Every Washington county must levy a property tax for a veterans' assistance fund and run a programme for indigent veterans and their families, advised by a board of veterans, and must pay at least $300 toward the burial of an indigent veteran or family member. The State sets the floor; each county sets the services and income test.
Also called: veterans relief fund, veterans' assistance fund, 73.08, indigent veterans, county burial, veterans' advisory board, emergency assistance.
For: Veteran or service member, spouse, child, survivor.
Chapter 73.08 RCW makes this a duty of every county, not an option.
The fund. RCW 73.08.080 requires each county to levy between 1.125 and 27 cents per $1,000 of assessed value for a veterans' assistance fund, which may be spent only on the county's veterans' assistance programme, burials, and the fund's administration. From taxes collected in 2027, Engrossed Substitute House Bill 2442 (chapter 221, Laws of 2026) lets a county impose it either as a separate levy or as part of the county's general levy; the rate floor and the restriction on spending stay the same. A county with a fund balance above a year's minimum yield on the first Tuesday in September may levy less.
The programme. RCW 73.08.010 requires each county to establish a veterans' assistance programme "for the relief of indigent veterans, their families, and the families of deceased indigent veterans", which the county may run itself or through grants or contracts; RCW 73.08.035 requires a veterans' advisory board made up only of veterans. "Indigent" is defined by the county using public assistance receipt, income up to 150% of the federal poverty level or a higher county figure, or inability to pay for shelter, food, utilities and transportation.
Who is a veteran here. RCW 73.08.005 covers 180 days of active service with a qualifying discharge, a qualifying discharge with a disability rating or a medical separation regardless of days served, Guard and reserve members activated by presidential call-up or who completed their initial obligation, and 20-year reservists; family includes a spouse, domestic partner, survivor and dependent children, and the family of a member killed in the line of duty. A qualifying discharge under RCW 73.04.005 is honorable or general, or other than honorable with VA documentation of eligibility for monetary benefits, or any characterisation where the discharge was solely for sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression. A county may widen eligibility further.
Burial. RCW 73.08.070 requires each county to pay, from the fund, for the disposition of the remains of an indigent veteran or family member who died without means, or to pay relatives or friends who arrange it, in an amount the county sets but not less than $300.
Ask the county veterans programme or service officer what the county offers; the county entries in this catalog describe the ones written so far.
Thresholds
Thresholds for Washington County Veterans' Assistance Funds
Gate
Rule
Indigent veteran or family member
A veteran or family member the county finds indigent; the State definition of veteran is in RCW 73.08.005. No rating is needed.
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Disclaimer
VetTOC is not affiliated with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs or the Department of Defense. Information is for reference only and is not an eligibility determination. Verify with VA, the relevant state or territory, or an accredited VSO.