Palm Beach County Property Appraiser: Veteran and Military Exemptions

How the Palm Beach County Property Appraiser describes Florida's veteran and military property tax relief. It reads the $5,000 exemption to reach a non-service-connected disability of 10% or more, but says every exemption needs a homestead and an honorable discharge, which neither the $5,000 nor the deployment exemption requires.

Also called: property tax, property appraiser, PAPA, 196.081, 196.091, 196.24, 196.082, 196.173, DR-501DV, DR-501M, deployed military exemption, March 1.

For: Veteran or service member, survivor.

Where it applies

Written for the jurisdictions listed here.

Palm Beach County, FLCounty

The exemptions are the State's; the Florida entries explain them. The Palm Beach County Property Appraiser, 301 N. Olive Avenue, West Palm Beach (561-355-2866, [email protected]), grants them. The filing deadline is March 1. What the Appraiser asks for. For the total and permanent exemption, a VA benefits letter or VA form letter 27-333, which the office verifies with VA before approving. For the $5,000 exemption, a benefits letter or form letter 27-125 showing a service-connected disability of 10% or more; or, for a non-service-connected disability, form letter 27-444 or a physician's certification on form DR-416. For the combat discount, form DR-501DV with the DD-214 and proof the disability is combat related. For the deployment exemption, form DR-501M for each year with documents showing the exact time spent on each operation; the office will work out the amount (561-355-2866). The Appraiser also handles the prorated refund for a totally and permanently disabled veteran or surviving spouse who buys a new home between January 1 and November 1. The non-service-connected route. Section 196.24 grants the $5,000 exemption to a veteran disabled 10% or more "by misfortune or while serving during a period of wartime service". The Appraiser reads "misfortune" to include a disability that is not service connected, proven by VA's pension letter or a doctor's certificate. That is wider than the Department of Veterans' Affairs' description, which speaks of a service-connected rating; a veteran with a non-service-connected disability can apply in Palm Beach County on the Appraiser's reading. Where the page is narrower than the law. Homestead. The page says "you must have a homestead exemption on your property" for every exemption it lists. Section 196.24 exempts $5,000 of any property of a qualifying veteran, not only a homestead. Discharge. The page says "You must be honorably discharged to qualify for these additional exemptions." Section 196.24 needs a discharge "under honorable conditions", which a general discharge meets, and section 196.173 sets no discharge test, since it covers serving members as well as former ones. Citation slip. The page sends readers to the operations listed in "Florida Statute 193.173 (2)"; the section is 196.173(2), and its list grew by five in 2026; see the Florida entry on the deployment exemption.

Thresholds

Thresholds for Palm Beach County Property Appraiser: Veteran and Military Exemptions
Gate	Rule
10% for the $5,000 exemption; permanent and total for the full one	The $5,000 exemption starts at 10%, service connected or, on the Appraiser's reading, not. The full homestead exemption needs total and permanent disability. The combat discount needs age 65 and a combat-related permanent rating; the deployment exemption needs no rating.

Sources

Updated

Last updated 2026-10-02.

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Disclaimer

VetTOC is not affiliated with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs or the Department of Defense. Information is for reference only and is not an eligibility determination. Verify with VA, the relevant state or territory, or an accredited VSO.