City and County of Honolulu: Real Property Tax Exemption for Homes of Totally Disabled Veterans

Hawaii's real property tax belongs to the counties, so on Oahu the disabled veteran exemption is the City's own ordinance, Revised Ordinances of Honolulu 8-10.5; the Hawaii entry on the exemption describes the four counties together. What it covers. A home owned and occupied by a veteran who is "totally disabled due to injuries received while on duty with the armed forces of the United States", a home the veteran owns with a spouse and either occupies, or a home owned and occupied by the veteran's widow or widower who stays unmarried, is "exempt from all property taxes, other than special assessments". There is no assessed value ceiling and no income test, and only one home per person. A portion used for business is taxed; letting one room to a tenant does not cost the exemption. A widow or widower can claim even if the veteran never did, by showing the veteran would have qualified at death. The exemption follows the owner who moves into a licensed long-term care facility or adult residential care home in Hawaii, if the home is not rented, leased or sold meanwhile (form E-8-10.5A). The minimum tax. Section 8-11.1(g) levies a $300 minimum tax on every parcel "taxable under this chapter", "notwithstanding any provision to the contrary", and excepts only public service property, and the Real Property Assessment Division's page says the veteran's home is exempt "except for the minimum tax". So expect a $300 bill a year. The wording of 8-10.5 itself, and of the City's form, says only special assessments remain, but the City applies the minimum. Bill 30 (2025) would raise the minimum on homes exempt under 8-10.5 to $500; it passed first reading on April 16, 2025 and has not moved since. The deadline, stated three ways. Section 8-10.1(a) allows none of the exemptions in 8-10.3 and 8-10.5 to 8-10.9 "unless the claimant has filed ... on or before September 30 preceding the tax year" (the tax year starts July 1). Section 8-10.5(c) says the exemption starts "with the next tax payment date" once the claim and a physician's certificate are filed, and the August 2026 form reads that as filing before August 20 or February 20. The division's web page still gives June 30 for the first payment and December 31 for the second, dates the current ordinance does not contain. Filing by September 30 meets every reading. Once allowed, the claim continues until the veteran stops being totally disabled, the property changes hands, or the assessor voids it, and the owner must report a change within 30 days. How to claim. Form E-8-10.5, with a licensed physician's certificate of disability, official ID, and a marriage or death certificate where it applies, filed in person or by mail at 842 Bethel Street, Basement, Honolulu 96813, or 1000 Ulu'ohi'a Street, Suite 206, Kapolei 96707; (808) 768-3799. The division also takes the claim online. The ordinance tests total disability from an on-duty injury rather than a VA percentage, so the physician's certificate carries the claim; a VA permanent and total rating is the usual evidence.