Haines Borough: Senior/Disabled Veteran Property Tax Exemption, up to $300,000

The State requires the first $150,000 (AS 29.45.030(e); the Alaska entry records it), and Haines Borough Code 3.70.030(A)(6) repeats it for a resident 65 or older, a disabled veteran rated 50 percent or more, or a widow or widower at least 60 of either. Haines then adds its own: "The assessed value of real property exceeding $150,000, up to a maximum of $300,000, owned and occupied as the primary residence and permanent place of abode by a property owner who satisfies all requirements of HBC 3.70.030(A)(6), is exempt from general taxation" (HBC 3.70.040(G)). A qualifying disabled veteran's home is therefore exempt up to $300,000 of assessed value. The October 2026 vote. Voters were asked on October 6, 2026 whether "the maximum senior property tax exemption" in HBC 3.70.040(G) should be cut from $300,000 to $200,000 (Initiative No. 2). The ballot called it the senior exemption, but the ordinance amends the subsection that covers every HBC 3.70.030(A)(6) claimant, disabled veterans included. The unofficial results, updated October 13, 2026, were 507 yes and 599 no, with 41 more ballots to be counted at the canvass that evening, too few to change the outcome; the election is to be certified on October 27, 2026. The borough's September 22 notice opening the 2027 application said the $300,000 "might change to $200,000 depending on the outcome"; on the count so far it stays. Every year, by March 31. The claimant must file a separate application for each assessment year, on the borough assessor's form, by March 31 (HBC 3.70.030(A)(6)(e)); the 2027 application opened September 22, 2026 with a March 31, 2027 deadline. The resident must also meet all requirements for a Permanent Fund Dividend for the same year or the year before. Where the extra $150,000 came from. The borough's online application says Haines voters adopted the additional optional $150,000 in the fall of 2024. The application lets a claimant opt out of the local part and take only the State's $150,000, "to support local schools and other government services". What the application asks. The 2027 application is filed online on the borough's site (a confirmation email follows) and is due March 31, 2027. First-year veteran applicants must submit a letter of certification from VA attesting to a disability of 50 percent or greater, and every prior-year applicant must complete a new application each year. To be exempt from 2027 taxes the applicant must physically occupy the home at least 186 days a year. A home recorded into a trust needs the trust's certification page, the page identifying the property and the signature and witness page, with the application signed as trustee. Late filing. If an otherwise qualified claimant could not meet the deadline because of a serious medical condition of the applicant or a family member, or an extraordinary event beyond their control, the Assembly may by resolution accept a valid application as if timely filed (HBC 3.70.030(A)(6)(f)). The borough's "unable to comply" request goes to the assessor's office and must be received by July 31; failing to pick up or read mail, or to keep a current address with the office, is not an inability to comply. The Assembly heard such requests on April 29, June 9 and July 14, 2026. Scale. The assessor's April 14, 2026 report counted 356 senior and veteran exemption applications for 2026, 12 percent more than the year before, and the FY2027 budget puts the tax forgone at $438,332 for the mandatory exemption and $270,650 for the borough's optional one. Hardship. HBC 3.70.040(F) also exempts the part of the property tax on a qualifying senior or disabled veteran's residence that exceeds 2 percent of gross household income, for a claimant who meets the State's hardship standards in 3 AAC 135.040(b) and (c). The borough's 2024 notice put those standards as household income no more than 135 percent of the Alaska poverty guideline ($22,937 for one person or $30,902 for a couple, on 2023 income) and no more than one parcel in Alaska besides an adjacent one the home needs; the hardship application is on the Property Tax Exemption Forms page, normally due March 31. Where to file. Haines Borough Administration Building, 103 Third Avenue South, P.O. Box 1209, Haines, AK 99827; (907) 766-6400; weekdays 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; the Lands and Assessments office, (907) 766-6401.