By state · Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania’s property tax exemption for disabled veterans.
100% wartime service-connected + financial need: fully exempt. 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
- Total exemption from real estate tax on the principal residence, with more conditions than most states: an honorable discharge, wartime service, a 100% service-connected rating, and a showing of financial need. Need is presumed when annual income is at or below the state threshold ($114,637 as of 2025, adjusted annually); above it, the State Veterans Commission reviews income against expenses.
- Income test
- Yes, the financial-need requirement, though a recent law excludes all veterans benefits from the income counting, which puts many more veterans under the threshold.
- Surviving spouses
- The unremarried surviving spouse of an eligible veteran may continue the exemption, subject to the same need standard.
- How to apply
- Apply through your county director of veterans affairs; the program is run by the PA Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, not the tax office.
- Worth knowing
- The wartime-service and financial-need requirements are unusual; most states have neither. If your income is near the threshold, apply anyway: veterans benefits no longer count toward it.
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: PA DMVA — disabled veterans real estate tax exemption
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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