Nevada Homestead Exemption: $605,000 Creditor Shield and the 3% Tax Cap
Nevada has no property-tax homestead exemption. Its homestead law, NRS chapter 115, shields up to $605,000 of home equity from judgment creditors through a recorded declaration of homestead. The tax break for an owner-occupied house is a 3% cap on annual tax growth (NRS 361.4723), claimed on a county assessor form.
The homestead chapter says outright that it is not a tax break: “Nothing in this chapter shall be so construed as exempting any real or personal property from sale for taxes” (NRS 115.080). So this page splits in two. The first half covers the tax side: the primary-residence cap and four personal exemptions. NRS chapter 361 also has narrower items this page does not cover, such as NRS 361.087 (no increase in assessed value for improvements that remove barriers for a person with a disability living in the home) and NRS 361.084 (a primary residence rebuilt after a Governor-declared disaster). The second half covers what the recorded homestead does against creditors.
The 3% primary-residence cap under NRS 361.4723
The Legislature’s finding that opens the section is blunt. It says a tax-bill increase “by more than 3 percent over the tax bill of that homeowner for the previous year constitutes a severe economic hardship.” The owner of “a single-family residence which is the primary residence of the owner” gets a partial abatement of anything above the prior year’s tax plus 3%. The prior-year figure is the greater of two amounts: the tax actually levied on the property, or what would have been levied without exemptions that no longer apply. Added assessed value from “any improvement to or change in the actual or authorized use of the property” is excluded from the comparison. A new addition gets no 3% protection.
The cap does not reach every case. It does not apply where “No assessed valuation was separately established for the immediately preceding fiscal year,” as with a newly split parcel. It also yields where the general abatement in NRS 361.4722 gives a bigger reduction. It works “Except as otherwise provided in or required to carry out the provisions of subsection 2 and NRS 361.4725 to 361.4729, inclusive.” Those sections deal with large swings in taxable value, certain new or voter-approved taxes and debt-service increases, and improvements destroyed or rebuilt.
A house that is not claimed as a primary residence still gets the general abatement under 361.4722. That cap is the lesser of 8% or the greater of three measures: the county’s 10-year average change in assessed value, twice the prior year’s CPI-U increase, or zero. Second homes fall under this cap.
Who counts as the owner-occupant
Under 361.4723(7)(a), “Primary residence of the owner” means a residence that meets both tests:
- it “Is designated by the owner as the primary residence of the owner in this State, exclusive of any other residence of the owner in this State”; and
- it “Is not rented, leased or otherwise made available for exclusive occupancy by any person other than the owner of the residence and members of the family of the owner of the residence.”
A “single-family residence” includes a condo unit and a mobile or manufactured home “whether or not the owner thereof also owns the real property upon which it is located.” Two facts do not cost you the cap under subsection 5: running a home business from part of the house, or holding title in a way such as “a trust for purposes of estate planning” while you occupy it.
Claiming it and keeping it accurate
The claim goes “On a form provided by the county assessor of the county in which the property is located.” It can also be made on the declaration of value form filed with a deed under NRS 375.060 (361.4723(6)). The Tax Commission’s rule, NAC 361.606, says the claim is signed by an owner of record or someone acting for one. The form may ask you to agree “to notify the county assessor if the property is no longer used as” a single-family residence or your primary residence. Neither the statute nor NAC 361.606 sets a calendar filing date for the claim; the cutoffs run off the tax roll. Under NAC 361.6055(2), the county assessor “may correct the tax roll not later than June 30 of each year” to show a parcel as eligible for that year, and a claim received after the roll has been delivered to the county tax receiver goes to the tax receiver under NRS 361.773. That section applies only if you are “entitled to” the abatement but “for good cause failed to claim the partial abatement before the extension of the tax roll”: the tax receiver, “with the concurrence of the tax assessor,” may then correct the roll “at any time during that fiscal year,” and you get “a tax credit or refund, or combination thereof.” A change in ownership or occupancy follows NAC 361.606(4): if it “occurs after July 1, the change must not be indicated on either the secured or unsecured tax roll … until the next fiscal year.”
Disagree with the assessor’s call? Under NRS 361.4734, a petition for review goes to the county assessor “on or before June 30 of the fiscal year for which the determination is effective.” A false claim made “with the intent to evade” tax costs “three times the amount of the tax deficiency,” on top of the tax itself (NRS 361.4735).
Personal exemptions for veterans, surviving spouses and blind residents
These four exemptions subtract a fixed amount of assessed value, and Nevada assesses property “at 35 percent of its taxable value” (NRS 361.225). The statutory base amounts are indexed to the CPI from July 2003. Each has been adjusted every fiscal year since 2005-2006, and the Department of Taxation sends each county the new figure by September 30. The Department of Taxation’s CPI adjustment table for fiscal year 2026-2027 sets these amounts of assessed value:
| Exemption | Statutory base | FY 2026-27 amount |
|---|---|---|
| Veteran (NRS 361.090) | $2,000 | $3,640 |
| Disabled veteran, 60–79% (NRS 361.091) | $10,000 | $18,200 |
| Disabled veteran, 80–99% | $15,000 | $27,300 |
| Disabled veteran, 100% | $20,000 | $36,400 |
| Surviving spouse (NRS 361.080) | $1,000 | $1,820 |
| Blind (NRS 361.085) | $3,000 | $5,460 |
All four are only for a bona fide Nevada resident, and the claimant’s affidavit must state that the exemption is not claimed in any other Nevada county (NRS 361.080, 361.085, 361.090, 361.091). Each also has its own conditions:
- Veteran. One route is at least 90 continuous days of active duty, with an assignment to active duty at some time during one of the periods listed in NRS 361.090(1)(a). Active duty under Public Law 102-1 also qualifies. So does campaign or expedition service for which a medal is authorized, “regardless of the number of days served on active duty.” You also need an honorable discharge or certificate of satisfactory service, or you must still be serving.
- Disabled veteran. You need a “permanent service-connected disability” of at least 60% and an honorable discharge. A veteran who takes this exemption “is not entitled to an exemption under NRS 361.090.” A surviving spouse can claim it only by affidavit that he or she “was married to and living with the veteran … for the 5 years preceding his or her death,” that the veteran “was eligible for the exemption at the time of his or her death or would have been eligible if the veteran had been a resident of the State of Nevada,” that he or she has not remarried, and that he or she is a bona fide Nevada resident (NRS 361.091(6)). A spouse who qualifies only as a surviving spouse keeps any eligibility for the NRS 361.090 veteran exemption (361.091(8)(b)).
- Surviving spouse. The exemption ends “in any fiscal year beginning after any remarriage, even if the remarriage is later annulled.”
- Blind. You need a physician’s certificate the first time you claim it. The statute defines blindness as vision with correcting lenses not exceeding “20/200 in the better eye,” or a visual field no wider than 20 degrees.
The deadline comes from state law, in NRS 361.155. Claims on real property “must be filed on or before June 15,” and a home “acquired after June 15 and before July 1” has until July 5. If you miss that, you can still file with the county board of equalization “on or before January 15 of the fiscal year for which the claim of exemption is made.” After the first affidavit, the assessor mails a renewal form every year. Filing a false affidavit that gets you an exemption you are not entitled to is a gross misdemeanor.
Nevada’s creditor homestead: $605,000 of equity
NRS 115.010 makes the homestead “not subject to forced sale on execution or any final process from any court.” The protection “extends only to that amount of equity in the property held by the claimant which does not exceed $605,000 in value.” The exception is a home whose allodial title “has been established and not relinquished,” where the protection covers all equity. Allodial title could be applied for only “not later than June 13, 2005” (NRS 361.900), so it cannot be obtained today. “Equity” is fair market value minus the liens the statute excepts.
Selection is a written act. Under NRS 115.020, the spouse(s) or single person must declare “an intention in writing to claim the property as a homestead.” The declaration is then acknowledged and recorded like a deed. If the home is the separate property of one spouse, “both must join.” The Real Estate Division prescribes a free form, which is also at each county recorder’s office. Someone who solicits you to let them file your declaration and charges a fee for recording it must first give you a bold-type notice that, apart from the county recorder’s recording fee, a declaration “may be recorded in the county in which the property is located without the payment of a fee,” and that you may record it yourself (NRS 115.020(4)). A trustee can declare a homestead for the settlor or a beneficiary who lives there. Conveying the house “in trust for the benefit of the person or persons who declared it” does not extinguish rights already declared. A separate provision, NRS 21.090(1)(m), exempts from execution “The dwelling of the judgment debtor occupied as a home for himself or herself and family, where the amount of equity held by the judgment debtor in the home does not exceed $605,000 in value and the dwelling is situated upon lands not owned by the judgment debtor,” such as a mobile home on a rented lot.
Under 115.010(3), the exemption “does not extend to process to enforce the payment of”:
- “obligations contracted for the purchase of the property”;
- obligations “for improvements made thereon, including any mechanic’s lien lawfully obtained”;
- “legal taxes”;
- “Any mortgage or deed of trust thereon executed and given, including, without limitation, any second or subsequent mortgage, mortgage obtained through refinancing, line of credit taken against the property and a home equity loan”; and
- “Any lien to which prior consent has been given through the acceptance of property subject to any recorded declaration of restrictions, deed restriction, restrictive covenant or equitable servitude,” expressly including an HOA lien under NRS 116.3116 or 117.070.
The closing words of 115.010(3), “by both spouses, when that relation exists,” govern both of the last two items: for a married owner, the mortgage must have been executed and given, and the covenant consent given, by both spouses.
The general rule also yields to NRS 115.090, which covers Medicaid recovery liens, and to anything “otherwise required by federal law.” Where allodial title still stands, 115.010(4) extends the protection to every item in that list unless “a waiver for the specific obligation to which the judgment relates has been executed by all allodial titleholders of the property,” but it does not protect against forfeiture under the criminal and racketeering statutes listed in 115.010(5).
A creditor who swears the equity exceeds $605,000 can ask the district court for three appraisers under NRS 115.050. If the property can be divided, the court sells the excess. If it cannot, the court sells the whole property and pays $605,000 to the debtor, and no bid under $605,000 is accepted. That $605,000 stays exempt only if it is reinvested in another homestead property that is “Identified not later than 45 days after the sale” and “Taken possession of not later than 180 days after the sale” (NRS 115.055). For a married owner, a mortgage on the homestead is not valid without both spouses’ acknowledged signatures. The exception is a spouse who is not a Nevada resident, in the case described in NRS 115.040(3). Abandonment takes a recorded written declaration signed by both spouses or the single claimant.
Nevada homestead questions
Will recording a declaration of homestead lower my property tax?
No. The declaration is recorded with the county recorder and deals with creditors. NRS 115.080 keeps homestead property subject to sale for taxes. The 3% cap is a separate claim on the county assessor’s form.
I closed on my house in August. When does the 3% cap show up?
Under NAC 361.606(4), a change in ownership or occupancy after July 1 is not put on the tax roll until the next fiscal year. Expect the change to reach the roll for the following fiscal year. The claim can ride on the declaration of value filed with the deed.
Does my 3% cap move with me to a new house?
No. The comparison is against the tax on that same property the year before (361.4723(1)(a)), and the new house needs its own primary-residence claim. The designation is “exclusive of any other residence of the owner in this State.”
My house is in a living trust. Am I still covered?
Yes on the tax side, and on the creditor side if the trust fits NRS 115.020(5). The tax cap survives title “in a trust for purposes of estate planning” if you occupy the home (361.4723(5)(b)). A homestead you declared before the transfer survives a conveyance “in trust for the benefit of the person or persons who declared it,” and a trustee may record a new declaration for the settlor or beneficiaries “if the person or persons for whom the claim is made reside on or in the property” (NRS 115.020(5)).