Kenai Peninsula Borough Assessing: Disabled Veteran Exemption (no borough cap)

The State requires every taxing municipality to exempt the first $150,000 of a disabled veteran's home (AS 29.45.030(e); the Alaska entry records the statute). The Kenai Peninsula Borough goes further than any other borough in this catalog: its code adopts the State exemption and then an optional borough disabled veteran exemption "in addition to the exemption under subsection (A) above and in an unlimited amount" (KPB 5.13.080(A)(2) and (C)(2)), and KPB 5.13.090(A) says a qualifying parcel "is exempt up to $300,000 for an eligible senior citizen and an unlimited amount for an eligible disabled veteran". Those sections came in with Ordinance 2025-21, which the Assembly enacted on October 28, 2025 (after rescinding and retaking its October 14 vote) and which took effect at 11:59 p.m. on December 31, 2025; it repealed and reenacted Chapter 5.12 and moved the exemptions into a new Chapter 5.13. City tax is different. The Assessing Department's page says the exemption "applies to the value of the primary residence and residential use of land, but city tax will still be calculated on assessed values exceeding $150,000 for parcels within the boundaries of Homer, Kenai, Seldovia, or Seward." The borough's unlimited exemption is the borough's alone; a city inside it grants only the State's $150,000. Who qualifies (KPB 5.13.090(C) and the 2027 application). A resident of Alaska before January 1 of the tax year, with a service-connected disability rated 50 percent or more; the borough's definition of disabled veteran in the same ordinance follows the statute, a rating from the branch of service or from VA, or a disability from Alaska Territorial Guard service, though the department's page and application speak of a VA rating. The applicant must own and occupy the home as the primary residence and permanent place of abode, show they are not a resident of any other state, occupy it at least 185 days a year, and meet the Permanent Fund Dividend residency duration in AS 43.23.005; the application asks whether the applicant was eligible for the 2026 dividend and, if not, requires a new application each year. A widow or widower at least 60 years old of a person who previously qualified also qualifies. One senior or disabled veteran exemption per parcel, and none for an applicant who applied for or received a similar residency exemption elsewhere for the same year. Partial exemptions. The assessor applies spatial apportionment: other adults living in the home who are not the applicant's spouse or minor children, rental or commercial use, or another owner on title besides a spouse can make the exemption less than 100 percent. If live-in care is medically necessary, attach a physician's letter. Deadline and the annual letter. The application must be postmarked or hand-delivered by February 15 of the tax year. It is a one-time filing that stays in effect until ownership or occupancy changes, but a veteran whose disability is less than permanent must submit an official VA disability percentage letter each year before February 15 showing 50 percent or more, and the department says a missing letter removes the exemption. An out-of-borough mailing address, or a change of address or mail-forwarding notice reaching the office, can also remove it; tell the office before travelling with mail forwarded. Hardship exemption (KPB 5.13.095). A veteran who qualifies for the exemption can also apply, by April 30, for a hardship exemption that limits the real property tax to 2 percent of gross household income, if household income in the prior year was no more than 120 percent of HUD's median family income for the borough (the 2027 form prints the 2025 figures: $93,840 for one person, $107,160 for two, up to $176,760 for eight), or falls below it after a documented one-time extraordinary expense. The form asks for Form 21-400c, a signed IRS return or a Hardship Income Declaration, and the exemption application on file. Where to file. Kenai Peninsula Borough Assessing Department, 144 North Binkley Street, Soldotna, AK 99669; (907) 714-2230 or 1-800-478-4441. Still to come. Ordinance 2026-37, introduced October 7, 2026 for a December 1, 2026 hearing, amends Chapter 5.13 again; its sectional analysis touches KPB 5.13.090 only to say a senior's widow or widower must have qualified in Alaska, and leaves the disabled veteran exemption alone.