Portsmouth Disabled Veteran Real Estate Tax Exemption

Portsmouth applies the statewide exemption to the home and up to one acre for a veteran rated 100% permanent and total, or paid at 100% for unemployability. The Commissioner’s page follows the statute; the 2011 city code still adds occupancy conditions.

Also called: property tax, real estate tax, Portsmouth property tax, 100% disabled, TDIU.

For: Veteran or service member, survivor.

Where it applies

Written for the jurisdictions listed here.

City of Portsmouth, VACity

The Commissioner of the Revenue applies the statewide disabled-veteran real estate exemption in Portsmouth. The page asks for VA documentation of a permanent service-connected disability with a combined evaluation of 100% or payment at the 100% rate for unemployability, VA's finding of permanent and total disability with no further examinations, the effective dates of both, and a copy of the Virginia driver's license. It is generally a one-time filing unless the principal residence changes, though the office may ask for documents to reaffirm eligibility. There is no income test. The Commissioner's page states the surviving spouse rule correctly. Sections 35-230 and 35-231 of the City Code, unamended since 2011, do not. Section 35-230 says "the veteran and his or her spouse must occupy the real property", where the statute asks only that the veteran occupy it, and requires a surviving spouse to continue to occupy the same property, which section 58.1-3219.5(B) has not required since 2019. The code also caps the land at one acre. Where the code and the statute differ, the state exemption governs.

Thresholds

Thresholds for Portsmouth Disabled Veteran Real Estate Tax Exemption
Gate	Rule
100% permanent and total	Portsmouth applies the statewide exemption to the home and up to one acre. It accepts payment at the 100% rate for unemployability. It does not add an income test. One path is a VA rating of 100% that is service-connected, permanent, and total.
Permanent and total on the 100% path	The 100% rating has to be permanent and total. A 100% rating VA has not made permanent does not meet this path.
Individual unemployability	The other path is a total disability rating based on individual unemployability that VA has also rated permanent and total.
Permanent and total on the unemployability path	Individual unemployability qualifies on this path only when VA has rated the disability permanent and total.

Sources

Updated

Last updated 2026-09-30.

Request an update

Out of date, a broken link, or something else wrong? Say what you found, and an editor checks it against the official source.

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.