Pennsylvania’s disabled veteran property tax exemption can cover the entire real estate tax bill on a qualifying veteran’s primary home. If you live in Monroe County, start with Veterans Affairs in Stroudsburg. You can apply under the existing rules while Pennsylvania lawmakers consider changes through House Bill 1257.
Pennsylvania DMVA program guidance ·
Official HB 1257 status
Eligibility starts with the service record and the home
The VA disability letter is one piece of the application. Pennsylvania also looks at your service, discharge, residency, how you own the home, and financial need. For service, the state requires qualifying wartime service and a discharge under honorable conditions. Certain expeditionary medals can establish qualifying service, so bring your records if you’re unsure how yours fits.
Pennsylvania DMVA eligibility criteria
For disability, the state lists a permanent 100% service-connected disability, total disability based on individual unemployability (TDIU), or qualifying service-connected blindness, paraplegia, or loss of at least two limbs. The property has to be your primary home in Pennsylvania. If you own it with your spouse, the way it’s titled matters, so have the county review the deed. An unmarried surviving spouse of an eligible veteran may also qualify if the State Veterans’ Commission finds financial need.
DMVA eligibility criteria ·
Pennsylvania law, Title 51, Chapter 89
The $114,637 income figure leaves room for a review
Pennsylvania presumes financial need when annual income is $114,637 or less. Above that amount, the state can still find financial need if documented allowable monthly expenses exceed monthly household income. So if you ran the numbers at your kitchen table and came in above $114,637, let the county tell you which expenses count before you put the paperwork away. DMVA financial-need guidance
Applying through Monroe County Veterans Affairs
The Monroe County Veterans Affairs office is at One Quaker Plaza, Room 101, in Stroudsburg. Ask for its current checklist and secure submission instructions. Have your discharge papers, VA disability documentation, and proof of homeownership handy for that conversation.
Monroe County Veterans Affairs
If you’re buying in the Poconos, ask the county when an exemption could take effect on the new home. In the meantime, I’d have your lender show you a payment estimate using the taxes in effect today. That gives you a budget you can use while the county reviews your situation.
HB 1257 is still a proposal
The House passed HB 1257 in March 2026, and as of November 8 the latest action listed is its referral to the Senate State Government Committee. The House-passed text would remove the wartime-service and financial-need requirements and provide a full exemption for veterans with a qualifying permanent and total 100% VA rating or compensation at the 100% rate based on service-connected unemployability. It would also let local taxing bodies grant relief below 100% by ordinance or resolution and extend eligibility to certain additional unmarried surviving spouses.
Official bill history ·
House-passed text
Because HB 1257 proposes a change to Pennsylvania’s Constitution, both chambers must approve it in two successive General Assemblies, the state must give public notice, and voters must approve it. If you may qualify under the rules in place today, you can start your application now.
Pennsylvania Constitution, Article XI ·
Contact Monroe County Veterans Affairs
