Berrien County

The Berrien County Clerk files a veteran's DD-214 free and gives one free certified copy at filing and free certified copies later, kept confidential, and issues a county Veterans ID card for $10; 701 Main Street, St. Joseph, or the Niles courthouse.

Any veteran. Any veteran with a discharge can file it and apply for the card. No rating is needed.

Berrien County Veteran Services matches county veterans with trained service and emotional support dogs at no cost to the veteran, paid by an anonymous donor through the Berrien Community Foundation under a programme the Board approved on February 12, 2026; ask the office, 269-983-7111 ext. 8224.

Berrien County veterans. The office matches county veterans; the county publishes no other criteria. No rating is needed.

Berrien County Veteran Services, 701 Main Street, St. Joseph, with a Niles office at 1205 N. Front Street, gives free help with VA claims and benefits for veterans, spouses, surviving spouses, children and Gold Star parents, and takes applications for county burial benefits and Michigan Veterans Trust Fund emergency help; 269-983-7111 ext. 8224.

Veterans and family. Veterans, spouses, surviving spouses, children and Gold Star parents in Berrien County. No rating is needed.

The price of not reapplying each year is a mandatory local audit program, a duty to rescind within 45 days, and an assessor who can deny the current year plus the three before it with interest at 1 percent a month.

Rescind within 45 days of losing eligibility. A rescission form must be filed with the local assessing unit within 45 days after the individual ceases to use and own the property as a homestead or no longer meets the 211.7b qualifications, including a VA rating change.

No Michigan department or agency may count an Agent Orange judgment or settlement as income or resources when deciding assistance, services, or a charge based on income level.

Any state department or agency that means-tests. The duty falls on a department or agency of the state that grants assistance, provides services, or charges for services based on income level. It is not limited to a named program.

Up to $2,800 an academic year for the child of a Michigan veteran who died in service, died of a service-connected cause, or was rated totally and permanently disabled. The figure has not moved since 2005.

The parent’s death or permanent and total rating. Killed in action or died from another cause while serving in a war or war condition; determined by VA to have died or to be totally and permanently disabled from a service-connected illness or injury; determined permanently and totally disabled before death and died from any cause; or officially listed as missing in action.

A county pays $300 toward the burial of a wartime veteran or their spouse whose estate is under $40,000, with the homestead excluded from the count. A county may opt out down to $25,000 by resolution.

Ninety days of wartime service, honorable conditions. A veteran under 35.61 discharged under honorable conditions after not less than 90 days of active service during a period of war, or after less than 90 days because of a service-connected disability. The spouse or surviving spouse of such a veteran also qualifies.

A county may, but need not, create a department of veterans affairs. A state grant of $50,000 plus a per veteran amount is what pushes them to, on conditions including 20 hours a week of service and a maintenance-of-effort floor.

The county may create one, and is not required to. Section 35.621(1) is permissive. Coverage depends on the county board of commissioners having acted.

Every county must levy up to a tenth of a mill for the relief of indigent wartime veterans and their families, administered by a soldiers relief commission of three veterans appointed by the probate judge.

Honorably discharged, wartime service, and indigent. The fund relieves honorably discharged indigent members of the armed forces who served during a period of war as described in 38 CFR 3.2, with Michigan’s Vietnam era dates, and their indigent spouses, minor children and parents.

Compensation for service in the armed forces, including military retired pay, is deducted from Michigan taxable income in full. No cap, no age test, no birth year rule, and it sits outside the tangle that governs every other pension.

No cap, no age test, no birth year rule. The deduction sits in 206.30(1)(e), which the limitations in subsections (9), (10) and (11) do not reach. Those subsections restrict the ordinary retirement deduction by year of birth and by dollar ceilings; none of it applies here.

From the 2025 tax year, a disabled veteran deducts the cancelled debt reported on a 1099-C when the Department of Education discharges a student loan under the total and permanent disability program.

Permanently and totally disabled at the 100% rate. Section 206.30(1)(aa) uses the same two rating routes as the property tax exemption, without the specially adapted housing route. The first route is a VA determination of permanent and total disability from military service with entitlement to benefits at the 100% rate.

The entire homestead comes off the tax roll, with no ceiling on value. Three routes in, and since taxes levied on or after January 1, 2025 the exemption continues without reapplying.

Permanently and totally disabled at the 100% rate. Section 211.7b(4)(a) gives three routes and this catalog can test two of them. The first route is a VA determination of permanent and total disability from military service with entitlement to benefits at the 100% rate.

Since April 2025 a veteran rated 50 percent or more can hold the DV plate, and a surviving spouse can keep it. Only a totally disabled veteran gets the registration tax waived; at 50 percent only the service fee goes.

Fifty percent for the plate itself. A partially disabled veteran qualifies on a VA service-connected disability rating of not less than 50 percent. The two other routes are a service-connected total or permanent total rating for compensation, or such a rating together with armed forces disability retirement pay, and both of those sit above 50 percent.

A discharge recorded with the county clerk is confidential for 70 years, free to the veteran and to a service officer, and a certified copy is admissible as evidence of the original.

Free recording, on presentation to the clerk. The county clerk shall enter upon the record book all discharges presented for recording and shall index them alphabetically.

Ex-POW, Medal of Honor, Purple Heart, Pearl Harbor survivor, World War I, Gold Star and Blue Star plates. Only the ex-POW and Medal of Honor plates escape the registration tax, and only one per household.

Prisoner of war status, or being the spouse of one. A person who was a prisoner of war, or whose spouse was a prisoner of war, may apply for the EX-POW plate. One per household is exempt from the registration tax; a second is taxed.

A resident veteran rated permanently and totally disabled at the 100 percent rate, or individually unemployable, gets any resident hunting or fishing license free, except those that require a lottery.

Permanently and totally disabled at the 100% rate. Section 324.43537(5) gives two routes and this catalog can test both. The first route is a VA determination of permanent and total disability from military service with entitlement to benefits at the 100% rate.

A school district may award a diploma to a veteran of the Second World War, Korea or Vietnam who was enrolled in that district and left before graduating. The district chooses whether to do it.

Enlisted or drafted before graduating, in one of three windows. December 16, 1940 to December 31, 1946; June 27, 1950 to January 31, 1955; or February 28, 1961 to May 7, 1975. Service falling only between February 1955 and February 1961 does not qualify.

An alternative credit computed from a taxable value allowance of $2,500 to $4,500 set by a table last updated in 1996. It reaches veterans with any compensable rating, and it is worth much less than it sounds.

Ten percent is enough, and the allowance rises in bands. A service-connected rating of 10 to 50 percent gives a $3,500 taxable value allowance, 60 to 80 percent gives $4,000, and 90 or 100 percent gives $4,500. A pensioned veteran, a current serviceperson and a widow or widower reach the table without any rating, so this figure is recorded rather than enforced.

An extra personal exemption, $500 for the 2025 tax year, for each taxpayer and each dependent who is a veteran with any service-connected disability. A 0 percent rating qualifies, and a general discharge does too.

Any service-connected disability, including a 0 percent rating. A qualified disabled veteran is a veteran with a service-connected disability, defined by reference to 38 USC 101(16). No percentage appears in the subdivision, so a noncompensable 0 percent service connection qualifies.

State law that covers governor-ordered state active duty, which USERRA does not, reaches service in any state’s National Guard, and awards reinstatement and attorney fees in circuit court.

Every employer, and state active duty is covered. The act binds public and private employers. It covers active state service ordered by the governor in support of civil authorities, which USERRA does not, and service in any other state’s National Guard.

A stipend for child care during drill and annual training, for a single parent or where both parents are Guard members. Up to 12 hours a day and 39 days a year, created in December 2025.

A Guard member in active service and in good standing. Membership in the Michigan National Guard in active service, not absent without leave or under Michigan Code of Military Justice charges, plus any criteria the adjutant general sets.

Up to $14,400 toward an associate or bachelor degree and $6,000 toward a master degree, certificate or trade program, at any Michigan school. Since 2023 a member can hand the benefit to a spouse or a child.

A Michigan Guard member in active service and in good standing. The member must be in active service, which includes traditional drill and annual training, must not be absent without leave or under Michigan Code of Military Justice charges, and must meet the adjutant general’s recruiting and retention criteria.

Created in December 2025, this reimburses a Michigan Guard member for premiums paid for individual TRICARE Reserve Select or TRICARE Dental cover, out of the new member benefit fund.

A Michigan Guard member eligible for the federal coverage. Eligibility turns on being a member of the Michigan National Guard who is eligible for TRICARE Reserve Select or the TRICARE Dental program, plus any criteria the department establishes. No rating or discharge test appears.

From July 2026, a full-time firefighter or law enforcement officer in the reserve components gets at least 26 days of paid military leave a year at full pay. Use it or lose it, and no cash-out.

Full-time fire or law enforcement, in the reserve components. A qualified member is a full-time member of an organized fire department or a law enforcement agency who is enlisted in the reserve components. Part-time, volunteer and paid on-call members are expressly excluded.

A private employer of any size may adopt a veterans preference for hiring, promotion or retention in a layoff. It has to be written down and applied uniformly, and the veteran definition needs 180 days or a service-connected disability.

180 days of active duty, or a service-connected disability. The veteran must be a veteran under 35.61 and have served at least 180 days of active duty or have a service-connected disability from that service. This is narrower than 35.61 alone.

A Michigan professional or occupational license held at the time of entering service stays in full force without any further action until discharge, and the act overrides anything to the contrary.

Licensed or registered before entering service. The license or the registration toward a license must have been held at the time of induction or entering the service. Someone not yet licensed or registered is outside the act.

The full exemption passes to an unremarried surviving spouse and, unusually, follows them to a house bought after the veteran died. The veteran must have been eligible immediately before death.

The veteran must have been eligible immediately before death. The exemption passes only where the deceased veteran was eligible under 211.7b immediately before death. A claim still pending at VA at the date of death does not satisfy this.

A 1909 statute making it unlawful for a carrier, innkeeper or place of public amusement to refuse service to someone in uniform, with actual damages plus $100 and a prima facie evidence rule.

In service and wearing the prescribed uniform. The protection runs to a person in the military or naval service of the United States or of this state who is wearing the uniform prescribed for them by law, regulation, service or custom. A veteran not in service is outside it.

A separate act for public employees: restoration to the old position, a year of protection against discharge without cause, employer pension contributions for the period away, and the attorney general as free counsel.

Public employment, classified or unclassified. State, county, municipal and other political subdivision employment, including departments, agencies and instrumentalities. Temporary or casual employment, elective office and fixed-term appointed office are excluded.

A veteran in a Michigan public job can be removed, suspended or transferred only on six enumerated grounds, after 15 days written notice and a hearing before a named official, with back pay on reinstatement.

Six enumerated grounds and nothing else. Official misconduct; habitual, serious or wilful neglect of duty; extortion; conviction of intoxication; conviction of a felony; or incompetency.

Anyone regularly enlisted or commissioned in the armed forces and officially stationed in Michigan is a resident for every game and fish law, with all the privileges a resident has.

Regularly enlisted or commissioned, and officially stationed here. The section covers persons regularly enlisted or commissioned as officers in the armed forces of the United States who are officially stationed in Michigan. It does not reach veterans, spouses or dependents.

Entry to state parks is free for a vehicle carrying a disabled veteran, ex-prisoner of war or Medal of Honor plate. Since April 2025 that includes veterans rated 50 percent, which the state’s own page has not caught up with.

Three plates, and only three. The exemption reaches a vehicle registered under 257.217d (Medal of Honor), under 257.803f (disabled veteran), or under 257.803e(1) and tax exempt under 803e(6) (ex-prisoner of war).

Authorised in 2022, Michigan’s first state-run veterans cemetery is identified in statute only by a county population bracket of 12,500 to 13,500, and the department must apply for the federal grant.

Federal eligibility rules will govern. The act sets no eligibility criteria. Section 35.1257 requires the director to comply with federal laws and regulations in administering the cemetery, so National Cemetery Administration rules apply.

A veteran of this state, another state, or the United States may ask for the designation. It uses the wide 35.61 definition, and the Secretary of State may pass the applicant’s details to the state and county veterans agencies for referral.

The wide definition, including state forces. Section 257.310 uses the MCL 35.61 definition, so there is no minimum service, reserve components count, and the discharge floor is "other than dishonorable". A veteran of the armed forces of this state is expressly included.

Nursing and domiciliary care at Chesterfield Township, Grand Rapids and Marquette, run by a state authority. What is left of a resident’s money at death goes to the next of kin, not to the home.

Federal per diem eligibility is the whole test. A veteran eligible for VA health care or financial assistance for long-term nursing or day care. The section sets no Michigan residency requirement, no wartime service requirement and no income test.

A county clerk must issue a resident veteran a free one-year license to sell their own goods for personal gain. The signage rules are strict and a false claim of charity draws a $1,000 civil fine.

180 days or a service-connected disability, honorably discharged, resident. A veteran under 35.61 who served at least 180 days of active service or has a service-connected disability from that service, was honorably discharged, and is a Michigan resident.

Since April 2025 every Michigan employer with one or more full-time employees must post a veterans resource notice listing nine specific items, including the crisis line. The state supplies the poster free.

Every employer with one or more full-time employees. An employer means any person or entity that employs one or more full-time employees. There is no size threshold and no requirement that the employer have veteran employees.

A veteran shall be preferred for appointment and employment in every public department and on every public work of the state, its counties and its municipal corporations. Since 2019 military experience must also count toward setting the wage.

A veteran under 35.61 who was honorably discharged. Section 35.401(2) requires both limbs. The honorable discharge requirement is stricter than the "other than dishonorable" standard that 35.61 applies generally.

A circuit or district court may run a veterans treatment court for a veteran with 180 days of active duty whose offense is generally related to service. Violent offenders are barred, the defendant pleads guilty, and the prosecutor must approve only where a dismissal or deferral is on offer.

A veteran under 35.61 with 180 days of active duty. Section 600.1200(h) requires a discharge other than dishonorable under MCL 35.61 and at least 180 days of active duty in the armed forces. No rating is needed.

A 1946 permanent fund whose earnings pay one-off grants for an unforeseen financial emergency, decided by a county committee of veterans, with an appeal to a state board whose decision is final.

180 days of wartime active service and an honorable discharge. Section 35.602 requires at least 180 days of active service during a period of war as described in 38 CFR 3.2, with Michigan’s own Vietnam era dates, and an honorable discharge. Separation for a line-of-duty physical or mental disability before 180 days also qualifies.

Section 35.61 is meant to be the uniform definition and is the widest in this catalog: no minimum service, reserve components included, and a discharge under conditions other than dishonorable. Five other acts then define the word again, each more narrowly.

No minimum service and no war period. Section 35.61 requires service in the United States Armed Forces, including the reserve components, with no minimum number of days and no qualifying period.

A higher VA pension for a veteran or survivor who needs another person’s help with daily living or is confined to the home. The yearly cap for a veteran alone is $29,093 with Aid and Attendance and $21,313 housebound.

• MAPR, veteran alone with Aid and Attendance, effective December 1, 2025: $29,093 a year (read 2026-10-08)
• MAPR, veteran alone, Housebound, effective December 1, 2025: $21,313 a year (read 2026-10-08)
• Pension net worth limit, December 1, 2025, to November 30, 2026: $163,699 (read 2026-10-08)

Pension income and net worth. The person must qualify for Veterans Pension or Survivors Pension. Countable income must be under the MAPR and net worth under $163,699 (December 1, 2025, to November 30, 2026).

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 for current members and dependents.

Veteran or Gold Star family. Any veteran, including Guard and Reserve; current members and dependents for the annual pass.

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 loss, severe burns, or ALS.

• Automobile allowance, effective October 1, 2026: up to $27,908.90 (read 2026-10-08)

Qualifying loss. A service-connected loss or loss of use of a hand or foot, permanent bilateral vision impairment, a severe burn, or ALS. A combined percentage alone does not qualify.

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.

Eligible veteran or family member. Service and discharge rules for the veteran; spouse and dependent paths follow.

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 disability.

Permanent and total disability. A living sponsor is generally a veteran whom VA rated permanently and totally disabled from a service-connected disability. Death in service and death from a service-connected disability are other paths.

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 hostile fire pay for officers.

Service in a combat zone. Service in a designated combat zone or qualified hazardous duty area.

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 combat-related.

Rated 10% or more. A VA rating of at least 10% for a disability the service branch decides is combat-related, plus military retired pay.

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 caregivers, since January 1, 2020.

Any service-connected rating. Any VA service-connected rating, including 0%; Purple Heart, former POW and caregiver paths need none.

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.

Rated 50% or more. A combined service-connected rating of at least 50%, plus military retired pay.

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.

• Surviving spouse basic monthly rate, effective December 1, 2025: $1,699.36 (read 2026-10-08)

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 service-connected disability.

• Full-time monthly rate, October 1, 2026, to September 30, 2027: $1,621.00 (read 2026-10-08)

Sponsor status. One path is a veteran rated permanently and totally disabled from a service-connected disability. Death in the line of duty and death from a service-connected disability are other paths.

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 repealed Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy.

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.

100% level and nearly exhausted. The student must be at the 100% Post-9/11 or Fry level with six months or less of entitlement left.

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.

Spouse or child of an SGLI-insured member. The service member must have full-time SGLI.

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 veteran rated 30% or more.

30% for the disabled veteran authority. The 30% authority needs a compensable service-connected rating of 30% or more; VEOA and VRA have no rating floor.

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 service-connected disability.

Qualifying service and honorable conditions. A war, campaign, listed period, or a service-connected disability for 10 points.

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.

Eligible veteran or service member. Discharge other than dishonorable, with the service rules for the era.

Transitional housing with services, for up to about two years, from community agencies VA funds, for a homeless veteran.

Homeless veteran. The veteran must be homeless and eligible for VA health care or the program’s expanded criteria.

A HUD Housing Choice rental voucher paired with VA case management for a homeless veteran, with housing first and no sobriety or treatment precondition.

Homeless and low income. The veteran must be homeless and meet the public housing agency’s income limit.

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 rating itself.

• Rate paid, veteran alone, effective December 1, 2025: $3,938.58 a month (read 2026-10-08)

Schedular rating gate. One disability at 60% or more, or a combined 70% with one disability at 40% or more. An extraschedular award below that is possible, so the filter uses the lowest schedular floor and does not hide the entry for an unanswered rating.

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 job program.

Veteran or eligible spouse. Any veteran or eligible spouse; DVOP services target listed barriers.

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.

• Maximum reimbursement per test: $2,000 (read 2026-10-08)

Covered by a VA education benefit. Chapter 33, 30, 1606 or 35.

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.

Line of duty death after September 10, 2001. The service member must have died in the line of duty, or from a service-connected disability within the listed windows, on or after September 11, 2001.

A special monthly pension of $5,780 for each living Medal of Honor recipient, paid regardless of income or other benefits.

• Medal of Honor pension, effective December 1, 2025: $5,780 a month (read 2026-10-08)

Medal of Honor Roll. The recipient must be entered on the Medal of Honor Roll.

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.

Eligible veteran. Active duty or Selected Reserve service with a discharge other than dishonorable.

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 length of service.

MST during service. Care is for conditions related to military sexual trauma. Discharge status and length of service do not bar it.

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.

• Full-time monthly rate, effective October 1, 2026: $2,601.00 (read 2026-10-08)

Service and contribution. Active duty after June 30, 1985, with the $1,200 contribution and the required service, or another listed category.

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.

• Full-time monthly rate, effective October 1, 2026: $508.00 (read 2026-10-08)

Six-year Selected Reserve obligation. A six-year obligation in the Selected Reserve, and continued satisfactory participation.

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 Native American.

• NADL interest rate, as posted: from 2.47% (read 2026-10-08)

Native American veteran on trust land. A Native American veteran, or a veteran married to one, buying on trust land of a tribe with a VA memorandum of understanding.

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 every eligible toxic-exposed veteran since March 5, 2024.

Covered service. Service in a location and period the PACT Act covers, plus the basic service and discharge rules for VA health care.

Education assistance tied to qualifying active duty after September 10, 2001. Often called the GI Bill or Chapter 33.

• Private and foreign school tuition cap, August 1, 2026, to July 31, 2027: $30,908.34 a year (read 2026-10-08)

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.

Six years served, four more agreed. Must be requested while serving, with at least six years of service and a four-year added commitment.

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.

Eligible for national cemetery burial. The veteran or reservist must have been eligible for burial in a national cemetery.

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 in-person personal care.

Veteran rated 70% or more. The veteran must have a single or combined service-connected rating of 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.

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.

• Maximum coverage and premium: $500,000; 5 cents per $1,000 a month, plus $1 TSGLI (read 2026-10-08)

Serving member. Active duty, or Ready Reserve or Guard with scheduled drills, or another covered status.

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.

100% P&T, or disabled on active duty. A 100% P&T VA rating is one path to expedited processing; disability on active duty after September 30, 2001, is the other.

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 to $1,200 a year.

• Military wage credit, 1978 to 2001: $100 per $300 of pay, up to $1,200 a year (read 2026-10-08)

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 service-connected disability rated as total.

Permanent total rating for veterans. A veteran who is not a retiree qualifies only with a permanent service-connected disability rated as total, and flies only within and between the continental U.S., Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam and American Samoa. Members, retirees, Guard and Reserve members and dependents have their own paths.

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. SMC-K adds $139.87 a month to any rating from 0% up.

• SMC-K, added monthly amount, effective December 1, 2025: $139.87 (read 2026-10-08)
• SMC-S, veteran alone, effective December 1, 2025: $4,408.53 (read 2026-10-08)
• SMC-R.2/T, veteran alone, effective December 1, 2025: $11,271.67 (read 2026-10-08)

A specific service-connected loss. Each SMC level is set by a specific loss, or loss of use, or by the need for aid and attendance or being housebound. SMC-K is paid at any combined rating, including 0%.

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, with temporary residence grants of $50,961 or $9,100.

• SAH maximum, fiscal year 2026: $126,526 (read 2026-10-08)
• SHA maximum, fiscal year 2026: $25,350 (read 2026-10-08)

Qualifying severe disability. A specific service-connected loss, loss of use, blindness, burn or other listed condition. A combined percentage alone does not qualify.

Grant-funded help, including temporary rent, deposits, utilities and case management, to keep a very low-income veteran family housed or rehouse it quickly.

Very low income. A very low-income veteran family under 38 C.F.R. part 62, homeless or at imminent risk.

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 who dies on active duty.

• Standard annuity for a spouse: 55% of the base amount (read 2026-10-08)

Retiree election or death on active duty. The retiree elected coverage at retirement, or the member died on active duty.

Needs-based monthly payment for a surviving spouse or child of a wartime veteran with limited income and net worth.

• MAPR, surviving spouse with no child, effective December 1, 2025: $11,699 a year (read 2026-10-08)

Income and net worth. Survivors Pension is needs-based. Income and net worth must fall under the current VA limits. Confirm the survivors pension rate chart.

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 perform daily activities.

• TSGLI payment range: $25,000 to $100,000 (read 2026-10-08)

SGLI-covered traumatic injury. SGLI coverage at the time of a traumatic injury that causes a scheduled loss.

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.

Civilian employee entering service. Covers employees who leave a civilian job for uniformed service and meet the notice and return rules.

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.

Eligible veteran or reservist. Service in a listed period or status with a discharge other than dishonorable.

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 service-connected condition, on pension, or with low income.

• Mileage rate: 41.5 cents a mile (read 2026-10-08)
• Deductible: $3 one way, $6 round trip, $18 a month cap (read 2026-10-08)

Rated 30% or more, or another path. A 30% rating qualifies for all care. Travel for a service-connected condition, pension, low income and C&P exams are other paths below 30%.

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 death on or after October 1, 2026.

• Service-connected burial allowance, death after September 10, 2001: up to $2,000 (read 2026-10-08)
• Non-service-connected burial and plot allowances, death on or after October 1, 2026: $1,032 each (read 2026-10-08)

Paid the costs, not reimbursed. The claimant paid the burial costs, and the veteran was not dishonorably discharged and meets a service-connected or listed non-service-connected condition.

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.

• Cash-out refinance funding fee: 2.15% first use, 3.3% after (read 2026-10-08)

VA home loan eligibility. A valid Certificate of Eligibility and occupancy of the home.

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.

• Clothing allowance, effective December 1, 2025: $1,053.19 (read 2026-10-08)

Service-connected disability. The device or medication must be for a service-connected disability. No percentage floor applies.

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 for specialty care.

Enrolled in VA health care. The veteran must be enrolled in VA health care or otherwise eligible for VA care, and meet one of the six community care criteria.

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.

100% for full dental (Class IV). Full dental care needs a 100% schedular rating; individual unemployability and former POW status are other full-care paths, and narrower classes reach other veterans.

Monthly tax-free pay for an illness or injury VA decides is connected to military service.

Combined rating. VA assigns a combined rating from 0% to 100%. Monthly compensation generally starts at 10%. A 0% rating can still matter for health care and other benefits.

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.

Enrollment. No single combined-rating minimum applies to everyone. A rating can change priority group and copays. Other enrollment paths exist.

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.

Compensable rating, or another listed path. A compensable (10% or more) service-connected rating is the most common path. Purple Heart, former POW and other listed paths have no rating floor.

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 recipient on active duty, and a service member with a pre-discharge rating.

• Purchase funding fee, under 5% down, first use and after: 2.15% and 3.3% (read 2026-10-08)

Receiving or entitled to compensation. A compensable service-connected rating is the usual path. DIC surviving spouses and active-duty Purple Heart recipients are exempt without one.

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.

• IRRRL funding fee: 0.5% of the loan (read 2026-10-08)

Existing VA-backed loan. The loan being refinanced must already be VA-backed.

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.

Discharge and enrollment. Routine care follows VA health care enrollment. Emergency suicidal crisis care does not need enrollment or a qualifying discharge.

Needs-based monthly payment for a wartime veteran with limited income who is 65 or older, or permanently and totally disabled.

• MAPR, veteran with no dependents, effective December 1, 2025: $17,441 a year (read 2026-10-08)
• Net worth limit, December 1, 2025, to November 30, 2026: $163,699 (read 2026-10-08)

Income and net worth. Pension is needs-based. Countable income must fall under the MAPR ($17,441 for a veteran alone from December 1, 2025) and net worth under $163,699.

Artificial limbs, wheelchairs, home oxygen, orthotics, mobility aids and home medical equipment for an enrolled veteran who needs them, prescribed by a VA clinician.

Enrolled and prescribed. The veteran must be enrolled in VA health care and the item 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.

• Tutorial assistance limit: $100 a month, $1,200 lifetime (read 2026-10-08)

Using VA education benefits at half time or more. The student must be using a VA education benefit at half time or more.

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 participants a fiscal year.

36 months of active duty. At least 36 months of active duty, a discharge other than dishonorable or within 180 days of separating, and under 62.

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 health care enrollment.

Combat theater or listed service. The service member or veteran must meet one of the 38 U.S.C. 1712A service descriptions. No rating or enrollment is needed.

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.

Honorable or general discharge. The VIC needs an honorable or general discharge; the VHIC needs VA health care enrollment.

Work support, and sometimes training, when a service-connected disability limits the work a veteran can do. Also called VR&E or Voc Rehab.

Service-connected rating. The basic published gate is a service-connected disability rating of at least 10%, plus an employment handicap. A memorandum rating is a separate path for some serious employment handicaps.

SBA certification that lets a veteran-owned or service-disabled veteran-owned small business compete for federal sole-source and set-aside contracts.

Any service-connected rating for SDVOSB. SDVOSB needs a service-connected disability at any rating, including 0%. VOSB needs no rating.

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.

• Maximum coverage: $40,000 (read 2026-10-08)

Any service-connected rating. Any service-connected rating qualifies, including 0%.

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.

Three-quarter time or more. Enrolled at least three-quarter time and using a listed VA education benefit.

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.

Within 1 year and 120 days of leaving. A former SGLI-insured member applying within the window.

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.

• Maximum coverage: $200,000 (read 2026-10-08)

Specially Adapted Housing grantee under 70. The veteran must have received an SAH grant and apply before 70.

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. The credit has expired for later hires unless Congress extends it.

Qualified veteran hired by December 31, 2025. A veteran in a WOTC target group who began work on or before December 31, 2025.

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.

• Private and foreign tuition cap, August 1, 2026, to July 31, 2027: $30,908.34 (read 2026-10-08)

100% Post-9/11 level. The student must be eligible for the Post-9/11 GI Bill at the 100% level, and the school must take part.