VetTOC · Veteran benefits reference
Find a VA-accredited representative: www.va.gov/get-help-from-accredited-representative/find-rep
The Ashley County Circuit Clerk, as ex officio Recorder, files a veteran's DD-214 free at the courthouse in Hamburg: "There is no charge to have a DD-214 filed with the Ashley…
web.archive.org/web/20260616215937/https://www.ashleycountyar.com/circuit-clerk
The Ashley County Tax Collector, Lori Pennington, at the courthouse in Hamburg (870-853-2050), takes the State's disabled veteran exemption on the home and personal property; her…
web.archive.org/web/20261007011633/https://www.ashleycountyar.com/collector
An Arkansas surviving spouse can keep the full property tax exemption while unmarried, pays no income tax on a Survivor Benefit Plan annuity, receives state hiring preference,…
arkleg.state.ar.us/Home/FTPDocument?path=%2FACTS%2F2025R%2FPublic%2FACT340.pdf
No property tax at all on the home, the land around it (160 acres for 2025; from 2026 two acts of the same session conflict, one at 160 and one at 40), and personal property such…
Gate: 100 percent service-connected; Permanent and total; Or total through individual unemployability; Permanent and total, on the unemployability route too
arkleg.state.ar.us/Home/FTPDocument?path=%2FACTS%2F2025R%2FPublic%2FACT407.pdf
A free disabled veteran plate, with disabled parking privileges, for an Arkansas resident VA rates at least 30 percent service-connected or permanent and total.
Gate: At least 30 percent service-connected; Or permanent and total
www.dfa.arkansas.gov/specialty-plates/disabled-veteran-license-plate-free
Lifetime hunting and fishing licences from the Game and Fish Commission for resident disabled veterans: $1.50 for hunting or fishing and $3 for both at 100 percent permanent and…
Gate: At least 50 percent, which needs a Purple Heart below 70; Or permanent and total through unemployability
Tuition, mandatory fees and on-campus housing for a first bachelor's degree, for up to eight semesters, for the spouse or child of an Arkansan who is a prisoner of war, missing…
arkleg.state.ar.us/Home/FTPDocument?path=%2FACTS%2F2025R%2FPublic%2FACT340.pdf
A school board may grant a high school diploma to an Arkansas resident veteran who left school to serve in World War II, Korea or Vietnam, was honorably discharged, and served 18…
dese.ade.arkansas.gov/Files/20201103153726_Diplomas_for_Veterans_Final_Rule_CLEAN.pdf
A public Arkansas college, trade school or vocational school must charge in-state tuition, whatever the student's residence, to a veteran honorably discharged after at least 90…
uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title38-section3679&num=0&edition=prelim
Active duty pay is fully exempt from Arkansas income tax, including annual training and other full-time duty.
arkleg.state.ar.us/Home/FTPDocument?path=%2FACTS%2F2025R%2FPublic%2FACT508.pdf
State and local government employees in the Guard or reserves get 15 days of paid military leave a year, carrying over up to 30, and 30 working days of paid leave when called up…
arkleg.state.ar.us/Home/FTPDocument?path=%2FACTS%2F2025R%2FPublic%2FACT572.pdf
A resident military retiree aged 60 or older can buy a lifetime fishing licence for $10.50, hunting for $25 or both for $35.50 from the Game and Fish Commission, after one year…
All military retired pay, including Guard and reserve retirement, and Survivor Benefit Plan annuities are exempt from Arkansas income tax.
arkleg.state.ar.us/Home/FTPDocument?path=%2FACTS%2F2023R%2FPublic%2FACT358.pdf
Arkansas issues its military and veteran plates, including Armed Forces Veteran, Purple Heart, Medal of Honor, ex-POW and retiree plates, free of charge apart from a renewal fee…
arkleg.state.ar.us/Home/FTPDocument?path=%2FACTS%2F2025R%2FPublic%2FACT51.pdf
An Arkansas Guard member on state active duty is a covered public employee: the state pays $50,000 to beneficiaries if the member is killed in the line of duty and $10,000 for a…
arkleg.state.ar.us/Home/FTPDocument?path=%2FACTS%2F2025R%2FPublic%2FACT414.pdf
Tuition-free study for up to 120 semester hours at a public Arkansas college for a Guard soldier or airman in good standing without a bachelor's degree.
arkleg.state.ar.us/Home/FTPDocument?path=%2FACTS%2F2025R%2FPublic%2FACT14.pdf
An Arkansas licensing board must grant an automatic licence to a service member stationed here, a veteran who lives here, or the spouse of either, who holds a licence in good…
arkleg.state.ar.us/Home/FTPDocument?path=%2FACTS%2F2025R%2FPublic%2FACT508.pdf
A service member deployed out of state on federal orders owes no late penalty on property tax during the deployment and one tax year after it.
arkleg.state.ar.us/Home/FTPDocument?path=%2FACTS%2F2025R%2FPublic%2FACT550.pdf
A disabled veteran pays no Arkansas sales tax on a vehicle or adaptive equipment bought with VA's automobile allowance.
arkleg.state.ar.us/Bills/Detail?id=HB1738&ddBienniumSession=2025%2F2025R
Half-price standard campsites at Arkansas State Parks for a U.S. citizen with a 100 percent or permanent and total disability, including veterans, shown by a VA award letter from…
Gate: 100 percent disabled; Or permanent and total; Or total through unemployability
Free burial for an eligible veteran, with an $807 fee for a spouse or dependent, at the state veterans cemeteries in North Little Rock and Birdeye.
Two state veterans nursing homes, in North Little Rock and Fayetteville, for veterans who need long-term care, with priority at 70 percent.
Gate: Priority in admission at 70 percent
Five points for a veteran, ten for a disabled veteran, in state agency, college and school district hiring, with preference also in interviewing, promotion and layoffs.
arkleg.state.ar.us/Home/FTPDocument?path=%2FACTS%2F2025R%2FPublic%2FACT116.pdf
The word "Veteran" on an Arkansas driver licence or ID for anyone whose discharge document shows honorable or general under honorable conditions.
www.dfa.arkansas.gov/office/driver-services/licenses-ids-permits/military-veterans
Circuit courts may run veterans treatment courts, with a VA veterans justice outreach specialist on the team, for a veteran or service member aged 18 or older with a substance…
arkleg.state.ar.us/Home/FTPDocument?path=%2FACTS%2F2025R%2FPublic%2FACT691.pdf
Emergency help with basic living expenses, once a fiscal year, for the minor children of an honorably discharged Arkansas veteran who has died or is medically incapacitated.
Gate: The department reads incapacitated as 30 percent or more
Arkansas lets a private employer, city, county or township adopt a written veterans preference for hiring, promotion or layoffs without breaking discrimination law.
codes.findlaw.com/ar/title-11-labor-and-industrial-relations/ar-code-sect-11-15-102
Arkansas has no single definition of veteran. State hiring counts six years of honorable Guard or reserve service.
web.archive.org/web/2025/https://www.veterans.arkansas.gov/s/Veterans-Home-Rule-Edit-V2-p27c.pdf
A higher VA pension for a veteran or survivor who needs another person’s help with daily living or is confined to the home.
A free lifetime pass to national parks, wildlife refuges, national forests and other federal lands for every U.S. military veteran and Gold Star family, and a free annual pass…
www.nps.gov/planyourvisit/veterans-and-gold-star-families-free-access.htm
A one-time payment of up to $27,908.90 toward a vehicle, plus adaptive equipment such as hand controls and lifts, for service-connected loss of a hand or foot, severe vision…
Gate: Qualifying loss
www.va.gov/disability/eligibility/special-claims/automobile-allowance-adaptive-equipment
A free gravesite, opening and closing, vault liner, headstone and perpetual care in a VA national cemetery for an eligible veteran, and for an eligible spouse or dependent child.
Health coverage for a spouse or child of a veteran who is permanently and totally disabled from a service-connected disability, or who died in service or from a service-connected…
Gate: Permanent and total disability
www.va.gov/family-and-caregiver-benefits/health-and-disability/champva
Military pay earned in any month served in a combat zone is free of federal income tax, in full for enlisted members and warrant officers and up to the top enlisted rate plus…
www.irs.gov/individuals/military/tax-exclusion-for-combat-service
A tax-free monthly payment to a military retiree, at any rating from 10%, that replaces retired pay lost to the VA offset for disabilities the service branch decides are…
Gate: Rated 10% or more
Shopping at military commissaries and exchanges, and MWR retail, for every veteran with a VA service-connected rating, Purple Heart recipients, former POWs and primary family…
Gate: Any service-connected rating
Lets a military retiree rated 50% or more receive retired pay and VA disability compensation at the same time, instead of having retired pay cut dollar for dollar.
Gate: Rated 50% or more
A free copy of a DD-214 and other service records from the National Archives’ National Personnel Records Center, requested online or on Standard Form 180.
Monthly tax-free payment to a surviving spouse, child, or parent after a service-connected death, or in defined cases after the death of a totally disabled veteran.
www.va.gov/family-and-caregiver-benefits/survivor-compensation/dependency-indemnity-compensation
Education and training help for a spouse or child of a veteran who is permanently and totally disabled from a service-connected disability, or who died in service or from a…
Gate: Sponsor status
www.va.gov/family-and-caregiver-benefits/education-and-careers/dependents-education-assistance
Asks the service branch’s Discharge Review Board or Board for Correction to upgrade a discharge, with liberal consideration for PTSD, TBI, sexual assault or harassment, and the…
Up to 9 more months of Post-9/11 GI Bill or Fry benefits, or $30,000, for a student finishing a STEM degree or clinical training who has 6 months or less of entitlement left.
www.va.gov/education/other-va-education-benefits/stem-scholarship
Life insurance through the service member for a spouse, up to $100,000 and not more than the member’s SGLI, and $10,000 free for each dependent child.
Three ways a federal agency can hire a veteran outside or ahead of normal competition: VEOA for merit promotion jobs, VRA up to GS-11, and noncompetitive appointment for a…
Gate: 30% for the disabled veteran authority
VA disability compensation, pension, DIC, education and grant payments are not federal taxable income, and retired pay replaced by a retroactive VA rating can be refunded.
Five or ten points added to a passing score, or priority in category rating, for a qualifying veteran applying for a federal competitive service job, with ten points for a…
A free government headstone or marker for the grave of an eligible veteran in any cemetery, or a medallion to fix to a privately bought headstone.
www.va.gov/burials-memorials/memorial-items/headstones-markers-medallions
Transitional housing with services, for up to about two years, from community agencies VA funds, for a homeless veteran.
A HUD Housing Choice rental voucher paired with VA case management for a homeless veteran, with housing first and no sobriety or treatment precondition.
Compensation at the 100% rate, $3,938.58 a month for a veteran alone, for a veteran whose service-connected disabilities keep them from holding a steady job, without changing the…
Gate: Schedular rating gate; Unable to keep substantially gainful work
www.va.gov/disability/eligibility/special-claims/unemployability
Free job search help from veterans’ employment specialists at American Job Centers, with priority of service for veterans and eligible spouses in every Labor Department-funded…
VA pays back the fees for a licensing or certification test, up to $2,000 a test, and for prep courses, out of GI Bill or DEA entitlement.
www.va.gov/education/about-gi-bill-benefits/how-to-use-benefits/test-fees
Up to 36 months of Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits at the 100% level for the child or surviving spouse of a service member who died in the line of duty after September 10, 2001.
www.va.gov/education/survivor-dependent-benefits/fry-scholarship
A special monthly pension of $5,780 for each living Medal of Honor recipient, paid regardless of income or other benefits.
www.va.gov/disability/compensation-rates/special-benefit-allowance-rates
An honor guard of at least two uniformed members, one from the veteran’s branch, who fold and present the flag and play Taps, at the family’s request and at no cost.
Free VA treatment for any physical or mental health condition related to military sexual trauma, without having reported it at the time and regardless of discharge status or…
www.va.gov/health-care/health-needs-conditions/military-sexual-trauma
Up to 36 months of education payments, $2,601 a month for full-time school from October 1, 2026, for a veteran who paid $1,200 into the program during active duty.
www.va.gov/education/about-gi-bill-benefits/montgomery-active-duty
Up to 36 months of education payments, $508 a month full time from October 1, 2026, for a Guard or Reserve member with a six-year Selected Reserve obligation.
www.va.gov/education/about-gi-bill-benefits/montgomery-selected-reserve
A direct VA mortgage, from 2.47% fixed for 30 years when read, to buy, build or improve a home on federal trust land for a Native American veteran or a veteran married to a…
www.va.gov/housing-assistance/home-loans/loan-types/native-american-direct-loan
Expanded VA health care and presumptive disability compensation for veterans exposed to burn pits, Agent Orange, radiation and other toxins, with health care enrollment open to…
Education assistance tied to qualifying active duty after September 10, 2001. Often called the GI Bill or Chapter 33.
Lets a service member with six years of service who agrees to four more transfer up to 36 months of unused Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits to a spouse or child.
An engraved certificate signed by the current President honoring a deceased veteran or reservist eligible for national cemetery burial, free to next of kin, family and friends.
www.va.gov/burials-memorials/memorial-items/presidential-memorial-certificates
A monthly stipend, training, respite, mental health counseling and, in some cases, CHAMPVA health coverage for the family caregiver of a veteran rated 70% or more who needs…
Gate: Veteran rated 70% or more
Free business training, counseling and loan guidance for veterans, service members and military spouses through Boots to Business and Veterans Business Outreach Centers.
www.sba.gov/business-guide/grow-your-business/veteran-owned-businesses
Low-cost term life insurance of up to $500,000 for service members, at 5 cents per $1,000 a month plus $1 for traumatic injury coverage.
Expedited Social Security disability claims for a service member disabled on active duty on or after October 1, 2001, and for a veteran rated 100% permanent and total by VA.
Gate: 100% P&T, or disabled on active duty
Extra earnings credited to a Social Security record for active duty from 1957 through 2001: $300 a quarter from 1957 to 1977, and $100 for each $300 of pay from 1978 to 2001, up…
Free seats left over on military aircraft for service members, retirees, Guard and Reserve members, their dependents, some surviving spouses, and veterans with a permanent…
Gate: Permanent total rating for veterans
www.amc.af.mil/AMC-Travel-Site/AMC-Space-Available-Travel-Page
A higher or added monthly rate for a service-connected loss of a limb, an organ or its use, blindness, being housebound, or needing another person’s daily help.
Gate: A specific service-connected loss
www.va.gov/disability/compensation-rates/special-monthly-compensation-rates
Grants to build, buy or adapt a barrier-free home for a veteran with certain severe service-connected disabilities: up to $126,526 (SAH) or $25,350 (SHA) in fiscal year 2026,…
Gate: Qualifying severe disability
Grant-funded help, including temporary rent, deposits, utilities and case management, to keep a very low-income veteran family housed or rehouse it quickly.
A monthly annuity to a military retiree’s surviving spouse or child, generally 55% of the chosen base amount of retired pay, and automatic coverage for the survivors of a member…
Needs-based monthly payment for a surviving spouse or child of a wartime veteran with limited income and net worth.
www.va.gov/family-and-caregiver-benefits/survivor-compensation/survivors-pension
A one-time payment of $25,000 to $100,000 to a service member with SGLI who suffers a scheduled traumatic loss, such as amputation, paralysis, blindness or an inability to…
Protects a civilian job, seniority and health coverage when a worker leaves for military service, for up to five years of cumulative service with one employer.
A free U.S. flag to drape the casket or accompany the urn of an eligible veteran or reservist, given to the next of kin.
Mileage at 41.5 cents a mile, less a $3 one-way deductible capped at $18 a month, for travel to VA or VA-approved care by a veteran rated 30% or more, traveling for a…
Gate: Rated 30% or more, or another path
www.va.gov/resources/reimbursed-va-travel-expenses-and-mileage-rate
Burial in a VA national cemetery, a government headstone or marker, and in some cases a burial allowance.
Money toward a veteran’s funeral and burial: up to $2,000 for a service-connected death after September 10, 2001, and $1,032 each for burial and plot for a non-service-connected…
A VA-backed refinance of any existing mortgage, VA or not, that can take cash out of home equity, with a 2.15% funding fee on first use and 3.3% after.
www.va.gov/housing-assistance/home-loans/loan-types/cash-out-loan
A yearly payment of $1,053.19 for each qualifying item when a service-connected prosthetic or orthopedic device, or a prescribed skin medication, wears out or stains clothing.
Gate: Service-connected disability
www.va.gov/disability/eligibility/special-claims/clothing-allowance
VA-paid care from a community provider when VA cannot see an enrolled veteran within 30 minutes’ drive and 20 days for primary or mental health care, or 60 minutes and 28 days…
Free comprehensive dental care for a veteran rated 100% or paid at the 100% rate for unemployability, or who is a former prisoner of war, with narrower classes for other veterans.
Gate: 100% for full dental (Class IV); Paid at 100% for unemployability
Monthly tax-free pay for an illness or injury VA decides is connected to military service.
Gate: Combined rating
When VA decides a beneficiary cannot manage VA payments, it appoints a fiduciary to receive and manage them, and oversees that fiduciary.
Enrollment in the VA health care system. A disability rating can change priority and copays. It is not the only way in.
Hearing aids, eyeglasses and contact lenses for an enrolled veteran with a compensable service-connected disability, a Purple Heart, former POW status, and other listed situations.
Gate: Compensable rating, or another listed path
No VA funding fee, which is otherwise 1.25% to 3.3% of a purchase loan, for a veteran receiving or entitled to VA compensation, a surviving spouse on DIC, a Purple Heart…
Gate: Receiving or entitled to compensation
www.va.gov/housing-assistance/home-loans/funding-fee-and-closing-costs
A guaranty that helps an eligible veteran, service member, or some surviving spouses buy, build, or refinance a home with a private lender.
A streamline refinance of an existing VA-backed loan to a lower rate or from an adjustable to a fixed rate, with a 0.5% funding fee and usually no appraisal.
www.va.gov/housing-assistance/home-loans/loan-types/interest-rate-reduction-loan
Mental health care from VA, including free emergency suicidal crisis care for any veteran and most former service members, whatever the discharge or enrollment status.
www.va.gov/health-care/health-needs-conditions/mental-health
Needs-based monthly payment for a wartime veteran with limited income who is 65 or older, or permanently and totally disabled.
Artificial limbs, wheelchairs, home oxygen, orthotics, mobility aids and home medical equipment for an enrolled veteran who needs them, prescribed by a VA clinician.
Up to $100 a month, and $1,200 over a lifetime, for tutoring in a course a GI Bill student is failing or at risk of failing.
www.va.gov/education/about-gi-bill-benefits/how-to-use-benefits/tutor-assistance
Free help with a VA claim from a VA-accredited Veterans Service Organization representative, or paid help from an accredited attorney or claims agent after an initial decision.
Tuition, housing and books for a non-degree high-tech training program, for a veteran or separating service member with 36 months of active duty, limited to 4,000 paid…
www.va.gov/education/about-gi-bill-benefits/how-to-use-benefits/vettec-high-tech-program
Free, confidential counseling at community Vet Centers for combat veterans, service members, survivors and families, kept apart from the VA medical record and open without VA…
www.va.gov/health-care/health-needs-conditions/mental-health
A free digital Veteran ID Card for proof of service at businesses, for a veteran with an honorable or general discharge, and a VA health ID card for enrolled veterans.
Work support, and sometimes training, when a service-connected disability limits the work a veteran can do. Also called VR&E or Voc Rehab.
Gate: Service-connected rating
www.va.gov/careers-employment/vocational-rehabilitation/eligibility
SBA certification that lets a veteran-owned or service-disabled veteran-owned small business compete for federal sole-source and set-aside contracts.
Gate: Any service-connected rating for SDVOSB
Guaranteed-acceptance whole life insurance of up to $40,000 for a veteran 80 or younger with any service-connected rating, including 0%, with no health questions.
Gate: Any service-connected rating
Paid part-time work on VA-related jobs at a school, VA facility or veterans’ organization for a student using VA education benefits at three-quarter time or more.
www.va.gov/education/about-gi-bill-benefits/how-to-use-benefits/work-study
Renewable term life insurance of $10,000 to $500,000 after separation, converting SGLI. No health review if the application is in within 240 days.
Mortgage life insurance of up to $200,000, paid to the lender, for a veteran under 70 who has received a Specially Adapted Housing grant.
A federal tax credit to employers of up to $9,600 for hiring a qualified veteran, for hires who began work on or before December 31, 2025.
www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/work-opportunity-tax-credit
Covers private, out-of-state, foreign or graduate tuition above the Post-9/11 GI Bill cap, matched by the school, for a student at the 100% benefit level.
www.va.gov/education/about-gi-bill-benefits/post-9-11/yellow-ribbon-program