Hawaii County: Real Property Tax Exemption for Homes of 100 Percent Disabled or Unemployable Veterans

Hawaii's real property tax belongs to the counties, so on Hawaii Island the disabled veteran exemption is the County's own ordinance, Hawaii County Code section 19-73, "Homes of disabled or unemployable veterans"; the Hawaii entry on the exemption describes the four counties together. What it covers. Real property "owned and occupied as a home by any person who is 100 percent disabled or 100 percent unemployable, or both, due to injuries received while on duty with the armed forces of the United States", owned with a spouse and occupied by either, or "owned or occupied by a widow or widower of such veteran who shall remain unmarried", is "exempted except for fifty percent of the minimum tax from property taxes, other than special assessments". The exemption lasts "only as long as the veteran claiming exemption remains 100 percent disabled or 100 percent unemployable, or both". A business portion is taxed; the "home" includes the whole homestead, a house where the veteran sublets not more than one room, and a home being bought under a recorded agreement. The minimum tax. Section 19-90(e) sets a minimum real property tax of $200 a parcel a year, lowered to $150, $100 or $50 when an owner with a home or "totally disabled veteran exemption" has improvements assessed at $75,000 or less. Read together, a qualifying veteran pays half of the minimum that applies: at most $100 a year. Proof and when it starts. "For disabled and unemployable veterans, the proof of disability or unemployable status from the Veterans Administration may be substituted for the required certification" (19-73(c)). Under section 19-68(a)(2) a disability exemption "shall be allowed from the next tax payment date" once the claim is filed, on or before June 30 for the first half payment or December 31 for the second. How to claim. On the Real Property Tax Office's "Veterans Exemption - HCC 19-73" form, at 101 Pauahi Street, Suite 4, Hilo (808-961-8201) or 74-5044 Ane Keohokalole Highway, Kona (808-323-4880), 7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., or [email protected].