CalVet: California's Own Benefits for Veterans and Their Families

These are the easy-to-miss angles — the early-eligibility rules and quiet ways veteran families leave help on the table. Each one is explained in full below.

CalVet is the California Department of Veterans Affairs — a state agency, not part of the federal VA. It exists to help California's veterans, roughly 1.3 million people, get both the state benefits California offers and the federal benefits they earned through service.

This matters because the two systems are separate. A veteran can be enrolled in VA health care and still have never claimed a single California benefit. Property tax relief, the state Veterans Homes, college fee waivers for children — none of those come automatically with a VA rating. Someone has to file for them.

SoCal Home Health is an independent educational site. We are not part of CalVet or the VA, we are not endorsed by either, and nothing here is an official determination of what anyone qualifies for. Always confirm your own situation with CalVet, your County Veterans Service Office, or the county assessor.

This is the single largest state benefit for a veteran who owns a home in California. It removes a large chunk of the home's assessed value from property tax — every year, for as long as the veteran lives there.

The State Board of Equalization sets out who may qualify. In plain terms, the veteran generally must be rated 100 percent disabled by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, or be compensated at the 100 percent rate because of being unable to hold a substantially gainful job. Being blind in both eyes or having lost the use of two or more limbs also qualifies, under specific definitions.

There is one requirement families often miss. Revenue and Taxation Code section 205.5 also asks how the veteran served: in time of war, or in time of peace during a campaign or expedition for which Congress issued a medal, or in time of peace and released from active duty because of a service-connected disability. Most veterans with a 100 percent service-connected rating meet the third of those, but it is not automatic, so let the assessor look at the record.

An unmarried surviving spouse may also qualify — 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. The exemption is lost if the surviving spouse remarries, but it may be reclaimed if that later marriage ends by death or divorce. Note that for this exemption specifically, the Board of Equalization says a registered domestic partner is not treated as a spouse.

Do not assume a rating decision by itself is enough, and do not assume it isn't. Ask your county assessor's exemptions desk, or a County Veterans Service Officer, to look at the actual rating letter. Both will look at it for free.

There are two levels. The basic exemption is available to everyone who qualifies. The low-income exemption is larger, but the household income must fall under an annual limit.

For the January 1, 2026 lien date, the basic exemption is up to $180,671 of assessed value, the low-income exemption is up to $271,009, and the household income limit for the low-income version is $81,131. These figures come from the Board of Equalization's Letter to Assessors 2025/014, dated May 21, 2025.

The Board has already published the next year's figures. For the January 1, 2027 lien date, the basic exemption rises to $185,889, the low-income exemption to $278,836, and the household income limit to $83,474, per Letter to Assessors 2026/019, dated May 22, 2026.

The amounts started in statute as a $100,000 basic exemption and a $150,000 low-income exemption, and they are compounded every year by a California Consumer Price Index inflation factor. That means the numbers change annually — always check the current year's figure with your county assessor before relying on it.

You file with your county assessor, not with CalVet and not with the Board of Equalization. Use form BOE-261-G, Claim for Disabled Veterans' Property Tax Exemption, and attach the VA disability rating letter and proof of discharge such as a DD-214.

Yes, often. This is the piece families miss most. VA disability decisions frequently take years, and the rating is usually made effective back to the original claim date.

California anticipated this. Under Revenue and Taxation Code section 276.1, a veteran whose disability rating arrives late because of USDVA processing delays may claim the exemption retroactively to the effective date of the rating. Section 5097 then allows taxes to be cancelled or refunded within an eight-year window from the date of payment. In practice, that can mean several years of property tax refunded at once.

If your loved one recently received a 100 percent rating — or was granted compensation at the 100 percent rate for being unable to work — with an effective date in the past, bring the rating letter to the county assessor and ask specifically about retroactive relief. Do not simply file for the current year and walk away.

We cannot tell you how much any particular household will get back, or whether a specific claim will be approved. The assessor decides that. But asking costs nothing.

California runs eight Veterans Homes — in Barstow, Chula Vista, Fresno, Lancaster, Redding, Ventura, West Los Angeles, and Yountville. Five of those are in or near Southern California, which makes them a real option for families here.

These are state-run, not VA-run. The federal VA is clear that it does not manage state veterans homes; it formally recognizes and certifies them, surveys each one every year against VA standards, and may pay the state to help defray the cost of care. California owns and operates them.

A Home may include a Skilled Nursing Facility, an Intermediate Care Facility, a Residential Care Facility for the Elderly (assisted living), and a Domiciliary unit for residents who are largely independent. Not every Home offers every level, and the mix differs from campus to campus, so ask the specific Home which levels it currently has and whether it can meet a particular need such as dementia care.

That range is what makes the Homes worth a look for a family already struggling with home care. A resident can sometimes move between levels as needs change rather than starting over somewhere new.

You apply using the Veterans Home of California admission application, which you can get from your County Veterans Service Office, from CalVet's website, or by calling the Home directly and asking for one to be mailed. The Home reviews it, then arranges a clinical evaluation to decide which level of care fits. Waitlists vary a great deal from Home to Home, and skilled nursing waits can be long, so call the admissions staff before you get your hopes set on one location.

CalVet does give some veterans priority for admission. Rather than guess at the current priority categories, ask the Home's admissions office directly — they will tell you where a particular veteran sits.

Cost is not a flat monthly rate. CalVet charges a member fee calculated as a percentage of the resident's income, and the percentage rises with the level of care — CalVet has published roughly 47.5 percent of income for domiciliary or residential care, 55 percent for residential care for the elderly (assisted living), 65 percent for intermediate care, and 70 percent for skilled nursing. Importantly, CalVet states that no veteran will be denied admission because they lack income. Percentages are set by CalVet and can change, so confirm the current numbers directly with the Home's admissions office before you plan around them.

A non-veteran spouse or registered domestic partner may be admitted too — but only alongside the veteran, on applications filed together. If the veteran is not admitted, the spouse is not eligible on their own.

Meeting the requirements below does not guarantee a place. Admission depends on the clinical evaluation and on what beds are actually available.

Yes — the CalVet College Fee Waiver for Veteran Dependents waives mandatory system-wide tuition and fees at California Community Colleges, California State University, and University of California campuses. It does not cover books, housing, parking, campus-specific fees, or, at many schools, summer session.

There are four plans with different rules. Under Plan A there is no income limit, but the veteran generally must have served during wartime or in a campaign or expedition with a Congressional medal, an unmarried child must usually be under 27 (up to 30 if that child is a veteran), and a dependent cannot receive Plan A benefits and VA Chapter 35 (Survivors' and Dependents' Educational Assistance) at the same time — they must elect one.

Under Plan B an annual income limit applies, and Plan B can be used alongside Chapter 35. For the 2026-27 academic year CalVet set that limit at $22,941. It is adjusted every year, so confirm the current figure with CalVet or your CVSO. Plan C covers dependents of California National Guard members killed or permanently disabled in state active service, and Plan D covers Medal of Honor recipients and their children under 27, for undergraduate study.

CalVet notes there is no income restriction for the spouse or children of a veteran who is 100 percent service-connected disabled, or who died of service-connected causes. Under Plan B, a child of a veteran with any service-connected disability rating may be considered, subject to that income limit — but the county office makes the determination, not us.

Applications go through your County Veterans Service Office, and their help is free. Bring proof of the dependent relationship, proof of the service-connected disability, and proof of income where required.

Several smaller California benefits add up, and many of them have a much lower disability threshold than the property tax exemption — which means a veteran who does not qualify for the big one may still qualify for these.

CalVet also runs its own home loan program, separate from the VA's guaranty. CalVet accepts applicants who served at least 90 days on active duty (not counting training) with a discharge under honorable conditions, has no minimum credit score requirement, manually underwrites every loan, and often layers the federal VA guarantee to offer up to 100 percent financing with no monthly private mortgage insurance. The home must be an owner-occupied property in California. You can reach CalVet Home Loans at 866-653-2510.

There is also a much smaller Veterans' Exemption on the property tax side — $4,000 of assessed value, for veterans with very limited property who served during wartime or a qualifying campaign. Unlike the basic disabled veterans' exemption, it must be claimed every year by February 15. The Board of Equalization is clear that the Disabled Veterans' Exemption is more advantageous, and that you should take it in place of the Veterans' Exemption or the Homeowners' Exemption, not in addition to them.

Start with your County Veterans Service Office. Every California county has one. CVSOs are trained and accredited, they help veterans and families prepare and submit claims to the VA, and their help is free. You can reach yours by calling 1-844-SERV-VET (1-844-737-8838) and entering your ZIP code.

This matters because of who else is out there. VA is direct about it: the services an accredited VSO representative provides on your VA benefit claims are always free. Accredited attorneys and claims agents may charge fees, and those fees are regulated. Anyone who is not accredited at all has no business charging your family to file a VA claim. VA maintains a public accreditation search so you can check a person before you sign anything, and VA itself warns that accreditation does not mean the person is endorsed by VA or qualified to give financial advice.

If someone asks for a percentage of a future back-pay award, or a flat fee to 'get you rated,' stop and call your CVSO first. You are very likely paying for something you can get for nothing.

For the property tax exemption specifically, your point of contact is the county assessor in the county where the home sits — Los Angeles, Orange, San Diego, Riverside, San Bernardino, or Ventura. The Board of Equalization's County-Assessed Properties Division can answer general questions at 1-916-274-3350.