By state · Iowa
Iowa’s property tax exemption for disabled veterans.
100% (or IU at the 100% rate): credit wipes the whole homestead bill. Here is who qualifies, what it covers, and how to claim it.
Checked against state sources · July 16, 2026
- At a 100% permanent & total rating
- The Disabled Veteran Homestead Tax Credit equals the entire property tax levied on the homestead, taking the bill to zero, for veterans with a 100% service-connected rating or individual unemployability paid at the 100% rate.
- Below 100%
- No partial tiers. Other veterans get Iowa's small military service exemption instead; you cannot claim both.
- Income test
- None. The exemption does not depend on your income.
- Surviving spouses
- An unremarried surviving spouse receiving DIC qualifies, and keeps the credit while living on the homestead.
- How to apply
- File form 54-049 with your county assessor by July 1, with your VA benefit summary letter and DD-214. Once granted it continues while you own and occupy the home.
- Worth knowing
- Structured as a credit rather than an exemption, but the effect at 100% is the same: no property tax on the homestead.
Before you count on this: exemption law changes by legislative session, and counties administer the details. Confirm current amounts and deadlines with your county assessor or the official source below. Figures on this page were checked July 16, 2026.
Official source: Iowa Department of Revenue — disabled veteran homestead credit
A property-tax exemption lowers the monthly payment a lender counts in your file, which can raise what you qualify for. Run your numbers with the exemption’s effect via the buying-power calculator (use the property-tax override in advanced options), and see the funding fee guide for the other big disability-related saving.
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