(a) As used in this Code section, the term "disabled veteran" means:

(1) A wartime veteran who was discharged under honorable conditions and who has been adjudicated by the Department of Veterans Affairs of the United States as being totally and permanently disabled and entitled to receive service connected benefits so long as he or she is 100 percent disabled and receiving or entitled to receive benefits for a 100 percent service connected disability;

(2) An American veteran of any war or armed conflict in which any branch of the armed forces of the United States engaged, whether under United States command or otherwise, and that he or she is disabled due to the loss or loss of use of both lower extremities such as to preclude locomotion without the aid of braces, crutches, canes, or a wheelchair; due to blindness in both eyes, having only light perception, together with the loss or loss of use of one lower extremity; or due to the loss or loss of use of one lower extremity together with residuals of organic disease or injury which so affect the functions of balance or propulsion as to preclude locomotion without resort to a wheelchair;

(3) Any disabled veteran who is not entitled to receive benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs but who qualifies otherwise, as provided for by Article VII, Section I, Paragraph IV of the Constitution of Georgia of 1976;

(4) An American veteran of any war or armed conflict who is disabled due to loss or loss of use of one lower extremity together with the loss or loss of use of one upper extremity which so affects the functions of balance or propulsion as to preclude locomotion without the aid of braces, crutches, canes, or a wheelchair; or

(5) A veteran becoming eligible for assistance in acquiring housing under Section 2101 of Title 38 of the United States Code as hereafter amended on or after July 1, 1999.

(b) Any disabled veteran as defined in any paragraph of subsection (a) of this Code section who is a citizen and resident of Georgia is granted an exemption of the greater of $32,500.00 or the maximum amount which may be granted to a disabled veteran under Section 2102 of Title 38 of the United States Code, as amended, on his or her homestead which such veteran owns and actually occupies as a residence and homestead, such exemption being from all ad valorem taxation for state, county, municipal, and school purposes. As of January 1, 1999, the maximum amount which may be granted to a disabled veteran under the above-stated federal law is $43,000.00. The value of all property in excess of the exempted amount cited above shall remain subject to taxation. The unremarried surviving spouse or minor children of any such disabled veteran as defined in this Code section shall also be entitled to an exemption of the greater of $32,500.00 or the maximum amount which may be granted to a disabled veteran under Section 2102 of Title 38 of the United States Code, as amended, on the homestead so long as the unremarried surviving spouse or minor children continue actually to occupy the home as a residence and homestead, such exemption being from all ad valorem taxation for state, county, municipal, and school purposes. As of January 1, 1999, the maximum amount which may be granted to the unremarried surviving spouse or minor children of any such disabled veteran under the above-stated federal law is $43,000.00. The value of all property in excess of such exemption granted to such unremarried surviving spouse or minor children shall remain subject to taxation.

(c)(1) Any disabled veteran qualifying pursuant to paragraph (1) or (2) of subsection (a) of this Code section for the homestead exemption provided for in this Code section shall file with the tax commissioner or tax receiver a letter from the Department of Veterans Affairs stating the qualifying disability.

(2) Any disabled veteran qualifying pursuant to paragraph (3) of subsection (a) of this Code section for the homestead exemption provided for in this Code section shall file with the tax commissioner or tax receiver a copy of his DD form 214 (discharge papers from his military records) along with a letter from a doctor who is licensed to practice medicine in this state stating that he is disabled due to loss or loss of use of both lower extremities such as to preclude locomotion without the aid of braces, crutches, canes, or a wheelchair; due to blindness in both eyes, having only light perception, together with the loss or loss of use of one lower extremity; or due to the loss or loss of use of one lower extremity together with residuals of organic disease or injury which so affect the functions of balance or propulsion as to preclude locomotion without resort to a wheelchair. Prior to approval of an exemption, a county board of tax assessors may require the applicant to provide not more than two additional doctors' letters if the board is in doubt as to the applicant's eligibility for the exemption.

(3) Any disabled veteran qualifying pursuant to paragraph (4) of subsection (a) of this Code section for the homestead exemption provided for in this Code section shall file with the tax commissioner or tax receiver a letter from a doctor who is licensed to practice medicine in this state stating the qualifying disability. Prior to approval of an exemption, a county board of tax assessors may require the applicant to provide not more than two additional doctors' letters if the board is in doubt as to the applicant's eligibility for the exemption.

(4) Any disabled veteran qualifying pursuant to paragraph (5) of subsection (a) of this Code section for the homestead exemption provided for in this Code section shall file with the tax commissioner or tax receiver a letter from the Department of Veterans Affairs stating the eligibility for such housing assistance.

(d) Each disabled veteran shall file for the exemption only once in the county of his residence. Once filed, the exemption shall automatically be renewed from year to year, except as provided in subsection (e) of this Code section. Such exemption shall be extended to the unremarried surviving spouse or minor children at the time of his death so long as they continue to occupy the home as a residence and homestead. In the event a disabled veteran who would otherwise be entitled to the exemption dies or becomes incapacitated to the extent that he or she cannot personally file for such exemption, the spouse, the unremarried surviving spouse, or the minor children at the time of the disabled veteran's death may file for the exemption and such exemption may be granted as if the disabled veteran had made personal application therefor.

(e) Not more often than once every three years, the county board of tax assessors may require the holder of an exemption granted pursuant to this Code section to substantiate his continuing eligibility for the exemption. In no event may the board require more than three doctors' letters to substantiate eligibility.

(f) Any person who as of January 1, 1991, has applied and is eligible for the exemption for disabled veterans, their surviving spouses, and minor children formerly provided for by the sixth unnumbered subparagraph of Article VII, Section I, Paragraph IV of the Constitution of 1976; the exemption for disabled veterans provided for in Article VII, Section II, Paragraph V of the Constitution of 1983; or the exemption for disabled veterans formerly provided for by Code Section 48-5-48.3 as enacted by an Act approved April 11, 1986 (Ga. L. 1986, p. 1445), shall be eligible for the exemption granted by subsection (b) of this Code section without applying for such exemption.