County assessor launches Veterans Day "One Million Thanks for Veterans" property tax break campaign

SAN DIEGO – San Diego County Assessor Ernest J. Dronenburg Jr., a U.S. Coast Guard veteran, kicked off a campaign recently to qualify 1,000 more disabled veterans and surviving spouses for the Disabled Veterans Exemption tax break to save them up to $1,400 annually in property taxes.

“I’m calling on San Diegans to think about thanking a veteran before they pay their property taxes,” Dronenburg said. “We need your help reaching 1,000 more disabled veterans and surviving spouses this Veterans Day to thank them for their service and sacrifice to our country by saving them millions of dollars in property taxes.”

Thanks to a provision in the California Constitution, assessors can qualify disabled veterans or a surviving spouse for the Disabled Veterans’ Exemption if the veteran is rated 100% disabled or unemployable from a service-connected injury by the Veterans Affairs and was discharged with a rating other than dishonorable. The exemption reduces their primary residence’s assessed value for property tax purposes saving them up to $1,400 off their property taxes annually.

The 2019-2020 secured property tax bills were due Nov. 1 and will become delinquent after Dec. 10. As San Diegans review their taxes, Dronenburg called San Diegans to action by telling a disabled veteran or surviving spouse they may qualify for a property tax break.

The assessor’s office launched an outreach campaign in 2018 with the San Diego County Office of Military and Veterans Affairs, Pacific Southwest Association of Realtors and the San Diego chapter of the Veterans Association of Real Estate Professionals that has helped qualify 3,314 more disabled veterans and surviving spouses, which saves them now over $4,500,000 in property tax dollars annually.

San Diego County serves more disabled veterans than Los Angeles and Orange County combined and is the lead county in California.

By 2020, Dronenburg said his goal is to qualify over 10,000 disabled veterans and their families for this tax break saving them over $14 million in property taxes annually.

The county assessor’s office was given the Watchdog Award for Public Private Partnership by San Diego County Taxpayers Association and the California State Board of Equalization

awarded the county with a resolution for “Gold Standard Service to Disabled Veterans.”

Veterans and their families can receive assistance at any of the five assessor offices. The Disabled Veterans’ Exemption unit is located at the San Diego Downtown Waterfront office at 1600 Pacific Highway, Room 103. Other satellite offices are located in Kearny Mesa, Chula Vista, El Cajon and San Marcos. Offices are open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.

For more information on the Disabled Veterans Exemption or an application, visit http://www.SDARCC.com. Veterans can reach the San Diego County Assessor’s Disabled Veterans’ Exemption Unit directly at (619) 531-5779 or via email at [email protected].

Ernest J. Dronenburg Jr. is the San Diego County assessor, recorder and county clerk. Dronenburg is a graduate of the San Diego State University and served in the United States Coast Guard.