Ohio VA Loans, From the Lender

Program and regulatory figures verified October 10, 2026. Details change; confirm your scenario with us.

By Mike Certo, Cornerstone First Mortgage · NMLS #260555 · Updated October 10, 2026

Ohio hands disabled veterans a smaller tax break than some states and makes it far easier to actually get. Both halves of that sentence matter.

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★★★ The trade Ohio made

Pennsylvania exempts a qualifying disabled veteran's real estate tax entirely. Ohio does not. It takes $50,000 of value off the taxable base instead.

★★★ But Pennsylvania gates its exemption behind wartime service and a financial need test. Ohio asks for neither. Ohio Revised Code 323.151 contains no period-of-war condition, and the $30,000 income threshold in 323.152 sits in the standard homestead branch. It does not gate the disabled-veteran reduction.

★★ So a 100%-rated peacetime veteran, or a disabled veteran whose income is well above any threshold, can be refused in Pennsylvania and qualify in Ohio. The two states side by side.

★★★ And the thing almost every article gets wrong

"Ohio gives disabled veterans a $50,000 exemption" is true in a way that misleads.

ORC 323.152 computes the reduction as $50,000 of the true value of the property in money, multiplied by the assessment percentage the Tax Commissioner sets, "not to exceed thirty-five per cent", multiplied by the effective tax rate.

★★★ It removes $50,000 of taxable value. It is not $50,000 of tax, and it is not even $50,000 of assessed value. The arithmetic, and why we publish no dollar saving.

★★ Who Ohio counts as a disabled veteran

From ORC 323.151, verbatim: a veteran of the armed forces "including reserve components thereof, or of the national guard", discharged "under honorable conditions", who has received "a total disability rating or a total disability rating for compensation based on individual unemployability" for a service-connected disability.

★★ Two things to notice. Guard and Reserve service is named in the statute, which is unusual. And TDIU qualifies, so a veteran whose schedular rating is below total may still be inside it. Every condition.

★★ Transfer costs: capped, and mostly the seller's

★★★ Philadelphia's total realty transfer tax is 4.578%: about 11.4 times Ohio's statutory ceiling, and there it falls on buyer and seller jointly. For a veteran buying with nothing down, the cash needed at the table is the clearest practical advantage Ohio has. The statutes.

The market

★★ 39 of 40 Ohio metros rose over the year to August 2026; only Jackson fell, at -1.5%. Columbus is both the most expensive and nearly the slowest.

★★ And a gap we will not paper over: there is no Dayton, Ohio row in the data we use. Wright-Patterson Air Force Base is there, and it is the most VA-relevant market in the state. What we can and cannot tell you about Dayton.

★ What we are, and are not

We are a mortgage lender, and we are not affiliated with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs or any government agency. The VA decides entitlement, ratings and the funding-fee exemption. The homestead exemption is not administered by Cornerstone, your county auditor runs it under Ohio law.

Mike Certo, NMLS #260555, Cornerstone First Mortgage NMLS #173855. (480) 296-6513 · mcerto@cfmtg.com.

Frequently asked questions

Does Ohio have a property tax exemption for disabled veterans?

Yes, an enhanced homestead exemption. Ohio Revised Code section 323.152 reduces real property taxes on a homestead owned and occupied by a disabled veteran by an amount computed from $50,000 of the true value of the property, against $25,000 for the standard exemption. It is a reduction in taxable value rather than a full exemption.

Is there an income limit for Ohio's disabled veteran homestead exemption?

No. The $30,000 total-income threshold in Ohio Revised Code section 323.152 applies to the standard homestead exemption and does not gate the disabled-veteran reduction.

Does Ohio require wartime service for the disabled veteran homestead exemption?

No. Ohio Revised Code section 323.151 requires a total disability rating, or a total disability rating for compensation based on individual unemployability, for a service-connected disability, with an honorable-conditions discharge. It contains no period-of-war condition, unlike Pennsylvania's disabled veteran real estate tax exemption.

Does the National Guard count for Ohio's disabled veteran exemption?

Yes. Section 323.151 defines a veteran of the armed forces of the United States as including reserve components thereof, or of the national guard, so Guard and Reserve service is named in the statute itself.

How much is transfer tax in Ohio?

Capped at forty cents per hundred dollars of value, or 0.40 percent. Ohio Revised Code section 319.54 sets a mandatory conveyance fee of ten cents per $100, and section 322.02 lets a county add up to thirty cents per $100, imposed on the grantor. Individual counties set their own permissive rate within that ceiling.

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Mike Certo · NMLS #260555 · Cornerstone First Mortgage NMLS #173855 · Equal Housing Lender. Educational content about VA home loan financing, not a loan commitment and not legal, tax or financial advice. Cornerstone First Mortgage is a private lender and is not affiliated with, endorsed by or acting on behalf of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs or any government agency. VA entitlement, funding-fee exemption and disability ratings are determined by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. The Ohio homestead exemption for disabled veterans is governed by Ohio Revised Code sections 323.151 and 323.152 and is administered by county auditors, not by Cornerstone; the statutory amounts are adjusted annually by the Ohio Tax Commissioner and the tax effect depends on local assessment and effective tax rates. Figures here carry the date we verified them against primary sources. All loans are subject to borrower, property and program qualification.