If you are a Minnesota Veteran rated 100% permanent and total (P&T) by the VA and you own your home, the state will exclude $300,000 of your homestead's market value from property tax assessment. At typical Minnesota rates, that works out to roughly $3,390 back in your pocket every year, for as long as you own and occupy the home. One form, filed with your county assessor by December 31, is all it takes to start.
What it is
The Disabled Veteran Homestead Market Value Exclusion is a Minnesota property tax benefit created under Minnesota Statutes section 273.13, subdivision 34. Instead of cutting you a check, the state reduces the taxable market value of your homestead before your property tax bill is calculated. For Veterans with a 100% permanent and total service-connected disability rating, the exclusion is $300,000 of market value.
Here is what that means in practice. If your county assessor values your home at $350,000, the exclusion drops the taxable portion to $50,000. Your property tax bill is then calculated on that much smaller number. The exclusion applies year after year while you remain eligible, so it behaves like a permanent discount on one of the largest recurring bills a homeowner has.
Per the Minnesota Department of Revenue, there are two tiers of the benefit:
| Disability rating | Market value excluded |
|---|---|
| 70% or higher service-connected | $150,000 |
| 100% permanent and total | $300,000 |
This guide covers the 100% P&T tier, which is the larger of the two. If you are rated 70% to 90%, or 100% but not permanent and total, the $150,000 tier may apply to you instead. The eligibility rules and the December 31 deadline work the same way.
What it's worth
The exclusion removes $300,000 of market value from assessment. What that saves you in actual dollars depends on your local property tax rate, which varies by county, city, and school district.
Here is the worked example we use for the statewide estimate. Minnesota's effective property tax rate averages around 1.13%. Applying that rate to the excluded value:
$300,000 excluded x 1.13% effective rate = about $3,390 per year in tax savings.
Two things move that number in real life:
- Your local rate. Metro counties like Hennepin and Ramsey tend to run higher effective rates than rural counties, so the same exclusion can be worth more or less depending on where you live.
- Your home's value. The exclusion cannot remove more value than your home has. If your homestead is assessed at $250,000, the exclusion wipes out the entire taxable value and your savings equal whatever you would otherwise have paid on those $250,000.
For an agricultural homestead, the statute limits the exclusion to the house, garage, and the immediately surrounding one acre of land. Farmland beyond that acre is taxed normally.
The honest math. Roughly $3,390 per year is an estimate, not a promise. Your county assessor can tell you the exact effect on your parcel. But for most Minnesota homeowners at this tier, the benefit lands in the low thousands of dollars every single year.
Who qualifies (and who doesn't)
Per the Minnesota Department of Revenue, for the $300,000 tier you must meet all of the following:
- A 100% permanent and total rating. The VA must have certified your service-connected disability as both total (100%) and permanent. A temporary 100% rating, or a Total Disability Individual Unemployability (TDIU) status that is not permanent, does not qualify for this tier on its own. Confirm your exact rating status on your VA rating decision letter, and confirm tier questions with your county assessor.
- An honorable discharge. The statute requires an honorable discharge from the United States armed forces, shown by your DD214 or other official discharge papers.
- A Minnesota homestead. You must own and occupy the property as your homestead by December 31 of the year you apply. The exclusion applies to your primary residence only, not rental properties, cabins, or second homes.
Who doesn't qualify for this tier: Veterans rated below 70%, Veterans without an honorable discharge, and owners of property that is not their homestead. Veterans rated 70% or higher but below 100% P&T should look at the $150,000 tier instead.
Surviving spouses. If a qualifying Veteran with a 100% P&T rating passes away, a surviving spouse who holds title to the home and permanently resides there can continue receiving the $300,000 exclusion. The benefit continues until the spouse remarries or sells, transfers, or otherwise disposes of the property. A spouse may still qualify even if the Veteran never received the exclusion before dying, and a spouse receiving Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) can qualify on that basis alone, so confirm your documentation with your county assessor.
Primary family caregivers. A caregiver approved by the VA as the primary family caregiver of a qualifying Veteran can claim the exclusion on the caregiver's own homestead when the Veteran does not own property. The caregiver exclusion matches the Veteran's tier: $300,000 at 100% P&T, $150,000 at 70% or higher.
One more rule from the statute: a property receiving this exclusion cannot also receive the general homestead market value exclusion. The disabled Veteran exclusion is far larger, so this trade almost always works in your favor.
How to claim it
- Get the form. Ask your county assessor's office for Form CR-DVHE100, the application for the 100% permanent and total tier. The Department of Revenue no longer hosts the form directly; its exclusion page directs applicants to the county assessor, and most county websites also post a current copy.
- Gather your proof. You will need your VA rating documentation showing the 100% permanent and total determination, and your DD214 or other official discharge papers showing an honorable discharge.
- File with your county assessor, not the state. This benefit is administered at the county level. Submit the completed form and documentation to the assessor's office in the county where your homestead sits.
- Meet the December 31 deadline. Your application must reach the assessor by December 31 to qualify for taxes payable the following year.
- Confirm it took effect. When your next valuation notice arrives, check that the exclusion appears. If anything looks off, call your county assessor.
If you are applying under the surviving spouse or primary family caregiver rules, or at the 70% tier, the county assessor uses different application forms. Start at the Department of Revenue's exclusion page or ask your assessor's office which form fits your situation.
Deadlines
The one deadline that matters. Apply to your county assessor by December 31 to qualify for taxes payable the following year. You must also own and occupy the homestead by that same December 31.
Miss the deadline and you wait a full property tax cycle for the exclusion to kick in. On a benefit worth roughly $3,390 per year, a missed December 31 is an expensive piece of paperwork to forget. Whether you need to reapply in later years depends on your situation, so confirm renewal requirements with your county assessor when you file.
Related benefits
A 100% P&T rating unlocks far more than a property tax exclusion. If you hold that rating, make sure you are also collecting:
- VA disability pay rates for 2026, the monthly compensation that comes with your rating.
- Rating protection under the 5, 10, and 20 year rules, which explains when the VA can and cannot reduce your rating.
- The state benefits calculator, which shows every Minnesota benefit tied to your rating, not just this one.
What to do next
The homestead exclusion is one line item. Minnesota stacks dozens of benefits on top of a 100% P&T rating, and most Veterans are collecting only a fraction of them.
Run the state benefits calculator to see what Minnesota owes you at your rating. Or start your free benefits scan and we will check you against every federal and state benefit in our catalog, over 4,000 of them, each with a dollar value and an official source.