California disabled veterans who miss the February 15 deadline for the low-income property tax exemption still have until December 10 to file, and a claim made in that stretch earns 90% of the 2026 exemption. A claim filed after December 10 earns 85%. The full amount goes only to claims filed by 5 p.m. on February 15.
For the 2026 lien date, the California State Board of Equalization lists a low-income exemption of $271,009 and a household income limit of $81,131. The exemption reduces the assessed value on which the property tax is figured, so a 90% claim still removes a large share of that value.
What the December 10 date means in practice
San Luis Obispo County’s assessor spells out the schedule on its claim form page. The full low-income exemption is available when the claim is filed by 5 p.m. on February 15 of each year. A claim filed after that time but by 5 p.m. on December 10 receives 90%, and a later claim receives 85%.
The rule is not unique to one county. San Francisco’s assessor lists the same three tiers, and Sonoma County’s assessor describes the same windows, with 100 percent between January 1 and February 15, 90 percent through December 10 and 85 percent after that. The same schedule appears on all three county pages.
On the 2026 amount, a claim at 90% works out to about $243,900 of the $271,009 exemption, or roughly $27,100 less than the full figure. That arithmetic is an illustration, since the exemption is described as up to the listed amount. The actual change in the tax bill depends on the home’s assessed value and local rates.
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Who the low-income exemption is for
The exemption is tied to a disability that came from military service. The Sonoma County assessor says it applies to the primary residence of a veteran who is blind in both eyes, has lost the use of two or more limbs, or has a 100% service-connected disability rating from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Unmarried surviving spouses can qualify in some cases.
A 100% rating is not the only route to it. Sonoma County’s assessor accepts a dated VA letter certifying either a 100% rating or compensation at the 100% rate because of individual unemployability, and the letter must state the effective date. Placer County uses the same standard, a veteran rated 100% disabled or 100% unemployable because of a service-connected injury or disease.
The question for each veteran is which level applies. The basic exemption has no household income test. The low-income exemption is larger, but total household income cannot exceed the limit, which the BOE lists at $81,131 for 2026. A veteran with a 100% rating and modest retirement income may fall under that line.
The San Luis Obispo County page says the basic exemption does not require annual filing once granted and remains in effect until terminated. The low-income exemption is the opposite: annual filing is required for any year it is claimed, with a separate claim for each fiscal year.
The two amounts are not added together. The county form says the exemption is up to the amount listed and is not a combination of the basic and low-income exemptions. For 2026 the BOE lists the basic exemption at $180,671, and the low-income exemption at $271,009.
What a claim needs
Placer County’s assessor lists the documents for a claim: the BOE-261-G claim form, the VA rating decision letter showing the effective date, and a copy of the DD-214 showing a discharge other than dishonorable. Low-income claims also need the Disabled Veterans Household Income Worksheet, form PCA-703.
Surviving spouses add a marriage certificate and a death certificate or casualty report, or a Dependency and Indemnity Compensation letter from the VA with an effective date. Placer County’s page says veterans who lack the VA letter or discharge papers can call the VA at 1-800-827-1000. The claim is filed with the county assessor where the home is located.
Sierra County’s assessor calls the BOE-261G a yearly form and repeats the same rule for late filers: a claim after February 15 but by 5 p.m. on December 10 receives 90% of the exemption, and one filed later receives 85%. Veterans who filed last year still have to file again to keep the low-income level.
Next year’s amounts, and what stays in effect
The BOE’s May 22, 2026 letter to county assessors sets the 2027 figures, and the amounts move up with inflation. The basic exemption rises to $185,889, the low-income exemption to $278,836 and the household income limit to $83,474. The letter cites a 2.888% increase in the California consumer price index.
A veteran who never claimed the basic exemption after a disability rating may have more at stake than the December 10 date. The San Luis Obispo County form says claims filed after the usual windows after a rating or move receive 85% and are subject to an eight-year statute of limitations. The assessor also asks owners to report ineligibility by June 30 to avoid a 25% penalty.
The county assessor holds the answer on any individual claim. San Luis Obispo County’s office, for example, lists a phone number of (805) 781-5643, and the BOE’s County-Assessed Properties Division answers questions at 916-274-3350. For a California veteran who missed February 15, the open question is whether a claim reaches the assessor by 5 p.m. on December 10.
Filing the California disabled veterans’ claim before December 10?
The 5 p.m. cutoff on December 10 is the line between 90% and 85% of the exemption, and the claim needs a VA letter with its effective date, a DD-214 and, for the low-income level, a household income worksheet. The low-income claim also has to be refiled for every fiscal year.
The exemption is one of several property-tax breaks, and The Senior Property Tax & Home-Cost Relief Kit sorts the 5 kinds of property-tax relief so a veteran’s claim can be seen next to the others. Its application log and renewal calendar keeps a claim that returns every year from slipping past a date, and the kit also covers the circuit-breaker credit that includes renters.
Get the property-tax relief kit and renewal calendar for the California veterans’ claim →
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This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.
