Nebraska Homestead Exemption Form 458: What Surviving Spouses Need to Know

You are managing a death, working through an estate, and trying to keep the household financially stable — and then you find out that the property tax exemption your spouse held could disappear entirely if you miss a specific filing window. Nebraska's Homestead Exemption is one of the more meaningful property tax benefits available to older and disabled homeowners, but it does not transfer automatically when a qualifying spouse dies. Surviving spouses have to act within a narrow annual window or lose the benefit for that tax year entirely.

Here is what you need to know about Form 458, the filing deadlines, and how the rules change after a qualifying spouse's death.

What the Nebraska Homestead Exemption Actually Does

The Homestead Exemption reduces or eliminates property taxes on a primary residence. It is available to Nebraska residents who are 65 or older, disabled, or disabled veterans. The exemption applies to the home and up to one acre of land.

The benefit is not automatic. It requires an annual application filed with the County Assessor using Nebraska's Form 458 — the Application for Homestead Exemption. Missing this filing means losing the exemption entirely for that year. There is no grace period and no retroactive reinstatement once the deadline passes.

The filing window opens on February 2 and closes on June 30 of each year. Applications filed outside this window are not accepted.

What Happens When a Qualifying Spouse Dies

When the spouse who held the exemption dies, Nebraska law provides a specific bridge rule. The surviving spouse and any minor children of the household retain the exemption for the remainder of the current tax year. This means that if your spouse died mid-year, you are not left scrambling to file by summer — the exemption continues through that calendar year without any immediate action on your part.

However, the continuation applies only to that year. For the following year, you must file a new Form 458 under your own name during the standard February 2 – June 30 window. The exemption does not automatically roll forward. The old application filed in your deceased spouse's name has no legal effect for the next year.

This is one of the most common reasons surviving spouses lose property tax relief: they assume the exemption carries over and do not realize a new application is required until after the June 30 deadline has passed.

How to File Form 458 After a Spouse's Death

Form 458 is filed with the County Assessor in the county where the property is located. Each county has its own assessor's office; in Douglas County, for example, this is the Douglas County Assessor's Office in Omaha. In Lancaster County, it is the Lancaster County Assessor.

To qualify and file under your own name, you must meet one of the base eligibility categories:

• Age 65 or older as of January 1 of the application year
• Totally disabled
• A disabled veteran with a service-connected disability
• A surviving spouse of a disabled veteran (see Category 4S below)

Income and home value limits apply for most categories. The income limits are indexed annually — check with your County Assessor for the current year's thresholds, since they change. The application requires documentation of age or disability status, proof of residency, and evidence of income.

You should file as early in the February 2 – June 30 window as possible. Do not wait until late June. If a document is missing or your application needs correction, you need time to resolve it before the hard deadline.

Category 4S: Veteran Surviving Spouses Are Treated Differently

If your deceased spouse was a qualifying disabled veteran, you may qualify under Category 4S — and the rules are significantly more favorable.

Category 4S applies to surviving spouses of veterans who received a 100% service-connected disability rating from the VA (or who were receiving disability compensation at a rate equivalent to 100% based on individual unemployability). Under Category 4S, the surviving spouse receives a 100% property tax exemption on the homestead.

What makes Category 4S unusually strong:

• No income limits apply
• No home value cap applies
• The exemption is 100%, not a partial reduction

The standard homestead exemption categories for age or disability come with income thresholds that phase out the benefit as income rises. Category 4S carries none of those restrictions. The full exemption applies regardless of what the surviving spouse earns or what the home is worth.

To qualify for Category 4S, the surviving spouse must not have remarried. The home must be the primary residence. The veteran does not need to have died from a service-connected cause — the eligibility is based on the disability rating the veteran held during their lifetime, not the cause of death.

Mistakes That Cause Surviving Spouses to Lose the Exemption

Several common errors result in surviving spouses losing property tax relief they would otherwise qualify for:

Assuming the old application still applies. The Form 458 filed in your spouse's name is not valid for subsequent years. A new application in your own name is required each year.

Missing the June 30 deadline. The deadline is absolute. Even if you file on July 1, the County Assessor cannot accept the application. The exemption is lost for that tax year. There is no appeals process to restore it retroactively.

Not filing for Category 4S when eligible. Some surviving spouses of veterans file under the standard age or disability category without realizing Category 4S exists and offers better terms. The County Assessor will not automatically move your application to the most favorable category — you need to apply for Category 4S specifically.

Failing to update the application after a change in circumstances. If your income, home value, or residency changes, the existing application may no longer reflect your situation accurately. Each year's application is evaluated on current facts.

How the Homestead Exemption Fits Into the Broader Picture

The Homestead Exemption addresses one specific line item — annual property taxes. It is separate from the probate allowances that protect surviving spouses during estate administration (Nebraska's homestead allowance, exempt property allowance, and family allowance are distinct legal concepts). Knowing the difference matters because families sometimes conflate them and act on the wrong timeline or file with the wrong agency.

Property tax relief requires action with the County Assessor on the Homestead Exemption schedule. Probate allowances are handled through the estate and the courts. Both affect the financial stability of a surviving household, but they run on completely different tracks.

The Nebraska Survivor Benefits Navigator covers both — including a consolidated checklist of what to file, where, and by when — so nothing falls through the cracks in the months after a death.

The bottom line on Form 458: the exemption does not transfer automatically, the filing window is real and unforgiving, and Category 4S is the most valuable version of the benefit for veteran surviving spouses. File early in the February 2 – June 30 window. If you are a veteran's surviving spouse, specifically apply for Category 4S. And mark next year's deadline on your calendar now, because you will need to refile every year you want to keep the exemption.

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