Stearns County

Stearns County's Veteran Services points veterans charged in court with a mental health or substance-related offence to the Seventh Judicial District's Veterans Protocol, a treatment-focused alternative court process for veterans whose military experiences may have contributed to their legal problems.

Justice-involved veteran. For a veteran charged with a mental health or substance-related offence whose military experience may have contributed. A disability rating is not the test.

Stearns County Property Assessment Services takes the State's homestead market value exclusion for veterans rated 70% or more, surviving spouses and primary family caregivers on its online homestead application, due by December 31; properties in St. Cloud apply to the City Assessor instead, 320-255-7203.

70% or higher service-connected rating. The State exclusion needs an honorable discharge and a 70% or higher service-connected rating; surviving spouse and caregiver routes differ (see the Minnesota entries).

Stearns County Parks give active military and veterans with a service-connected disability a free daily or annual vehicle parking permit at Quarry Park and Nature Preserve, where the annual permit is otherwise $25 and a day $5 or $10, on a military ID or a VA health card marked Service Connected.

Any service-connected disability. Veterans need a VA health card marked Service Connected; active military need a military ID. No minimum percentage is named.

Stearns County's 2026 fee schedule charges military veterans $50 for a new or renewed permit to carry from the Sheriff's Office, against $100 new and $75 renewal for others; apply at the Sheriff's Office, 807 Courthouse Square, St. Cloud, 320-259-3810.

Any veteran. The reduced fee is for military veterans. No rating is needed.

Stearns County Veteran Services in Waite Park has four Veterans Service Officers who help with VA health care, compensation, pension and burial claims, State financial assistance, DD-214s and preference letters, with walk-in hours Monday to Thursday and monthly outreach at the Melrose and Paynesville American Legions; 320-656-6176.

Veterans, dependents and survivors. Service members, veterans and their dependents in Stearns County. No rating is needed.

A named list of state veterans benefits for a Minnesota resident who served with a special guerrilla unit or irregular forces operating from Laos between 1961 and 1975. The 2026 session unfroze the verification route and hung it on the VA’s preneed burial determination.

Naturalized under the Hmong Veterans’ Naturalization Act of 2000. Section 197.448, subdivision 1, paragraph (e), clause (1). This route has carried the listed benefits since July 2, 2025 and needs no verification by the commissioner.

Every county must appoint one, it is a gross misdemeanour to pay or receive a fee for their help, and anyone advertising paid claims appeal services must disclose in the advertisement that the same work is free from a CVSO.

Any resident with a discharge other than dishonorable. Section 197.603, subdivision 1: the duty is to aid all residents of the governmental subdivision in securing benefits on account of armed forces service where the discharge is other than dishonorable. No rating, no minimum service, no wartime requirement.

$120 for each month or part of a month in a designated combat zone since 2008, refundable, with no income test and no requirement to have owed any Minnesota tax. Claimed on Form M99, not on the income tax return.

Active military service in a designated area after December 31, 2008. Active duty service in any of the United States armed forces, the National Guard or the reserves, in a presidentially designated combat zone, a qualified hazardous duty area designated in public law, or a location certified by the Department of Defense as eligible for combat zone tax benefits for direct support of military operations.

A nonrefundable $750 income tax credit for a 20-year veteran, a military retiree, or a veteran at 100 percent total and permanent. It starts phasing out at $30,000 of income, not $37,500, and it cannot be combined with the pension subtraction.

20 years of military service, or eligibility for military retired pay. Section 290.0677, subdivision 2, paragraph (d) accepts 20 years of service, or a determination by the military of eligibility for a pension or other retirement pay computed under 10 U.S.C. 1401 to 1414, 1447 to 1455 or 12733. Eligibility is the test, not receipt.

Means-tested dental and optical care through an assigned provider inside a benefit period of at most 150 days, a once-per-lifetime veteran’s relief grant, a housing deposit grant, and a disaster relief grant. Every dollar figure sits in a schedule the commissioner republishes each January.

Household income and assets under the limits in the January schedule. Minnesota Rules 9055.0320, subpart 2 for dental and optical, computed under rules 9055.0300 and 9055.0310. The limits themselves sit in the schedule of maximum monthly allowances incorporated by rule 9055.0315.

Free tuition and fees at Minnesota public institutions to a bachelor’s degree, plus $750 a year, for the child or spouse of a veteran who died of service or of a POW or person missing in action. Remarriage does not end it. The 2026 session rewrote the section and deleted the veteran’s own $750 grant.

The veteran died as a result of military service, as determined by VA or DoD. Subdivision 1, paragraph (c). Laws 2026, chapter 49 removed the requirement that the veteran have been a Minnesota resident within six months of entering service or for the six months before death.

The same $15,000 lifetime pot also pays $3,000 a year for apprenticeship or on-the-job training and $3,000 a year for licence and certification tests, plus $1,000 job-placement credits paid to the employer at six and twelve months.

The same eligibility list as the education benefit. Subdivision 6, paragraph (c) and subdivision 7, paragraph (b) repeat the veteran, five-year Guard or reserve, deceased-parent and totally disabled-parent routes from subdivision 4.

$5,000 a year and $15,000 in a lifetime, but it is a last-dollar benefit: Pell, the state grant and every federal military education benefit are subtracted from cost of attendance first, and awards are made on a funds-available basis.

A veteran, or a campaign medal, or 90 days in a foreign country during hostilities. Subdivision 1, paragraph (h) extends the section 197.447 definition to a service member honorably discharged from each period of federal active duty who served 90 days or more of federal active duty in a foreign country during hostilities, or holds a listed campaign medal, or took a service-related medical discharge from such service. A person who meets that test while still serving is included.

A 2026 statute requiring a school district or charter school to issue a high school diploma on request to a Korean Conflict or Vietnam War veteran who never finished, for reasons related or unrelated to service. A family may request one posthumously.

Service during the Korean Conflict or the Vietnam War. Korean Conflict from June 27, 1950 to January 31, 1955; Vietnam War in country from November 1, 1955 to May 7, 1975, or outside the country from August 5, 1964 to May 7, 1975.

Resident tuition for any veteran at a state college or university with no residency waiting period, mandatory ACE credit for military training at Minnesota State, and a bar on late fees or registration holds while GI Bill money is in transit.

Any veteran, including a person currently in active service. Subdivision 1, paragraph (d) defines veteran for this section as the section 197.447 definition plus any person serving in active service as defined in section 190.05, subdivision 5.

$300,000 of excluded value reaches a surviving spouse by four routes, one of which is simply receiving DIC. The eight-year limit was removed in 2021 and the "died after 2011" condition in 2023, but guides still print both.

The veteran held the total and permanent exclusion at death. Paragraph (c) carries the $300,000 exclusion over where a veteran qualifying at the total and permanent tier predeceases the spouse and the spouse holds title and permanently resides there.

All federal military retired pay, including SBP annuities, is subtracted, and so is title 10 active duty pay for residents. The Guard and reserve subtraction is narrower than it looks: it reaches state active service and AGR, not drill.

Military retired pay is subtracted with no cap or age test. Section 290.0132, subdivision 21 subtracts pension or other retirement pay from the federal government for military service computed under 10 U.S.C. 1401 to 1414, 1447 to 1455 and 12733. The 1447 to 1455 range covers Survivor Benefit Plan annuities.

$150,000 of homestead market value excluded at a 70 percent rating and $300,000 at a total and permanent 100 percent. It replaces the general homestead exclusion rather than adding to it, and it can sit on a VA approved family caregiver’s house instead.

Service-connected disability of 70 percent or more. Section 273.13, subdivision 34, paragraph (a) sets the gate and paragraph (b) sets the two amounts. The statute asks for a service-connected disability of 70 percent or more as certified by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, and excludes $150,000 of market value at that level.

State active service now pays federal rates with a floor of E-5 basic pay, replacing the $130-a-day floor. The 5 percent pension-inequality stipend was repealed in 2026, and state employees get 15 days of paid military leave a year.

A member of the Minnesota military forces in state active service. Section 192.49, subdivision 1 applies to every commissioned officer and enlisted member engaged in state active service as defined in section 190.05, subdivision 5a.

Up to 100 percent of University of Minnesota resident tuition, capped at 144 semester credits for life, with an eight-year extension after a service-connected separation and a spouse share after eight years of service. The dollar schedule is set by the adjutant general, not by statute.

Serving satisfactorily in the Minnesota National Guard. Subdivision 2, paragraph (b): serving satisfactorily as defined by the adjutant general, attending a qualifying postsecondary institution, and providing proof of satisfactory completion of coursework. Reimbursement follows completion.

A private employer may prefer a veteran in hiring and promotion without breaching state or local equal employment law, and every professional licensing board must run an expedited and a temporary licensing route for service members, their spouses, and veterans within two years of leaving.

A private employer may prefer a veteran, and is protected in doing so. Section 197.4551, subdivisions 1 and 3: a private, nonpublic employer may grant preference in hiring and promotion, and doing so does not violate any local or state equal employment opportunity law, including chapter 363A. The section confers no right the veteran can enforce.

The free annual state park permit takes any level of service-connected disability, which is the widest such test in this catalog, but it has to be re-proved every year. Free hunting and fishing licences need 100 percent; a reduced-fee tier at 50 percent arrives March 1, 2027.

The park permit takes any level of service-connected disability. Section 85.053, subdivision 10: an annual park permit at no charge to any veteran with any level of service-connected disability as determined by VA. Recorded rather than enforced because there is no minimum percentage in the subdivision at all.

Short-term income replacement in 30-day periods, up to six, for a veteran or surviving spouse kept from their usual occupation by a medical condition, or for a surviving spouse within 12 months of the veteran’s death. The benefit tops income up to a limit the commissioner republishes every January.

A medical condition keeping the applicant from their usual occupation for 30 days. Minnesota Rules 9055.0350, subpart 1 and 9055.0435: the condition must prevent the veteran or surviving spouse from working at their current or most recent occupation for at least 30 days. The condition need not be service-connected.

Four state cemeteries with no plot or interment fee for a veteran. The 2026 session added Secret War in Laos veterans, admitted remarried surviving spouses, barred anyone convicted of stolen valor, and opened burial to Guard and reserve members from January 2027.

An eligible veteran under 38 U.S.C. 2402(a), or a member who dies on active duty. Section 197.236, subdivision 8, paragraph (b), clause (1) as rewritten by Laws 2026, chapter 96, section 5, referencing subparagraphs 1 to 4 and 7 of the federal section.

A veteran rated 100 percent total and permanent pays no registration tax, plate fees or title fee on up to two vehicles, no motor vehicle sales tax, and no fee for any driver’s licence, endorsement or state ID. The statutory definition names only 100 percent T&P, not unemployability.

A 100 percent total and permanent service-connected rating. Section 171.01, subdivision 51 requires satisfactory evidence from VA or a service retirement board demonstrating a 100 percent total and permanent service-connected disability rating. This one definition controls the registration, title, sales tax and licence fee exemptions together.

Three designations on a driver’s licence or state ID, including an SGU Veteran marking from January 2027, and a plate series that reaches allied foreign service, Laos War service, women veterans and Gold Star families.

A veteran under section 197.447, or a retired or discharged Guard or reserve member. Section 171.07, subdivision 15, paragraph (b), clause (1), evidenced by certified discharge papers showing honorable or general under honorable conditions, or a military retiree, veteran or veteran health identification card.

Up to a 12 percent preference on state procurement, with a statutory floor that it can never be less than any other preference group, plus direct award without competition up to $100,000 and veteran-only set-asides.

Majority-owned and operated by a veteran under section 197.447. Subdivision 6a, paragraphs (a) and (f). The commissioner of veterans affairs must verify the owner’s veteran status before the commissioner of administration certifies the business. No service-connected disability is required.

The $600, $1,200 and $2,000 post-9/11 bonus is still printed in full in section 197.79, but the department has been barred from receiving or accepting new applications since June 30, 2024.

No application may be accepted after June 30, 2024. Section 197.79, subdivision 10: the application period ran from July 1, 2022 to June 30, 2024 and the department may not receive or accept new applications after that date. The section carries no hardship exception.

Seven homes providing nursing care to veterans and their spouses. The commissioner cannot permanently close one without an act of the legislature, and since 2026 may temporarily close one only on a federal termination notice and only after every resident has been safely relocated.

A veteran as defined in section 197.447. Section 198.01 applies the section 197.447 definition, which requires 181 consecutive days of active duty, separation by reason of a disability incurred on active duty, or one of the alternative routes in that section.

A veteran in public employment cannot be removed except for incompetency or misconduct shown at a hearing. The veteran picks the hearing body, the employer pays for it, the veteran gets attorney fees on winning, and the commissioner of veterans affairs can subpoena the employer and bill it for the proceeding.

A veteran separated from military service under honorable conditions. Section 197.46, paragraph (a). The protection attaches after any initial hiring probationary period expires.

10 points on a competitive open examination, 15 for a disabled veteran, and 5 on a first promotional examination. It governs counties, cities, towns and school districts, not State of Minnesota jobs, and the 50 percent test applies only to the promotional credit.

A veteran as defined in section 197.447. Subdivision 2 makes the preference available to a veteran as defined in section 197.447, which requires 181 consecutive days of active duty or one of the alternative routes in that section.

State jobs do not use points. Disabled veterans are listed ahead of everyone in the applicant pool, other veterans ahead of nonveterans, and the top five recently separated veterans must be interviewed. The points subdivisions were repealed in 2004.

A veteran as defined in section 197.447, claiming the preference. Subdivision 1 makes the preference available to a veteran as defined in section 197.447, and subdivision 8 requires the state to notify applicants that they may elect to use it. It must be claimed.

One definition governs most of Minnesota law, and it asks for 181 consecutive days. Three programmes use wider tests, three sections are excluded from the definition outright, and since 2026 a VA forfeiture determination closes chapters 196 to 198 entirely.

181 consecutive days of active duty, or separation for a disability incurred on active duty. Section 197.447. The 181 days must be consecutive, not cumulative. Alternatives are the minimum active duty requirement in 38 C.F.R. 3.12a and service certified under section 401 of Public Law 95-202.

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)
• 1 more dated figure

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)
• 1 more dated figure

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.