Disabled Veteran Property Tax Exemption in Pennsylvania (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.

Pennsylvania’s disabled veteran program, the Disabled Veterans’ Real Estate Tax Exemption, is not a partial discount. If you qualify, it wipes out 100 percent of the real estate tax on the home you live in and the land it stands on. The catch is that a 100 percent VA rating alone does not get you there. You also have to prove financial need, and Pennsylvania presumes need automatically only under $114,637 in annual income, effective January 1, 2025.

You will still see $108,046 quoted on some county forms and third-party sites. That was the cutoff for 2023 and 2024, and I show you below exactly where it comes from and why it changed.

How much is the Pennsylvania exemption worth?

Who you are	What is exempt
Qualifying disabled veteran, or unmarried surviving spouse who meets the income/need test	100% of real estate tax on the dwelling and the land it stands on
Any other Pennsylvania homeowner or renter, 65+, widow/widower 50+, or disabled 18+, under the separate Property Tax/Rent Rebate Program	A rebate of $380 to $1,000, unrelated to this program

Pennsylvania does not scale this exemption by disability percentage. It is binary. Either you meet the disability test and the income/need test and pay nothing in real estate tax on your home, or you do not qualify for this program at all. There is no 70 percent or 90 percent tier the way some other states run it, and the statute does not cap the exemption at a dollar amount or limit it to a set number of acres the way Ohio and several other states do. It reads: exempt from “all real estate taxes levied upon any building, including the land upon which it stands.”

The income test, and where $108,046 comes from

Meeting the disability requirement does not end the analysis. Section 8904 of the Military Code requires the State Veterans’ Commission to also find financial need, and it sets a presumptive income level that gets adjusted for inflation every two years. The level started at $75,000 when this rule was written in 2006 and has been raised on schedule since 2009.

The Commission’s own notice in the Pennsylvania Bulletin lays out the history plainly: the level was $108,046 through the end of 2024, and rose to $114,637 starting January 1, 2025, after the Northeast CPI-U rose 6.1% over the prior two years. Applications already pending on December 31, 2024 were grandfathered at the old $108,046 level for that determination.

Because the update takes effect quietly through a Bulletin notice rather than a form redesign, older paperwork lags. York County’s own copy of the application form, printed August 2024, still shows $108,046 as the cutoff.

If your income is over $114,637, you are not automatically denied. Under 43 Pa. Code Sec. 5.24(d), the Commission will compare your monthly household expenses, including the tax bill itself, against your income, and grant the exemption if expenses exceed income. Unusual expenses may need documentation.

Who qualifies in Pennsylvania?

To qualify for Pennsylvania’s exemption you need all of these, under 51 Pa.C.S. Sec. 8902 and 43 Pa. Code Sec. 5.23:

• Honorable discharge, or release under honorable conditions, from the U.S. Armed Forces.
• Service during a period of war as determined by the VA. An operation or service-specific expeditionary medal can also establish wartime service.
• As a result of that service, one of: a 100 percent permanent service-connected disability, 100 percent compensation for individual unemployability, or a VA finding of blindness, paraplegia, or the loss of two or more limbs.
• You occupy the home as your principal dwelling and own it solely, or with your spouse, or as an estate by the entirety.
• The State Veterans’ Commission determines you have financial need for the exemption, per the income test above.

A 70 percent or 90 percent VA rating does not qualify you for this program on its own, no matter your income. Pennsylvania has no partial version of this exemption.

Surviving spouses

An unmarried surviving spouse can be extended the exemption after the veteran’s death, but the Commission has to make a fresh finding that the spouse has financial need. It is not automatic just because the veteran had it. The spouse also has to still occupy the home and be unmarried.

Can the exemption be used before closing?

Pennsylvania’s rule is friendlier on paper than most states, but it does not solve the timing problem by itself. Pennsylvania does not require you to own the home on a fixed date like January 1. Instead, 43 Pa. Code Sec. 5.25 says you are exempt from real estate taxes that become due on or after the date you file your written request with the county board, and if you file before the tax period starts, the exemption can apply to the whole period. Miss that window and it rolls to the next period.

The problem is that you cannot file until you already own and occupy the home, so there is no way to have the exemption filed, let alone approved, before your closing date. And approval is not fast. The State Veterans’ Commission has to make an actual financial-need determination, which is a paperwork review with an expenses-versus-income test built in, not a rubber stamp. A veteran who closes in March and files that week is not going to have county-approved documentation by the time a lender is qualifying the loan.

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

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

How to apply in Pennsylvania, step by step

1. Contact your County Director of Veterans Affairs, usually at the county courthouse. They hold the forms and will help you file at no charge. Pennsylvania publishes the current County Directors of Veterans Affairs list (PDF download) (PDF download), and there is a general directory page at the DMVA County Director of Veterans Affairs page if you need current contact details for a specific office.
2. Get form MA-VA 41, Information Needed by County Tax Assessment Office for Disabled Veterans Property Tax Exemption, and MA-VA 40 (veteran) or MA-VA 40ss (surviving spouse), Application for Determination of Need for Exemption from Certain Real Property Taxes. Some counties post their own copy of the application; York County’s is a representative example (PDF download), though the underlying figures on any county’s printed copy can lag the current $114,637 level shown above.
3. Complete MA-VA 41 in three copies and forward it to your County Tax Assessment Office. They keep one copy and date-stamp and return the other two to you as proof of filing.
4. Complete and notarize MA-VA 40 or MA-VA 40ss. The veteran attaches a copy of the DD-214. A surviving spouse attaches the veteran’s DD-214, the veteran’s death certificate, and the marriage certificate. Attach a receipted copy of MA-VA 41 to this application.
5. Mail the notarized application to the State Veterans’ Commission, Fort Indiantown Gap, Annville, PA 17003-5002. Questions on the program can also go to the DMVA at [email protected]. Do not e-mail your completed application or personal identifying information.
6. Wait for the need determination. The Commission compares your income against your allowable expenses, then the county Board for the Assessment and Revision of Taxes grants the exemption once eligibility and need are both confirmed. There is no fixed statutory processing deadline, so timelines vary by county workload.

Real estate taxes in Pennsylvania run on two different calendars. County and municipal taxes are usually billed on a January 1 to December 31 calendar year, while most school districts run a fiscal year from July 1 to June 30. Since your exemption applies “per tax period,” when you file relative to each of those calendars can affect which bill it first shows up on. Ask your County Director of Veterans Affairs which cycle applies to your specific taxing bodies.

Can you get a refund of prior year taxes?

Pennsylvania’s rule does not work like a one-year lookback refund program the way some states run it. Instead, 43 Pa. Code Sec. 5.25 ties your exemption to the date you file the written request: you are exempt from taxes that become due on or after that filing date, regardless of how long the Commission takes to actually decide the case. Requests are considered filed the day they are received, even if your documentation is not complete yet, and you then have a reasonable time, not more than 120 days except in extraordinary circumstances, to finish the paperwork.

If you filed before your county’s tax period commenced and are later approved, the exemption applies retroactively to that whole period, so if you already paid the bill, you should get credited or refunded for the period covered once the county Board for the Assessment and Revision of Taxes formally grants the exemption. If you filed after the period had already started, the exemption moves to the next tax period instead of applying back into the current one.

The regulation also allows a taxing authority to grant the exemption as a matter of grace even outside these filing-date rules, though nothing requires them to.

Other Pennsylvania programs for disabled veterans

The real estate tax exemption is the big one for disabled veterans specifically, but it is not the only program a Pennsylvania veteran-homeowner should know about. All of these are state programs.

• Property Tax/Rent Rebate Program. A separate program from the Department of Revenue, open to homeowners and renters 65 and older, widows and widowers 50 and older, and people with disabilities 18 and older, regardless of veteran status. It pays a rebate of $380 to $1,000 based on income, with the household income limit currently $48,110, plus a supplemental “kicker” of $190 to $500 for the lowest-income applicants and for residents of Philadelphia, Scranton and Pittsburgh. The application deadline for a given year’s rebate is set annually; check the current cycle on the program page. This can be worth applying for even if your income is too high for the disabled veteran exemption’s presumptive level, since the two programs use different tests. Pa. Dept. of Revenue, Property Tax/Rent Rebate Program.
• Military retirement pay is not taxed by Pennsylvania. Under the Commonwealth’s personal income tax rules, military retirement and retainer pay is excluded from taxable compensation, and active-duty pay earned outside Pennsylvania is generally excluded as well. Pa. Dept. of Revenue, Military Pay. VA disability compensation itself is not taxable income to begin with, federally or by Pennsylvania.
• County Directors of Veterans Affairs. Every Pennsylvania county has one, and they handle far more than this exemption: burial allowances, emergency financial assistance, blind and paralyzed veterans’ pensions, and help filing federal VA claims, all at no charge. If money is tight, this is the first call, not the last.

Pennsylvania disabled veteran property tax FAQs

How much does the Pennsylvania disabled veteran exemption save?

It is not a partial break. If you qualify, Pennsylvania exempts your entire real estate tax bill on the building you live in and the land it stands on, county, municipal and school tax combined. There is no dollar cap and no acreage cap written into the statute.

Does a 100 percent VA rating automatically qualify me?

It gets you past the disability test, but not the whole test. You also have to show financial need. Pennsylvania presumes need if your income is at or below $114,637 a year, effective January 1, 2025. Above that, the State Veterans’ Commission compares your expenses to your income directly.

Why do I see $108,046 in some places?

That was the presumptive need level for 2023 and 2024. The Commission raises it every two years for inflation, and it moved to $114,637 on January 1, 2025. County forms printed before that date still show the old number, and some third-party veteran benefit sites copied it.

Do I need a full 100 percent rating, or does a lower rating count?

Pennsylvania does not scale this exemption by disability percentage the way some states do. You need a 100 percent permanent and total service-connected rating, or 100 percent compensation for individual unemployability, or a VA finding of blindness, paraplegia, or the loss of two or more limbs from your service. A 70 percent or 90 percent rating does not qualify on its own.

Can a surviving spouse keep the exemption?

An unmarried surviving spouse can qualify, but the state re-checks financial need in the spouse’s own name. It is not an automatic carryover.

Can I use this exemption on a home I am about to buy?

Pennsylvania does not tie the exemption to owning the home on a fixed date like January 1. It ties it to the date you file your written request, and you can only file once you own and occupy the home. So the exemption cannot exist before closing, but the clock on it can start close to closing if you file right away. Whether a lender will use the lower tax figure before the county has actually approved the exemption is a separate, lender-specific question.

What forms do I need and where do I send them?

Form MA-VA 41 goes to your county tax assessment office. Form MA-VA 40, or MA-VA 40ss for a surviving spouse, gets notarized and mailed with your DD-214 to the State Veterans’ Commission at Fort Indiantown Gap. Your County Director of Veterans Affairs gives you both forms and can walk you through it for free.

Is there help if my income is too high for the presumptive level?

Yes. Above $114,637 you are not automatically disqualified. You submit documentation of your monthly household expenses, and the Commission grants the exemption if your expenses, including the real estate tax itself, exceed your income.

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 Pennsylvania
• 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
• Pa. Dept. of Military and Veterans Affairs, Real Estate Tax Exemption program page, and 51 Pa.C.S. Chapter 89, the statute that creates it
• County Directors of Veterans Affairs list (PDF download) (PDF download)