Louisiana Disabled Veteran Property Tax Exemption

Louisiana stacks a disabled veteran exemption on top of the regular homestead exemption, which covers the first $7,500 of assessed valuation under Article VII, Section 20 of the state constitution. The veteran tiers are in Article VII, Section 21(K), added by Act 172 of 2022 and approved by voters on November 8, 2022. They apply to taxes due beginning in tax year 2023. Translate the numbers before judging them. Louisiana assesses land and residential improvements at 10 percent of fair market value, so $7,500 of assessed valuation is a $75,000 house. The tiers read small and are not. At a service-connected rating of 50 percent or more but less than 70 percent, the next $2,500 of assessed valuation is exempt, for $10,000 total. Above $10,000 of assessed value, taxes apply to the excess. In market terms that is $100,000 of home value covered. At 70 percent or more but less than 100 percent, the next $4,500 is exempt, for $12,000 total, and taxes apply above $12,000. That is $120,000 of home value. At a service-connected rating of 100 percent unemployability or totally disabled, the remaining assessed valuation of the homestead is exempt. There is no cap. The house comes off the ad valorem rolls. Read that 100 percent wording carefully, because it is doing more work than it looks like. The constitution says "one hundred percent unemployability or totally disabled," which covers both a veteran rated 100 percent on the schedule and a veteran paid at 100 percent through individual unemployability. Louisiana is unusually clear about this where other states leave it ambiguous. Now the part that disappoints people, and the reason a 100 percent veteran inside a city still gets a tax bill. Under Article VII, Section 20(A)(9) the homestead exemption does not extend to municipal taxes. Because the veteran tiers are written as additions to the homestead exemption, that limit carries through. Two exceptions: in Orleans Parish the exemption does apply to state, general city, school, levee, and levee district taxes, and anywhere in the state it applies to municipal taxes levied for school purposes. So a 100 percent disabled veteran in most Louisiana municipalities still owes city taxes, and one in New Orleans largely does not. The Louisiana Department of Veterans Affairs flags this as "certain municipal tax assessments" without explaining it. Surviving spouses get the same tier the veteran held, on two conditions in current law: the surviving spouse occupies and remains the owner of the property. The generous part is that the exemption does not have to have been in effect before the veteran died, so a spouse can claim a tier the veteran never claimed. A separate entry covers the constitutional amendment on the November 3, 2026 ballot that would loosen these conditions and add a one-time transfer to a new home. A trust is eligible as provided by law. Two structural provisions keep the exemption from being clawed back through millage. The exempted assessment is not treated as taxable property for later reappraisal and millage adjustment, the taxing authority absorbs the revenue loss rather than shifting it to other taxpayers in the district, and claiming the exemption neither triggers nor justifies a reappraisal. To apply, get Form A25 certified at a parish veterans service office by a veterans assistance counselor, then take it to the parish tax assessor. The exemption applies statewide. It once required a parish-by-parish election to take effect locally, and the 2022 amendment removed that, so anything telling you to check whether your parish adopted it is out of date.