72:35, I-a says the optional service-connected disability credit, once a town adopts it, “shall replace the tax credits pursuant to RSA 72:28, 72:28-b, 72:28-c, and 72:36-a in its entirety and shall not be in addition thereto.” Read plainly, that means a veteran who would otherwise qualify for the full RSA 72:36-a exemption on a VA-adapted home gets only the town’s optional dollar credit instead, once the town has adopted one. This is unusual enough, and consequential enough for a veteran in a specially adapted home, that you should have your city or town assessor confirm in writing which provision actually applies to your specific property before you count on either number.

Who qualifies in New Hampshire?

To claim the RSA 72:35 credit (the $700 to $5,000 one most disabled veterans in New Hampshire actually use) you need:

• Honorable discharge, or honorable separation as an officer, from the U.S. Armed Forces.
• A total and permanent service-connected disability rating, or status as a double amputee or paraplegic because of a service-connected injury.
• Ownership and occupancy as your principal residence, confirmed as of April 1 of the year you first claim it. The credit covers the residence plus appurtenant land, and manufactured housing used as the principal residence.

To claim the narrower RSA 72:36-a full exemption instead, you need all of the above disability standard (or blindness of 5/200 or less in both eyes from service) and a home that was specially adapted using a VA Special Adapted Housing (SAH) or Special Home Adaptation (SHA) grant, or bought with proceeds from selling such a home. Satisfactory proof of the service-connected disability has to be furnished to your local assessors.

No income or asset test

Neither RSA 72:35 nor RSA 72:36-a has an income or net-asset limit. That sets them apart from some of New Hampshire’s other property tax relief laws, like the elderly exemption and the exemption for recipients of Social Security disability benefits under RSA 72:37-b, both of which are means tested and require town adoption of the exemption amount.

Surviving spouses

An unremarried surviving spouse can claim either benefit under the same terms the veteran would have. New Hampshire law is explicit: remarriage ends surviving-spouse status for these credits, but a later divorce restores it. If the new spouse also dies, the person is treated as that spouse’s widow or widower, not reverted back to veteran surviving-spouse status.

Ordinary veterans still get something smaller

If you served but do not meet the disability standard above, RSA 72:28 gives every qualifying wartime veteran a standard $50 credit, or up to $750 if the town has adopted the optional version. It is much smaller, and it is what most non-disabled veteran homeowners in the state are using.

Can the credit be used before closing?

In New Hampshire, no. Not for the year you buy, unless you already owned and occupied the home on April 1. RSA 72:33 requires the applicant to be “the true and lawful owner of the property” and “duly qualified upon April 1 of the year in which the exemption or tax credit is first claimed.” Buy in May 2026 and the earliest year you can claim either the RSA 72:35 credit or the RSA 72:36-a exemption is 2027, filed with your PA-29 application by April 15, 2027. New Hampshire’s one flexibility is narrow: if accident, mistake, or misfortune kept you from filing by April 15, the selectmen or assessors can accept a late application and still grant the credit for that year, but only before the local tax rate has been set. That is not a purchase-timing workaround, it is a paperwork-mistake workaround.

Four states put a pre-purchase determination in the statute. New Hampshire 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 New Hampshire it is a lender decision, so shop it

Lender overlay and market practice. There is no New Hampshire 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. New Hampshire 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 New Hampshire is billing you directly.

How to apply in New Hampshire, step by step

1. Get form PA-29, the Permanent Application for Property Tax Credit/Exemption, from the NH Department of Revenue Administration (PDF download), or from your city or town’s assessing office. It is the same form used for the veteran, elderly, and disability exemptions, so mark the right section for the service-connected disability credit or exemption.
2. Attach your supporting documents. A copy of your DD214 showing an honorable discharge, plus your VA award letter documenting the total and permanent service-connected disability rating, double amputee/paraplegic determination, or qualifying blindness. If you are applying under RSA 72:36-a, add your SAH or SHA grant paperwork from the VA. Your local assessors decide what counts as “satisfactory proof,” so ask what they want to see before you submit.
3. File it with your city or town’s selectmen or assessors. New Hampshire administers property tax at the municipal level, not the county level, so there is no county office to contact. Every city and town’s contact information is in the New Hampshire Department of Revenue Administration’s Municipal and Property Division directory, and its annual Exemptions and Veterans’ Tax Credits report shows exactly what each municipality has adopted.
4. Watch the deadline. File by April 15 of the tax year you want the credit or exemption for. You must have owned the home and been qualified on April 1 of that same year.
5. It is a permanent application. Once approved, the credit or exemption continues automatically. You only have to refile if you change residence, and then it has to be by December 1 following the move.

Can you get a refund of prior year taxes?

New Hampshire does not have a prior-year refund provision for the veteran disability credit or exemption the way some states do. RSA 72:33’s only flexibility is narrower: if accident, mistake, or misfortune kept you from filing your permanent application by April 15, the selectmen or assessors may accept a late application and grant the credit or exemption for that same tax year, but only if the local tax rate has not yet been set. Once the tax rate is approved for the year, no further application can be accepted for that year, and there is no mechanism in this statute to go back and recover a year you already paid in full without the credit.

Practically, that means the safest move is to apply the moment you qualify rather than assume you can fix a missed year later. If you think you missed a deadline by accident, call your town’s assessing office immediately. Some towns set their tax rate as late as the fall, which can leave a window; others set it earlier and close that window sooner.

Other New Hampshire programs for disabled veterans

The disability credit and the SAH/SHA exemption are the two big property tax breaks for disabled veterans, but they are not the only relief on the books. All of the following are state programs unless noted.

• Standard and optional veterans’ tax credit, non-disability (RSA 72:28). Every qualifying wartime veteran, or the surviving spouse of one who suffered a service-connected death, gets a $50 yearly credit automatically, or up to $750 if the town has adopted the optional amount. This is the credit most non-disabled veteran homeowners in New Hampshire actually use.
• Exemption for the disabled, non-veteran-specific (RSA 72:37-b). If your town has adopted it, any homeowner eligible for Social Security disability benefits under Title II or Title XVI can get a yearly exemption in an amount the town sets, subject to income limits that cannot be set lower than $13,400 single or $20,400 married, and asset limits that cannot be set lower than $35,000. This overlaps with, but is separate from, the veteran-specific credit.
• No state tax on VA disability compensation or wages. New Hampshire has no state income tax on W-2 wages, and its old tax on interest and dividends was fully repealed for tax periods beginning after December 31, 2024. VA disability compensation was never taxable federally either, so there is nothing to shelter here, but it is worth knowing New Hampshire will not tax it at the state level regardless.
• Property tax relief is entirely town administered. New Hampshire has no county government layer for property tax the way most states do. Every one of its 250-plus cities and towns decides, by local vote, whether to adopt the optional higher amounts under RSA 72:27-a. That is why the Department of Revenue Administration’s annual veterans’ tax credit report is the closest thing to a single statewide reference, and why the honest answer to “how much will I get” always starts with calling your own town.

New Hampshire disabled veteran property tax FAQs

How much is New Hampshire’s disabled veteran property tax break worth?

The state minimum is a $700 yearly credit subtracted straight from your tax bill, for a veteran with a total and permanent service-connected disability, or a surviving spouse. Your city or town can vote to raise that to anywhere from $701 up to $5,000. The amount is set town by town, so the same disability rating is worth very different money in Manchester than in a small town that has not adopted the higher optional credit.

Is this an exemption or a tax credit?

For most disabled veterans it is a tax credit under RSA 72:35, meaning a flat dollar amount comes off your final bill. A separate, narrower law, RSA 72:36-a, gives a full exemption from all property tax, but only if your home was specially adapted using a VA Special Adapted Housing or Special Home Adaptation grant.

Do I need a 100 percent rating in New Hampshire?

For the standard $700 credit, yes: a total and permanent service-connected disability rating, or you qualify as a double amputee or paraplegic because of a service-connected injury. There is no partial tier under RSA 72:35 for lower ratings. A separate, much smaller credit under RSA 72:28 is open to any qualifying wartime veteran regardless of disability.

What is the filing deadline in New Hampshire?

File a permanent application, form PA-29, with your city or town’s selectmen or assessors by April 15 of the year you want the credit for. You have to have owned and occupied the home, and been qualified, on April 1 of that same year. Once approved it continues automatically unless you move.

Can I use this if I am buying a home right now?

Not for the current tax year unless you already owned and occupied the home on April 1. Buy after April 1 and the earliest year you can claim the credit is the following year, filed by the April 15 after that.

Can a surviving spouse keep the credit?

Yes, for both RSA 72:35 and RSA 72:36-a, as long as the surviving spouse has not remarried. New Hampshire law is specific that remarriage ends surviving-spouse status, though a later divorce can restore it.

Is the credit income tested?

No. RSA 72:35 and RSA 72:36-a have no income or asset limit. New Hampshire does test income and assets on some of its other property tax relief programs, like the exemption for the elderly or for Social Security disability recipients, but not on the veteran disability credit or exemption.

Where to go next

• Disabled Veteran Property Tax Exemption Guide, every state’s exemption, form and deadline in one directory
• Property tax discounts for veterans on VA disability, the national overview
• VA loans, the pillar guide to how the loan works
• 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
• VA loans with bad credit
• New Hampshire RSA 72:35, the service-connected disability tax credit statute, and RSA 72:36-a, the full exemption for specially adapted homes
• NH Department of Revenue Administration, Exemptions and Veterans’ Tax Credits report by municipality