A Disabled-Veteran Exemption Is Filed at the Appraisal District

The break starts at the San Patricio County Appraisal District, 1301 E. Sinton St., Suite B, where chief appraiser Jordan Light's office takes the application. The tax office across the way only collects the bill; it can't grant the exemption. The form is the state's 50-135, the Application for Disabled Veteran's or Survivor's Exemptions.

How much comes off scales with the VA rating: a 10-to-29 percent rating knocks off $5,000, and it climbs to $12,000 at the 70-percent-and-up tier. Veterans 65 or older with at least a 10 percent rating, those who are totally blind, or those who've lost the use of a limb also reach the $12,000 level.

The full 100-percent-disabled exemption is a different animal, a separate provision that can zero out the tax on a homestead entirely, and a surviving spouse of a service member killed in the line of duty may qualify for a total exemption too. Those run under their own rules, so confirm which one fits your situation with the CAD before you assume the dollar figure.