Hinds County Tax Assessor: Homestead Exemption and the Disabled Veteran Exemption

The exemption is the State's, under Sections 27-33-67 and 27-33-75(2)(b): an honorably discharged veteran with a service-connected total disability, and the unremarried surviving spouse, is exempt from all ad valorem taxes on the homestead, as the State's disabled veteran homestead entry explains. In Hinds County the claim is taken by the Tax Assessor, Charles E. Stokes, (601) 968-6616. The window. State law (Section 27-33-31) takes applications only between January 1 and April 1, in person. Hinds County's own first-time filing instructions say the same thing in stronger words: applications are processed only during the first three months of each year, and will not be processed or approved outside that frame. The county rule that is wider than the statute. The same published instructions add: "Over 65 or 100% disabled may be amended anytime during the year after the eligibility date" if at least 65 or 100 percent disabled on January 1 of the application year. Section 27-33-31 on its face allows no application outside the window, so a post-April filing rests on the assessor's published practice rather than the statute. A veteran relying on it should apply in writing, keep a copy, and cite the statute first and the county's own instruction second; if the filing is refused, the amended-application route described in the State entries (HB 1380 of 2026 renamed it) is the statutory path for a timely filer who claimed the wrong tier. What to bring. Hinds's checklist for a first filing: a recorded warranty deed (or assignment of lease, or will) filed with the chancery clerk; the purchase price and down payment; Social Security cards for the applicant, spouse and joint owners; tag numbers for every vehicle titled to the household; a birth certificate or driver's license to prove age over 65; and, for a disability claim, the letter that matches the disability: a Social Security awards letter showing the date disability was declared, or "a letter from the Veteran's Administration" for a disabled veteran. The assessor's office asks for the VA letter, not only the rating decision; pull a current VA benefit summary letter before the appointment. The 100% DAV handout. The assessor publishes a two-page sheet explaining the disabled veteran exemption: under HB 1165 of the 2014 session, effective January 1, 2015, an applicant with "a service-connected, total disability as an American Veteran who has been honorably discharged from military service" is exempt from all ad valorem taxes on the assessed value of the homestead, and the benefit extends to unremarried surviving spouses. That is the county's own summary of the State exemption; the State entry's cautions about the undefined treatment of individual unemployability and about the retroactive compliance traps (income tax filing, vehicle registration, second homestead) all apply here too. Reapplication. The assessor's published reapplication triggers include divorce, marriage, turning 65, acquiring property by will or court order, a change in the deed, a change in the legal description or occupancy (each citing Section 27-33-31), becoming 100 percent disabled, and the death of a spouse, where the survivor must verify with the chancery clerk's office that they qualify for the same exemption the deceased spouse was receiving and bring the death certificate.