# California — State Property Tax Exemptions for Disabled Veterans — Exemption Amounts, Disability Rating Thresholds, and Eligibility Rules

For California, statute citation is Cal. Rev. & Tax. Code § 205.5; minimum disability rating is 100% (or blind in both eyes, or lost the use of two or more limbs); exemption at 100% disability is Exemption on that part of the full value of the residence that does not exceed $100,000 (as adjusted for inflation); $150,000 (as adjusted) if household income does not exceed $40,000 (as adjusted); exemption at lower ratings is None — only veterans who are totally disabled, blind in both eyes, or have lost the use of two or more limbs qualify; home value cap is $100,000 of assessed value exempt (as adjusted annually per CPI); $150,000 if household income does not exceed $40,000 (as adjusted), recorded from its source on 2026-08-17.

- **State:** California _(our reading, not quoted from the source)_
- **Statute citation:** Cal. Rev. & Tax. Code § 205.5
- **Minimum disability rating:** 100% (or blind in both eyes, or lost the use of two or more limbs) _(verified: appears in the quote below)_
- **Exemption at 100% disability:** Exemption on that part of the full value of the residence that does not exceed $100,000 (as adjusted for inflation); $150,000 (as adjusted) if household income does not exceed $40,000 (as adjusted)
- **Exemption at lower ratings:** None — only veterans who are totally disabled, blind in both eyes, or have lost the use of two or more limbs qualify _(verified: appears in the quote below)_
- **Home value cap:** $100,000 of assessed value exempt (as adjusted annually per CPI); $150,000 if household income does not exceed $40,000 (as adjusted)
- **Surviving spouse eligible:** Yes — unmarried surviving spouse qualifies if the deceased veteran qualified during lifetime, or would have qualified under laws effective January 1, 1977, or died from a service-connected disease; surviving spouse must remain unmarried
- **Annual adjustment:** Yes — both the exemption amounts ($100,000/$150,000) and the household income limit ($40,000) are compounded annually by the California Consumer Price Index for all items, measured February to February, as determined by the California Department of Industrial Relations
- **Primary residence required:** Yes — must constitute the principal place of residence of the veteran _(verified: appears in the quote below)_

## What the source says

> Property that constitutes the principal place of residence of a veteran, that is owned by the veteran, the veteran’s spouse, or the veteran and the veteran’s spouse jointly, is exempted from taxation on that part of the full value of the residence that does not exceed one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000), as adjusted for the relevant assessment year as provided in subdivision (i), if the veteran is blind in both eyes, has lost the use of two or more limbs, or if the veteran is totally disabled as a result of injury or disease incurred in military service.

## Source

- https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?sectionNum=205.5.&lawCode=RTC

Last verified: 2026-08-17. Review by: 2027-08-17.
Part of [State Property Tax Exemptions for Disabled Veterans — Exemption Amounts, Disability Rating Thresholds, and Eligibility Rules](https://referencesource.org/veteran-property-tax-exemptions-by-state/).