By state · New York
New York’s property tax exemption for disabled veterans.
Alternative Veterans Exemption: 15% + combat + disability, locality by locality. 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
- New York has no single statewide rule; the main benefit is the Alternative Veterans Exemption (RPTL 458-a): 15% of assessed value for wartime service, another 10% for combat-zone service, plus half your VA disability rating as an additional percentage. Each piece is subject to dollar caps the locality chooses.
- Below 100%
- The disability portion scales with any rating (half your rating, as a percentage of assessed value), so partial ratings get partial relief wherever the exemption is offered.
- Income test
- None. The exemption does not depend on your income.
- Surviving spouses
- An unremarried surviving spouse can keep the exemption.
- How to apply
- File form RP-458-a with your city, town, or village assessor by the taxable status date (often March 1). Whether school taxes are included depends on whether your school district opted in.
- Worth knowing
- Counties, cities, towns, villages, and school districts each opt in separately and set their own caps, so two veterans with identical ratings can see very different savings a mile apart. Ask your assessor what your locality adopted. Cold War-era veterans have a separate, smaller exemption.
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: NYS Department of Taxation and Finance — veterans exemptions
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.
Still have a question?
Ask it. A real person reads every message and replies.