North Carolina Homestead Exemption: Seniors, Disabled and Veterans

North Carolina does not have a general homestead exemption that every owner-occupier receives. Instead, the state offers three property-tax relief programs for a permanent residence, all aimed at older, disabled or disabled-veteran owners: the Elderly or Disabled Exclusion (G.S. 105-277.1), the Disabled Veteran Exclusion (G.S. 105-277.1C) and the Circuit Breaker tax deferment (G.S. 105-277.1B). You apply for any of them on Form AV-9 with your county tax assessor, and the form says it must be filed by June 1 to be timely. For other states, see our guide to homestead exemptions by state.

Information last verified on October 7, 2026. This article has not been reviewed by a licensed lawyer.

Jurisdiction scope: This article covers North Carolina's three property-tax relief programs for a permanent residence as described on the North Carolina Department of Revenue's 2027 Form AV-9 and its income-limit memo: the Elderly or Disabled Exclusion (G.S. 105-277.1), the Circuit Breaker (G.S. 105-277.1B) and the Disabled Veteran Exclusion (G.S. 105-277.1C). It does not cover reappraisal schedules, local programs, business or rental property, or other states' laws.

Is there a homestead exemption in North Carolina?

Not in the sense most states use the term. North Carolina has no exemption that every homeowner can claim just by living in the home. The Department of Revenue's application form lists the only three programs: "Elderly or Disabled Exclusion (G.S. 105-277.1), Disabled Veteran Exclusion (G.S. 105-277.1C), or Circuit Breaker Tax Deferment Program (G.S. 105-277.1B)."

Each program is targeted. Two require the owner to be 65 or older or totally and permanently disabled and to meet an income limit. The third is for disabled veterans and certain surviving spouses, with no age or income limit. All three must be applied for; none is automatic.

You can receive only one of them. The AV-9 states that "each owner may receive benefit from only one of the three property tax relief programs."

How much the three programs are worth

The exclusions take value off the tax base, so the dollar saving depends on your home's appraised value and your local tax rates. This page does not estimate a saving.

Elderly or Disabled Exclusion (G.S. 105-277.1)

The AV-9 describes the benefit this way: "This program excludes the greater of the first $25,000 or 50% of the appraised value of the permanent residence of a qualifying owner." For a home appraised at less than $50,000, the $25,000 figure is the larger one; above that, half the appraised value is larger.

Unlike the Circuit Breaker, an exclusion is not repaid later; Wake County notes that even if you stop qualifying, "the excluded value from prior years does not become taxable." County guidance also describes the covered residence as the dwelling, the dwelling site up to one acre, and related improvements.

To be eligible, the owner must be 65 or older or totally and permanently disabled, must be a North Carolina resident, and must meet the income limit. Owners under 65 who apply on the basis of disability also file Form AV-9A, the Certification of Disability.

The income limit

The income test looks back one year. The 2027 AV-9 states: "The owner cannot have an income amount for the previous year that exceeds the income eligibility limit for the current year, which for the 2027 tax year is $39,900."

The limit changes every year. Under G.S. 105-277.1(a2), the Department of Revenue must determine the income eligibility amount on or before July 1 of each year, and county tax offices use that figure. NCDOR's 2026 memo set the limit at $38,800 for the Elderly or Disabled Exclusion and $58,200 for the Circuit Breaker.

Always use the figure printed on the current year's form or confirmed by your county assessor. Do not compute a limit yourself.

Disabled Veteran Exclusion (G.S. 105-277.1C)

According to the AV-9, "This program excludes up to the first $45,000 of the appraised value of the permanent residence of a disabled veteran," and "there is no age or income limitation for this program."

A qualifying veteran's character of service at separation must have been honorable or under honorable conditions, and the veteran must have a service-connected, permanent and total disability certified by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, or have received specially adapted housing benefits under 38 U.S.C. 2101. The applicant must have been disabled as of January 1 of the year the benefit is requested. The benefit is also available to a surviving spouse who has not remarried, of a disabled veteran, of a veteran who died as a result of a service-connected condition, or of a servicemember who died from a service-connected condition in the line of duty.

This program needs a second form. Form NCDVA-9, the Certification for Disabled Veteran's Property Tax Exclusion, "must first be completed by a Veterans Service Officer through either a State Veterans Service Center or a County Veterans Service Office, and then filed with the county tax assessor."

Circuit Breaker tax deferment (G.S. 105-277.1B)

The Circuit Breaker caps the tax bill by income instead of removing value. Per the AV-9, an owner with income at or below the income eligibility limit has taxes "limited to four percent (4%) of the owner's income." For an owner whose income exceeds the limit ($39,900) but does not exceed 150% of it, "which for the 2027 tax year is $59,850, the owner's taxes will be limited to five percent (5%) of the owner's income."

The part above the limit is not forgiven. The AV-9 states that "the taxes over the limitation amount are deferred and remain a lien on the property." It adds that "the last three years of deferred taxes prior to a disqualifying event will become due and payable, with interest, on the date of the disqualifying event," and that "disqualifying events are death of the owner, transfer of the property, and failure to use the property as the owner's permanent residence."

The Circuit Breaker has an extra residency test. The AV-9 asks whether you have "owned the property for the last five full years prior to January 1 of this year and occupied the property for a total of five years." The age, disability and residency requirements match the Elderly or Disabled Exclusion. If the home has more than one owner, the AV-9 states that "all owners must qualify and elect to defer taxes under this program or no benefit is allowed under this program."

Watch out: The AV-9 is blunt about renewal for this program: "YOU MUST FILE A NEW APPLICATION FOR THIS PROGRAM EVERY YEAR!!"

How and when to apply

All three programs use one application, Form AV-9, Application for Property Tax Relief, available on the Department of Revenue's property tax forms page. Disabled applicants under 65 add Form AV-9A, and disabled veterans add Form NCDVA-9.

File with your county, not the state. The form instructs: "Submit this application to the county tax assessor where this property is located. ... DO NOT submit this application to the North Carolina Department of Revenue." The Department publishes a county assessors list with the name, address and phone number of every assessor in the state, and your county's property records will show the parcel the assessor has on file.

The deadline is June 1. The AV-9 states: "This application must be filed by June 1st to be timely filed." If you miss June 1, the form notes that a late application may still be approved on a showing of good cause, but an approved late application applies only to taxes levied in the calendar year it is filed (G.S. 105-282.1(a1)). Because the form and income limit change each year, check with the assessor which tax year your filing covers.

Renewal, changes and losing the benefit

The Circuit Breaker must be applied for every year. The two exclusions are one-time applications. Wake County, for example, tells owners that once approved "you do not need to reapply unless your permanent residence has changed, your income now exceeds the current annual income eligibility limit, or you are no longer totally and permanently disabled," and that a disabled veteran need not reapply "unless your disability or benefit status has changed."

Report changes promptly. Yadkin County's tax office, for example, warns that "failure to make notification of changes will result in disqualification and discovery of the exemption amount along with penalties and interest." Moving out, selling the home, or no longer meeting the income limit are the kinds of change to report.

None of the programs carries over to a new home. The benefits attach to the owner's current permanent residence, and a transfer of the property is a disqualifying event for the Circuit Breaker. If you move, file a new AV-9 for the new home.

North Carolina creditor homestead (a separate law)

The tax exclusions above do nothing to protect a home from creditors. Protection of home equity from a judgment creditor or in bankruptcy comes from a different set of exemption statutes, with its own dollar cap and its own procedure.

Under G.S. 1C-1601(a)(1), a debtor may protect up to $35,000 of net value (value minus mortgages and liens) in property used as a residence by the debtor or a dependent. The limit is $60,000 for an unmarried debtor 65 or older if the property was previously owned with a now-deceased co-owner as tenants by the entirety or joint tenants with right of survivorship. Up to $5,000 of any unused part of the residence amount can be applied to other property under G.S. 1C-1601(a)(2). These figures appear on the Middle District and Eastern District bankruptcy courts' September 2025 exemption forms; we could not open the statute itself on the legislature's site.

For how North Carolina treats a residence in bankruptcy, see our North Carolina bankruptcy guide, and speak with a North Carolina lawyer before relying on any figure.

What happens to a home and the support available to a surviving spouse or children after a death is a probate question; see our North Carolina probate guide.

Related

• Homestead exemptions by state
• North Carolina bankruptcy
• North Carolina probate
• North Carolina property records

This article provides general legal information about North Carolina's property-tax relief programs under G.S. 105-277.1, 105-277.1B and 105-277.1C, verified on October 7, 2026. It is not tax or legal advice. For your situation, contact your county tax assessor, the North Carolina Department of Revenue, or a lawyer licensed in North Carolina.

Last updated: October 7, 2026.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does North Carolina have a homestead exemption?

Not a general one for every homeowner. North Carolina's property-tax relief for a home is limited to the Elderly or Disabled Exclusion (G.S. 105-277.1), the Disabled Veteran Exclusion (G.S. 105-277.1C) and the Circuit Breaker deferment (G.S. 105-277.1B), all applied for on NCDOR Form AV-9.

How much is the homestead exclusion in North Carolina?

The Elderly or Disabled Exclusion removes the greater of $25,000 or 50% of the appraised value of the owner's permanent residence. The Disabled Veteran Exclusion removes up to the first $45,000 of appraised value, according to the 2027 AV-9.

What is the income limit for the North Carolina homestead exclusion?

The 2027 AV-9 states that the income eligibility limit for the 2027 tax year is $39,900, applied to the owner's income for the previous year. NCDOR's 2026 memo set $38,800. The Disabled Veteran Exclusion has no income limit.

When is the deadline to file for homestead exclusion in North Carolina?

Form AV-9 states that the application must be filed by June 1 to be timely filed. A late application may be approved for good cause, but then covers only taxes levied in the calendar year it is filed. File it with the county tax assessor where the property is located, not with the North Carolina Department of Revenue.

Do I have to reapply for the North Carolina homestead exclusion every year?

For the Circuit Breaker, yes: the AV-9 says you must file a new application for that program every year. The two exclusions are one-time applications: county tax offices such as Wake County say you do not need to reapply unless your residence, income eligibility or disability status changes, and you should tell the assessor about any such change.

Can I get both the senior exclusion and the disabled veteran exclusion in North Carolina?

No. According to the AV-9, each owner may receive benefit from only one of the three property tax relief programs: the Elderly or Disabled Exclusion, the Disabled Veteran Exclusion or the Circuit Breaker.

Is the North Carolina circuit breaker a tax break or a deferral?

It is a deferral. Taxes above 4% or 5% of income are deferred and remain a lien on the property, and the last three years of deferred taxes become due with interest on the owner's death, a transfer of the property, or the owner no longer using it as a permanent residence (G.S. 105-277.1B, as described on the AV-9).

Does the North Carolina homestead exclusion protect my house from creditors?

No. The property-tax exclusions only reduce taxable value. Protection of home equity from creditors comes from a separate exemption law; see the North Carolina bankruptcy page on this site for how it works in bankruptcy.