The Arizona property tax exemption for disabled residents lowers your home’s taxable value by up to $4,873 for the 2026 tax year if you are totally and permanently disabled, own and live in the home as your primary residence, and meet the state’s income and property-value limits. You claim it by filing a sworn affidavit with your county assessor between the first Monday in January and March 1 each year. The rules sit in Arizona Revised Statutes Section 42-11111, and the dollar figures move with inflation.
What the Exemption Is Worth
The program reduces your Limited Property Value, which is the figure your county uses to calculate what you owe. It does not erase the bill. For 2026, the maximum reduction is $4,873.
There is a hard gate before you get anything: your property’s total assessed value has to fall below an annual threshold. For the 2025 tax year that ceiling was $31,347, and it rises each year with inflation. If your assessed value is over the limit for the year you’re filing, you don’t qualify no matter how disabled you are or how low your income is. The Arizona Department of Revenue resets both numbers annually using the GDP price deflator, so confirm the current figures with your county assessor or ADOR before you apply.
Qualifying as Totally and Permanently Disabled
Arizona uses a strict definition. You must be unable to perform any substantial gainful activity because of a physical or mental condition that is expected to last at least twelve continuous months or result in death within twelve months. That language tracks the Social Security Administration’s standard. As a rough benchmark, the SSA treats monthly earnings above $1,690 in 2026 as substantial gainful activity for non-blind individuals.
A licensed physician or psychiatrist has to certify the disability on ADOR Form 82514B. The form asks the medical professional to confirm you are unable to engage in any substantial gainful activity and are therefore totally and permanently disabled. A self-reported condition or a note from a non-medical provider will not satisfy the requirement.
Residency, Ownership, and Income
Three more conditions come with the disability piece. You have to be a permanent Arizona resident, you have to own the property, and it has to be your primary home. A vacation place, a rental you own for income, or a home you rent from someone else won’t work.
Household income also has to fall under an annual limit, calculated on the year before the year you’re filing for. Income counts from you, your spouse, and any children living with you. Blow past the ceiling and you’re out, even if everything else lines up. The legislature has considered raising these limits in recent sessions, so verify the current number with your county assessor before you file.
What Doesn’t Count Toward Income
Social Security payments and veterans’ disability pensions are excluded from the calculation entirely. If most of your household money comes from Social Security, the raw total on paper may look disqualifying while the countable total actually clears the limit. Only non-excluded income matters.
Documents You’ll Need
- ADOR Form 82514, the Affidavit of Individual Tax Exemption, which is the main application.
- ADOR Form 82514B, the medical certification signed by your physician or psychiatrist.
- Income documentation for every household member for the preceding calendar year: federal and state tax returns, W-2s, and 1099s.
- Proof of Arizona residency, typically a valid Arizona driver’s license or state ID.
Some counties require first-time applicants to appear in person and have the affidavit notarized. After that first filing, later renewals can often go in by mail with a notarized form. You reapply every year, so keep copies.
When and Where to File
The application window opens the first Monday in January and closes March 1 of the tax year you’re claiming. County forms and offices often state the deadline as the last business day of February, so filing before March 1 is the safest approach. Submit to the county assessor where the property sits.
Miss the deadline and you still have a second chance. Between March 1 and September 1 you can file with an Exemption Deadline Waiver form attached. After September 1, the exemption is gone for that tax year. Qualifying homeowners lose real money every year because they don’t know about the waiver.
If You’re Denied
The assessor sends written notice approving or denying your application. If it’s denied, you can appeal to Arizona’s State Board of Equalization, and the petition has to go in within 25 days of the date the decision was mailed. A denial based on a paperwork error or an income miscalculation is worth challenging. A denial because your assessed value exceeds the annual ceiling generally is not, since that number is set by formula.
Disabled Veterans
Veterans with a VA disability rating qualify under the same statute, but the math differs.
- A veteran with a 100% service-connected disability can receive a full exemption on the primary residence, provided every other requirement is met.
- A veteran with less than 100% service-connected, or with any nonservice-connected disability rating from 1% to 100%, receives a prorated share of the $4,873 maximum. The maximum is multiplied by the VA disability percentage. A 60% rating yields an exemption of $2,924 against the Limited Property Value.
Income limits apply to veterans too. This is a common misconception. The Arizona Department of Revenue and county assessors are clear that a 100% service-connected rating does not waive the household income requirement.
Veterans need the standard documents plus a DD214 and a current VA Benefit Summary Letter showing the disability percentage. An expired or outdated letter will delay the application.
Effect on SSI
Claiming the exemption will not disturb Supplemental Security Income. Your primary residence is already excluded from the SSI resource limit regardless of value, so the exemption doesn’t change your resource picture. Federal rules also exclude public agency refunds of real property taxes, and state need-based assistance funded by a state or its subdivisions, from countable unearned income for SSI. Taking this exemption will not cut your SSI payment or trigger an eligibility review.
Effect on Your Federal Deduction
If you itemize, you can only deduct property taxes you actually paid. The portion the exemption eliminates isn’t deductible. For 2026, the federal state and local tax deduction is capped at $40,400 for most filers, so a smaller property tax bill can mean a slightly smaller itemized deduction. For nearly everyone who qualifies, the state savings outweigh the shrinkage on the federal side. If you receive a refund because the exemption was applied to a year already paid, some of that refund may be reportable as income on your federal return for the year received; IRS Publication 530 covers the details.
Filing a False Affidavit
The application is a sworn statement, and Arizona treats a false answer as perjury. Misrepresenting income, disability, or residency exposes you to criminal prosecution and can trigger revocation of the exemption plus liability for the taxes that should have been assessed, along with interest and penalties. The savings are not worth fabricating eligibility.