Solano County Assessor: Disabled Veterans' Exemption

The exemption is the State's; the California entry gives the current amounts, the income limit and Senate Bill 296's larger exemption from the January 1, 2027 lien date. The Solano County Assessor administers it at 675 Texas Street, Suite 2700, Fairfield (707-784-6210, [email protected]). What the Assessor gets right. Its page follows Revenue and Taxation Code section 205.5 closely: blindness in both eyes, the loss of the use of two or more limbs, or total disability, defined as a 100% rating or compensation at 100% for individual unemployability by VA or the branch of service; the unmarried surviving spouse of a veteran who qualified in life or died of a service-connected cause; and a discharge that was not dishonorable. It explains the hospital-confinement rule and the 90-day occupancy rule for a new home. Each year before the January 1 lien date the office mails form BOE-261-GNT, which needs returning only if something has changed. What is out of date. The page says "For 2023, the basic exemption amount is $161,083, and the low-income exemption amount is $241,627" with a $72,335 household income limit. For the 2026 lien date the Board of Equalization puts them at $180,671 and $271,009 with an $81,131 limit, and at $185,889, $278,836 and $83,474 for 2027. A veteran whose household income is between $72,335 and $81,131 may wrongly conclude the low-income exemption is out of reach. The page also does not mention section 205.5.1, which from the 2027 lien date exempts half of the first $1,000,000 of the home's value, or all of it under the income limit. File form BOE-261-G with the DD-214 and the VA letter showing the rating and its effective date.