Kodiak Island Borough Assessing: Disabled Veteran Property Tax Exemption

The exemption is the State's, AS 29.45.030(e); the Alaska entry records it. Kodiak administers it under KIBC 3.35.030, more strictly than most boroughs. Every year, by January 15. Senior and disabled veteran exemptions "must be reapplied for on or before January 15th and reviewed by the assessor annually" (KIBC 3.35.030(E)(1)(c)), and the deadline "shall be strictly enforced". Forms go out by November 15 to those who applied the year before; anyone who has not received one by December 1 should call the Assessing Department. A disability rating letter from VA must accompany the application every year, and the department publishes step-by-step instructions for downloading the Benefit Verification Letter from va.gov. New applicants bring two forms of picture identification and a recent rating letter to the office. Who qualifies. A rating of 50 percent or more (the department's page says from VA; the code's definition also accepts a rating from the branch of service), ownership and occupancy as the primary residence and permanent place of abode on January 1, and eligibility for the Permanent Fund Dividend for the year, or proof the applicant would have been eligible. The code defines a resident as someone with a fixed habitation in the borough at least 180 days a year who claims no residency or resident exemption elsewhere. Widows and widowers. The code continues the exemption for a widow or widower at least 60 years old who jointly owned or occupied the same residence with the veteran who qualified; the department's page puts it as 60 at the time of the death, living in the same home, filing in their own name with two photo IDs and the death certificate. Late filing. The assessor rejects a late application and tells the claimant of the right to appeal to the Assembly within 30 days. The appeal must state the good cause in writing and reach the assessor at least 30 days before the hearing; claimant and assessor each have three minutes and a two-minute rebuttal; good cause means extraordinary circumstances such as a medical condition, family emergency or death in the family, not oversight or not reading mail. A waiver covers only the year the application was filed (KIBC 3.35.030(D)). What the year looked like. The manager's report in the Assembly's January 22, 2026 packet says reminder postcards and newspaper ads brought 34 disabled veterans to the office to file, that a veteran, Ryan Sharratt, called 44 disabled veterans to remind them of the deadline, and that village trips with the Kodiak Area Native Association and a session at the Senior Center took applications. Even so, 13 disabled veterans (and 64 seniors) missed the 2026 deadline; the February 5 report counted four late applications and scheduled the good-cause hearings for the Assembly's May 21, 2026 meeting. Where to file. Kodiak Island Borough Assessing Department, 710 Mill Bay Road, Room 228, Kodiak, AK 99615; (907) 486-9350.