Veteran taxes by state
California veteran taxes
How California treats military retired pay and Survivor Benefit Plan annuities in its income tax, and its property tax and vehicle registration relief for disabled veterans — from the state’s own pages.
On this page5 sections
- Military retired pay
- Partly exempttax year 2025
- SBP annuities
- Partly exempt
- Property tax
- Exemption or credit
- Vehicle registration
- Fee waiver or discount
Military retired pay in California
Partly exempttax year 2025Sources 1, 2
For taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2025, and before January 1, 2030, California excludes up to $20,000 of retirement pay from the federal government for service in the uniformed services (R&TC §§ 17132.9 and 17132.10). The qualified taxpayer’s federal AGI must not exceed $125,000, or $250,000 for a surviving spouse or spouses filing a joint return. The Franchise Tax Board adds that the exclusion is capped at $20,000 for a surviving spouse, spouses filing a joint return, and any other individual who did not exceed the AGI limits.
Survivor Benefit Plan annuities
Partly exemptSources 1, 2
The same exclusion covers annuity payments under a U.S. Department of Defense Survivor Benefit Plan, not to exceed $20,000 for each type of payment (retirement pay and SBP annuity), for taxable years 2025 through 2029 and subject to the same federal AGI limits of $125,000, or $250,000 for a surviving spouse or spouses filing a joint return.
Property tax relief for disabled veterans
Exemption or creditSources 3, 4
California’s Disabled Veterans’ Exemption (R&TC § 205.5) reduces the property tax on the principal place of residence of a veteran who, because of a service-connected injury or disease, is rated 100% disabled or is compensated at the 100% rate due to unemployability; blindness in both eyes or loss of use of two or more limbs also qualifies. For the 2026 lien date the basic exemption is $180,671, and the low-income exemption is $271,009 for households with income not over $81,131. There is no partial exemption for ratings below 100%.
- Basic exemption: no annual filing after it is granted; low-income exemption: annual claim between January 1 and February 15.
- The veteran must have served during one of the periods listed in R&TC § 205.5(b)(1)(A).
- Claims are filed with the county assessor on form BOE-261-G.
Surviving spouse
An unmarried surviving spouse may claim it if the veteran qualified during their lifetime, would have qualified had they been alive on January 1, 1977, or died from a service-connected injury or disease.
Vehicle registration for disabled veterans
Fee waiver or discountSource 5
A qualified disabled veteran with Disabled Veteran (DV) License Plates is exempt from vehicle registration and license fees on one passenger vehicle, motorcycle, or commercial vehicle of 8,000 pounds unladen or less not used for hire (the DMV page cites Cal. Vehicle Code § 5007). Qualifying veterans were permanently disabled by an injury or disease incurred on active service and have a 100% rating for a disorder that substantially impairs mobility, cannot move without an assistive device, have lost the use of one or more limbs, or are permanently blind.
- One vehicle only, owned by the disabled veteran and displaying DV License Plates; fees for lost, stolen or damaged duplicates are not waived.
- The fee exemption may be taken on Purple Heart plates instead of DV plates.
Sources
Each source was read on October 28, 2026 on the state’s own site, the normal way. The numbers in the sections above point here.