Every Condition for Ohio's Disabled Veteran Homestead Exemption
Program and regulatory figures verified October 10, 2026. Details change; confirm your scenario with us.
Ohio's version is smaller than some states' and has fewer conditions than almost any of them. Here is the whole list, from the statute.
The amounts
| Who | Reduction based on | Income test |
|---|---|---|
| ★ Disabled veteran | $50,000 of true value, as adjusted | ★★★ none |
| Standard homestead | $25,000 of true value, as adjusted | $30,000 total income, as adjusted |
★★ Double the amount and no income test. Those are the two things worth knowing, and the second is the bigger of the two for a working veteran. What the $50,000 is actually worth.
Every condition
| Requirement | Detail |
|---|---|
| Rating | a total disability rating, or a total disability rating for compensation based on individual unemployability, for a service-connected disability |
| Service | veteran of the armed forces "including reserve components thereof, or of the national guard" |
| Discharge | "under honorable conditions" |
| ★★★ Wartime service | ★★★ not required |
| ★★★ Income | ★★★ no limit for the disabled-veteran reduction |
| Property | a homestead owned and occupied, or a homestead in a housing cooperative occupied, by the disabled veteran |
| Application | granted "for each year for which an application for the reduction has been approved" |
| Who administers | your county auditor |
★ That is a short list by the standards of state veteran benefits. Rating, discharge, ownership, occupancy, application. No service dates, no income, no asset test.
★ The housing-cooperative clause
The statute covers "a homestead in a housing cooperative occupied by" the disabled veteran, not only a conventionally owned home.
★ Worth knowing because co-operative housing is a form of ownership that often falls outside benefit definitions. Here it is named. Whether a particular arrangement qualifies is the county auditor's determination, not ours.
★ Surviving spouses, and the remarriage rule
The reduction continues for the surviving spouse of a disabled veteran "through the tax year in which the surviving spouse dies or remarries."
★★ Note that it runs through the whole tax year in which either event happens, rather than stopping on the date. And note that remarriage ends it, a condition that catches people, and one we would rather state than leave for a county letter to deliver.
★ One or the other, not both
The disabled-veteran reduction is "in lieu of any reduction under section 323.158 of the Revised Code or division (A)(1), (2)(b), or (3) of this section."
★ So it replaces the standard homestead exemption rather than stacking on it. Since it is double the amount and has no income test, it is almost always the one to take.
★★★ The statute says $50,000. The certified figure is $58,000.
$50,000, $25,000 and $30,000 all appear in the statute followed by "as adjusted". ORC 323.152(A)(1)(d) directs the Tax Commissioner to adjust them "in September of each year" by the gross domestic product deflator from the Bureau of Economic Analysis.
★★★ He does, by administrative journal entry certified to the county auditors, and that is where the operative numbers live. Entry 25-09-0346, dated 3 October 2025:
| Figure | Statutory base | ★ Certified amount | Applies to |
|---|---|---|---|
| ★★ Disabled-veteran reduction, ORC 323.152(A)(2) | $50,000 | ★★ $58,000 | tax year 2025, collected 2026 |
| Standard reduction, ORC 323.152(A)(1)(c)(i) | $25,000 | $29,000 | tax year 2025, collected 2026 |
| Income threshold (standard branch only) | $30,000 | $41,000 | ★ tax year 2026, collected 2027 |
★★★ Read the right-hand column again, because almost nothing else repeats it correctly: the reduction amounts and the income threshold are certified for different tax years in the same entry. The entry says the reductions "apply to tax year 2025 (collected in calendar year 2026)" while the revised income schedule "applies to tax year 2026 (collected in calendar year 2027)". A site that prints all three under one year has not read the entry.
★★ Note also that the $58,000 line is ORC 323.152(A)(2) and (A)(3) together, so the same amount covers the disabled veteran and the surviving spouse of a public service officer killed in the line of duty.
★ Source and caveat: the entry is a scanned PDF with no text layer on the state's asset host, so we rendered it and read it. These are volatile figures by design, adjusted every September. Verified 2026-10-10 against the entry itself and against a county auditor page updated 9 October 2026 still carrying the same three numbers. Your county auditor holds the authoritative current figure, and it is worth getting in writing if it is going into a budget. The sourcing note.
★★ Why a lender cares
Because property tax is escrowed into the monthly housing payment we underwrite, and because it forms part of the shelter expense in the VA's residual income test.
★ A smaller reduction still helps both. And the sequencing matters: an approved exemption is a different file from a pending one, so tell us where your county application stands. How residual income works.
★ We do not administer this exemption and cannot decide it. Mike Certo, NMLS #260555. (480) 296-6513 · mcerto@cfmtg.com.
Frequently asked questions
What are the conditions for Ohio's disabled veteran homestead exemption?
A total disability rating, or a total disability rating for compensation based on individual unemployability, for a service-connected disability; service in the armed forces including reserve components or the national guard; a discharge under honorable conditions; a homestead owned and occupied, or a homestead in a housing cooperative occupied, by the veteran; and an approved application. There is no wartime-service requirement and no income limit.How much is Ohio's disabled veteran homestead exemption?
It is computed from $50,000 of the true value of the property as adjusted, against $25,000 for the standard homestead exemption. Because the statute then applies an assessment percentage capped at thirty-five per cent and the local effective tax rate, the saving is considerably less than $50,000.Does the Ohio exemption continue for a surviving spouse?
Yes, through the tax year in which the surviving spouse dies or remarries. It runs for the whole of that tax year rather than stopping on the date, and remarriage ends it.Can I claim the Ohio veteran exemption on a housing cooperative?
The statute covers a homestead in a housing cooperative occupied by the disabled veteran, alongside a homestead owned and occupied. Whether a particular arrangement qualifies is a determination for your county auditor.Mike Certo · NMLS #260555 · Cornerstone First Mortgage NMLS #173855 · Equal Housing Lender. Educational content about VA home loan financing, not a loan commitment and not legal, tax or financial advice. Cornerstone First Mortgage is a private lender and is not affiliated with, endorsed by or acting on behalf of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs or any government agency. VA entitlement, funding-fee exemption and disability ratings are determined by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. The Ohio homestead exemption for disabled veterans is governed by Ohio Revised Code sections 323.151 and 323.152 and is administered by county auditors, not by Cornerstone; the statutory amounts are adjusted annually by the Ohio Tax Commissioner and the tax effect depends on local assessment and effective tax rates. Figures here carry the date we verified them against primary sources. All loans are subject to borrower, property and program qualification.