Arizona Property Tax Exemption Form: Eligibility, Limits, and Filing

The Arizona property tax exemption lowers the taxable assessed value of a qualifying primary residence, and in one case removes it from the tax rolls entirely. Three groups of Arizona residents can claim it: widows and widowers who have not remarried, people with a total and permanent disability, and veterans with a VA disability rating. For the 2026 tax year, the standard reduction is $4,873 of assessed value, while veterans rated 100% service-connected disabled receive a full exemption on their primary home.¹ You apply by submitting a signed affidavit and supporting documents to your County Assessor between the first Monday in January and March 1.

Who Qualifies

A.R.S. § 42-11111 creates three exemption categories, and you can claim only one even if you fit more than one.² If you qualify under more than one, pick the category with the larger benefit; a veteran rated 100% service-connected should always claim the veteran exemption.

Widows and widowers. Your spouse has died and you have not remarried. A death certificate is required with your first application.
Total and permanent disability. A licensed medical authority must certify that a physical or mental impairment prevents substantial gainful activity and is expected to last at least twelve continuous months or result in death within twelve months.
Veterans with a disability. You were honorably discharged and have a VA disability rating. For partial ratings, your exemption equals the maximum amount multiplied by your disability percentage, so a 50% rating gets roughly half the full amount.

Every applicant must be a legal Arizona resident, and the exemption applies only to your primary residence. You can have only one primary residence regardless of how many properties you own.³ If you claimed a homestead or similar property tax benefit in another state for the same tax year, you are not eligible here.

How Much the Exemption Is Worth

For widows, widowers, and persons with a total and permanent disability, the maximum reduction in assessed value for the 2026 tax year is $4,873.¹ For disabled veterans, the amount scales with the VA rating up to that same cap, except in the 100% category.

A veteran with a 100% service-connected disability rating receives a full exemption: the primary residence is removed from the property tax rolls, not merely reduced.² If that veteran dies, a surviving spouse can keep claiming the full exemption as long as they do not remarry and continue using the home as a primary residence.¹ Income limits still apply to every veteran exemption, including the 100% category.⁴

Income and Assessed Value Limits

Qualifying under one of the three categories is not enough on its own. The Arizona Department of Revenue adjusts these thresholds each year based on the GDP price deflator.

Household Income

Your total household income from the year before you apply cannot exceed the 2026 limits:

$39,865 if no children under 18 live in the home.
$47,826 if one or more children under 18, or a child with a total and permanent disability, lives in the home.¹

Household income combines what you, your spouse, and any children in the home earn. The statute leaves several common income sources out of that calculation: Social Security, railroad retirement, veterans pensions, workers’ compensation, unemployment insurance, and cash public assistance.² Those exclusions matter. Many applicants whose gross income looks too high actually qualify once Social Security and VA pension payments come out of the math. Run the numbers with the exclusions before concluding you don’t qualify.

Assessed Value Cap

For widows, widowers, and persons with a total and permanent disability, your property’s total assessed value must fall under an annually adjusted cap. If it exceeds the limit, you get no exemption at all. The base statutory figure is $28,459, but ADOR raises it each December, so confirm the current number with your County Assessor.² Vehicles taxed under the state’s vehicle registration system don’t count toward the total.

Starting with the 2026 tax year, the assessed value cap no longer applies to veterans in any disability category. Veterans who were previously disqualified on value grounds should reapply.⁴

Forms and Documents You Need

Get the correct affidavit from your County Assessor’s office or website. ADOR prescribes two:

Form 82514, the Affidavit of Individual Tax Exemption, for widows, widowers, and disabled applicants.
Form 82514V, the Affidavit of Veterans’ Individual Tax Exemption, for disabled veterans.⁵

Supporting documents vary slightly by county, but plan on assembling the following:⁶

An Arizona driver’s license or state ID as proof of residency.
Your Arizona income tax return (Form 140) for the year before the application year.
A prior-year tax bill or Notice of Valuation showing assessed value for every Arizona property you own, plus license plate numbers for your vehicles.
A certified or original death certificate (widows and widowers, first application only).
For disabled applicants, ADOR Form 82514B, the Certification of Disability, completed and signed by a licensed medical authority.⁷
For veterans, a VA Benefit Summary Letter confirming the disability rating.⁵

When and Where to File

File with the County Assessor in the county where your property sits. The window opens on the first Monday in January and closes on March 1. Missing that date waives the exemption for that tax year.⁸ First-time applicants should expect to apply in person so the assessor can check identity and review originals. The affidavit is signed under penalty of perjury.⁹

If You Miss the March 1 Deadline

Widows, widowers, and persons with a disability can petition the county Board of Supervisors to redeem the waiver at any regular meeting. One catch: property taxes already due and payable before you submit the petition cannot be refunded or reduced.⁸ Some counties require a separate Redemption Waiver form with the regular paperwork.¹⁰ The earlier you petition, the more of the current year’s tax you can still recover.

Keeping the Exemption in Later Years

State law does not require annual re-filing once your initial application is approved.¹¹ Individual counties set their own practices, though. Pinal County, for instance, asks widows and widowers to reapply every three years and disabled applicants every year.⁶ Confirm your county’s cycle.

You are required to notify the County Assessor in writing if anything happens that would disqualify you:¹¹

Remarriage, for widows and widowers.
Household income rising above the annual limit.
Selling or transferring the property.
The property no longer serving as your primary residence.

Because the affidavit is sworn, concealing a disqualifying change carries legal risk beyond simply paying back the saved tax.

Telling Your Mortgage Servicer

If your property taxes are paid through escrow, approval of the exemption will not drop your monthly payment on its own. The servicer bases escrow deposits on the tax figure they have on file. Once you receive confirmation of approval, contact your mortgage servicer and request an escrow reanalysis, sending along a copy of your updated tax bill or the assessor’s notice. Without that step you’ll keep overpaying into escrow until the servicer’s next scheduled annual analysis catches the change, and any surplus will come back as a check or future credit rather than an immediate payment adjustment.

1
Maricopa County Assessor’s Office. Personal Exemptions
2
Arizona Legislature. Arizona Revised Statutes 42-11111 – Exemption for Property; Widows and Widowers; Persons With a Total and Permanent Disability; Veterans With a Disability
3
Arizona Department of Revenue. Determination of Primary Residence Interim Guidelines
4
Arizona Department of Revenue. Property Tax FAQs
5
Arizona Department of Revenue. Arizona Property Tax Exemptions
6
Pinal County, AZ. Exemptions
7
Arizona Department of Revenue. Certification of Disability for Property Tax Exemption
8
Arizona Legislature. Arizona Revised Statutes 42-11153 – Deadline for Filing Affidavit
9
Arizona Legislature. Arizona Revised Statutes 42-11152 – Affidavit; Electronic Submission; Acknowledgment of Receipt
10
Pima County Assessor. Valuation Relief
11
Arizona Department of Revenue. Arizona Property Tax Exemptions