Jacksonville VA Buyers: What the 2027 COLA Changes

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 Quick Facts: The 2027 COLA for Jacksonville Veterans

• 2027 COLA: 3.6%, announced by SSA on Oct. 14, 2026, up from 2.8% for 2026.
• VA disability compensation: rises by the same percentage effective Dec. 1, 2026, once Congress passes this year’s COLA act. As of Oct. 14, neither bill had passed Congress.
• Military retired pay: uses the same third-quarter inflation math, effective Dec. 1. CSB/REDUX retirees get one point less, 2.6%.
• First bigger retired-pay deposit: Dec. 31, 2026 for retirees and Jan. 4, 2027 for SBP annuitants, on the DFAS pay schedule.
• VA loans: VA disability compensation isn’t taxed, and veterans who receive it don’t pay the VA funding fee.
• Florida: a $5,000 property exemption at a 10% rating, a full homestead exemption for a permanent and total rating, and a discount for some combat-disabled veterans 65 and older.

 How the 2027 COLA Is Set

Social Security’s COLA follows a formula, not a vote. SSA’s COLA page explains that it’s the percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) from the third quarter of the last year a COLA was set to the third quarter of this year. If prices didn’t rise, there’s no COLA. The Bureau of Labor Statistics released September’s CPI, the last month of the quarter, on Oct. 14, as shown on its release schedule.

For perspective, recent COLAs were 3.2% for 2024, 2.5% for 2025 and 2.8% for 2026, per SSA’s own history table. Since 1983 the COLA has applied to benefits payable for December, which beneficiaries receive in January.

 VA Disability Pay in 2027: What Changes Dec. 1

VA’s compensation rate tables say the agency is required by law to match the percentage of Social Security’s cost-of-living adjustment. In practice Congress passes a short COLA act each year that tells VA to raise compensation and dependents’ amounts by that percentage, effective Dec. 1. This year’s version is the Veterans’ Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act of 2026 (H.R. 8552 in the House and S. 4487 in the Senate). As of Oct. 14, neither bill had passed Congress.

Here’s what 3.6% does to a few of VA’s current monthly rates. The 2026 column comes straight from VA’s table, effective Dec. 1, 2025. The 2027 column is our math: the 2026 rate raised by 3.6%, rounded to the cent. VA’s own 2027 table is the one that counts once it’s posted.

A veteran rated 100% with a spouse and one child picks up about $155.48 a month, or roughly $1,866 over a year. That isn’t a windfall. It is income a lender can count, and it takes effect Dec. 1, well ahead of the spring PCS season.

 Military Retired Pay: Full COLA vs. REDUX

Retired pay moves on the same third-quarter CPI-W comparison, effective Dec. 1, under 10 U.S.C. 1401a. The Defense Department’s notice for the 2026 COLA, reprinted by the Army’s retirement services office, shows how that played out: 2.8% for most retirees and 1.8% for those who took the Career Status Bonus under REDUX. Survivor Benefit Plan annuities follow the retiree’s rate.

Two details trip people up. First, REDUX retirees get the COLA minus one point whenever the COLA is above 1%, so 3.6% becomes 2.6%. Second, if you retired during the year, your first COLA is prorated by quarter. Under that notice, a High-3 retiree who left between April and June 2025 got 1.6%, not 2.8%. As for timing, the DFAS pay schedule lists Dec. 31, 2026 as the payment date for December retired pay and Jan. 4, 2027 for annuitants.

 How VA Lenders Count Disability Income

VA underwriting runs two tests at once, and the COLA touches both. Under 38 CFR 36.4340, the debt-to-income ratio standard is 41% or less, and residual income, the money left each month for family living expenses after taxes, the house payment, maintenance, utilities and other debts, has to meet a regional minimum. Florida is in VA’s South region. For a family of four borrowing $80,000 or more, that minimum is $1,003 a month.

VA disability compensation helps on both. The IRS says in Publication 525 that disability compensation paid to veterans isn’t taxable. The same VA rule lets a lender “gross up” verified nontaxable income for the debt-to-income ratio, as long as the analysis is documented, but only actual income counts toward residual income. VA’s funding fee page also says you won’t pay the funding fee if you receive VA compensation for a service-connected disability. Our VA funding fee guide runs through what that saves.

Here’s the rough math. If the 100% veteran with a spouse and one child above gains $155.48 a month, the 41% guideline leaves room for about $64 more in total monthly debt. At Freddie Mac’s Oct. 8, 2026 average of 7.40% on a 30-year fixed, that much principal and interest carries roughly $9,200 more of loan, before taxes and insurance and before any gross-up. Small, but real. It can be the difference on a file that’s close.

One practical point. A lender documents the income with your current VA benefit letter. If you’re closing in December or January, ask whether the file will use the 2026 amount or the new 2027 amount, and when VA’s updated letter will be available.

 Florida Property Tax Breaks for Disabled Veterans

The COLA doesn’t change Florida’s property tax breaks for disabled veterans. Those depend on your rating, not the dollar amount. They are worth lining up before your first Jacksonville tax bill, though. Our Florida disabled veteran property tax exemption guide walks through all three.

• $5,000 exemption: under Florida Statutes section 196.24, a Florida resident ex-servicemember discharged under honorable conditions with a disability of 10% or more can take $5,000 off the taxable value. The statute has service-related conditions, so the property appraiser decides.
• Total exemption: Section 196.081 exempts the homestead of an honorably discharged veteran with a service-connected total and permanent disability, certified by VA, who is a permanent Florida resident on Jan. 1.
• Age 65+ discount: Section 196.082 gives a homestead tax discount equal to the disability percentage to veterans 65 or older whose permanent disability is combat-related.

Two of the three ride on homestead, which means owning and living in the home on Jan. 1 and filing with the county property appraiser, generally by March 1. Our Florida homestead exemption guide covers the filing.

 Get Your New Award Letter Before You Shop

If you’re buying in Jacksonville this winter on VA disability or retired pay, pull your current benefit letter now and ask your lender to run the file both ways, at today’s amount and at the 2027 amount. Check your VA eligibility and entitlement early with our VA loan eligibility guide. If you already own, the COLA won’t change your tax bill, but a missing exemption will. Check your property appraiser record before March 1.

Our team at Military Realty of Florida, led by broker-owner Matt Strickland, a retired Navy officer, works with veterans and retirees on these questions. Call or text the office at (904) 309-0609 and we’ll walk through the numbers with you before you write an offer.

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When the income is set, the search gets easier. We’ll help you match a monthly payment that fits the new numbers to neighborhoods, schools and commute.

Episode Transcript

3.6%. That is the 2027 cost of living adjustment, announced by the Social Security Administration on Wednesday, October 14. For Jacksonville veterans, that one number moves VA disability checks and military retired pay starting December 1st. Here is what it's worth in dollars, and the one piece of paperwork standing between the announcement and your check. Welcome to the Jacksonville Real Estate podcast. I'm Mike with Matt Strickland, broker-owner of Military Realty of Florida. First, how the number is set, because it is a formula not a vote. The adjustment compares the consumer price index for urban wage earners, third quarter to third quarter. Prices rose, so benefits rise by the same percentage, 3.6% up from 2.8% for 2026. Social Security checks follow automatically in January. VA disability compensation follows the same percentage, effective December 1st, with one catch. Congress passes a short, cloa act every year to tell the VA to make the raise. This year's bills are sitting in committee in both chambers, which is normal for October. Last year's act became law in late November. Nobody expects this one to fail, but until it passes, every 2027 VA dollar figure is an estimate, and I will treat them that way. Now the dollars, using the VA's current rate table, effective December 1st, 2025, and raising each by 3.6%. A veteran rated 10% goes from $180 a month to about 187. At 100%, veteran alone, $3,938 becomes about $4,080, a raise of roughly $142 a month, and the household most of our buyers recognize, 100% with a spouse and one child, goes from $4,318 a month to about $4,474. That is about $155 more a month, roughly $1,866 over a year. Not a windfall, but it is permanent, tax-free income that a lender can count, and it lands December 1st, ahead of the spring PCS season. Retired pay moves on the same math, effective December 1st. Most retirees get the full 3.6%. If you took the career status bonus under Redux, your adjustment is 1.0 less, 2.6%, the same haircut Redux retirees take every year the adjustment runs above 1%. First, bigger deposit for retirees lands December 31st on the DFA s schedule. Now the part that matters if you are buying. VA disability compensation is not taxed, and the lender may grip up verified tax-free income when testing your debt to income ratio. The VA's guideline is 41%, though only the actual dollars count toward residual income. Run the example. The 100% household above gains about $155 a month. Under the 41% guideline, that leaves room for roughly $64 more in monthly debt. At Freddie Mac's October 8th average, 7.40% on a 30-year fixed, that carries about $9,200 more in loan, before taxes and insurance. Small, but real. It can be the difference on a file that is close. Two more ties to episodes in our VA playbook. If you receive VA disability compensation, you are exempt from the funding fee entirely. And if you are closing in December or January, ask your lender in writing which benefit amount the file uses, the 2026 figure, or the new 2027 figure, and when your updated benefit letter will be available. The letter is what documents the income. One Florida layer, because it rides on your rating, not on the dollars, and the cola does not change it. A veteran with a disability rating of 10% or more can take $5,000 off their home's taxable value. A permanent and total service-connected rating can exempt the homestead entirely. And veteran 65 and older with a combat related disability get a discount equal to their disability percentage. All three run through your county property appraiser on the January 1st ownership rule filed by March 1st. Your action step, pull your current VA benefit letter now. And if you are shopping this winter, have your lender run your file both ways. Today's amount and the 2027 amount. So a December 1st raise is already in your numbers when the act passes, and VA posts its official table. The full written breakdown with the rate table and sources is in today's post at MilitaryRealityFlorida.com and the complete VA Playbook series walks every piece of the loan itself. This is education, not lending or tax advice. Confirm your figures with the VA, DeFast, and your lender. Call or text 904-309-0609. Don't forget to like, subscribe, and hit the bell to get notifications of all our new episodes. Thanks for listening.

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For education only. This is not legal, tax or lending advice. COLA figures, VA rates, loan rules and exemptions change and depend on your circumstances. Confirm them with SSA, VA, DFAS, your lender and your county property appraiser before you rely on them. The 2027 VA amounts above are our estimates until VA posts its table. Facts checked Oct. 14, 2026.