Dakota County

Dakota County’s Veterans Service Office runs a county veterans aid fund under section 80-102 for unforeseen emergencies, which the Board replenishes $4,500 at a time - $9,000 in each of 2024-2025 and 2025-2026 - though the county’s page still prints the wartime-era and honorable-only test that LB1300 removed in 2024.

Veteran, spouse, surviving spouse or minor child in need. Section 80-102 as amended in 2024: honorable or general service, a year in Nebraska and six months in Dakota County, and need the committee assesses; the county page’s wartime test no longer applies. No rating is required.

Dakota County’s Veterans Service Office in the Dakota City courthouse, under Veterans Service Officer Nick Nieman, files VA claims and health care applications, places a bronze flag holder on veterans’ graves and orders a Presidential Memorial Certificate for every deceased county veteran; under a yearly interlocal agreement it also serves Dixon County on the first and third Thursdays.

Any veteran or dependent in Dakota or Dixon County. Claims help, grave flag holders and DD-214 recording need no rating; the rating filter never hides this entry.

Seventy-five percent of resident tuition for an undergraduate programme and fifty percent for a graduate one, with no lifetime limit, but only two hundred people in the state may hold it in any calendar year.

Nebraska resident in a Nebraska-based Active Selected Reserve unit. Section 80-901. Both the residence and the unit location matter; a Nebraska resident drilling with an out-of-state unit is outside the programme.

The county must decently inter a veteran who dies without the means to pay for a funeral, must not use a pauper cemetery, and must furnish a grave marker to any veteran buried in the county.

Honorable or general under honorable conditions. Sections 80-104 and 80-107(2)(b) both name the two characterizations.

Every county runs its own veterans relief fund off a dedicated levy, decided locally by the county veterans service committee. A refusal from the state fund is not a refusal from this one.

Service in the armed forces with an honorable or general discharge. Section 80-102(1)(b)(i) and (ii). A death in service or as a direct result of service also opens the fund to the family.

The entire taxable value of the home is exempt, with no income limit and no ceiling on the house value, for a veteran drawing compensation at 100 percent permanent or through individual unemployability.

One hundred percent service-connected permanent disability. Section 77-3506(2)(a)(i) sets the first route. The veteran must be drawing compensation from the United States Department of Veterans Affairs on that basis, so a rating alone without compensation does not carry the exemption.

The county clerk keeps a Discharge Record that is confidential by statute and readable by only three kinds of person, and any Nebraska public record needed for a VA claim must be certified free of charge.

Any veteran with a separation document. Section 23-1310 provides for registration on application. There is no rating, wartime or length of service test and no fee.

The same total, uncapped exemption reaches an unremarried surviving spouse four ways, and remarriage after the age of fifty-seven no longer ends it.

Unremarried, or remarried after attaining the age of fifty-seven. Section 77-3506(2) and (4). Remarriage before fifty-seven ends the exemption and must be reported to the county assessor within thirty days. Remarriage on or before August 15 of the application year makes the spouse ineligible for that year.

A wartime veteran totally disabled by something VA did not connect to service can still reach a homestead exemption, but this one is income tested, value capped, and gated on a period list with holes in it.

Wartime service as defined in 80-401.01. A list of named conflicts with gaps: nothing between February 1955 and February 1961, nothing between May 1975 and August 1982, nothing between February 1984 and December 1989, and nothing in the six months before August 2, 1990.

Nebraska is the only state in this catalog that opens its property tax exemption to a temporary 100 percent rating. The price is that this is the one category that must be applied for again every year.

One hundred percent service-connected temporary disability. Section 77-3506(2)(c) asks for compensation from VA because of a one hundred percent service-connected temporary disability. It does not ask for permanence, which no other state property tax provision in this catalog allows.

A free permanent combination permit and a free lifetime park entry permit at fifty percent, a five dollar annual permit five years earlier than other Nebraskans, and a free hunting permit on Veterans Day.

Fifty percent for the free permanent permit and the free park permit. Sections 37-420(1)(b)(i) and 37-438(5)(a)(ii)(A). Both also open to a veteran receiving a VA pension for a total and permanent disability not incurred in the line of duty, so neither entry hides below fifty percent.

Resident tuition at any Nebraska public college from the first day, for a veteran with ninety days of service and for a family member using transferred benefits. The condition is registering to vote in Nebraska.

A veteran with not fewer than ninety days of active service. Section 85-502.01(1)(a), using the title 38 definition of veteran. Active military, naval, air or space service. No rating and no wartime period.

One hundred percent of military retirement pay is excluded from Nebraska income tax, with no election, no form and no age condition. The old forty percent and fifteen percent elections are gone.

Any military retiree, with no rating and no age test. Section 77-2716(15)(b) applies to the individual receiving the retirement benefit. There is no disability requirement, no wartime requirement and no minimum age.

Disabled veteran plates at ten percent on any number of vehicles with no plate fee, plus prisoner of war, Purple Heart and branch plates. The old D.A.V. plates stop being valid on February 1, 2027.

Ten percent service-connected for the disabled veteran plate. Section 60-3,124(1). The plate is the lowest rating threshold in the Nebraska file, and any number of vehicles owned by the applicant may carry it.

A mobile home owned and occupied by a service-connected disabled veteran is exempt from property tax outright, at any rating including zero percent. The same veteran in a house would need one hundred percent.

Any service-connected disability, including a zero percent rating. Section 77-202.23(1) adopts 5 U.S.C. 2108, which reaches a veteran who has established the present existence of a service-connected disability or who receives compensation, disability retirement pay or pension through VA or a military department.

From January 1, 2026 one vehicle is free of the motor vehicle tax and the motor vehicle fee at any service-connected rating, but the request has to be made inside a narrow window every single year.

Any service-connected disability recognised by VA. Section 60-3,185(2) uses the 77-202.23 definition, which adopts 5 U.S.C. 2108. A zero percent rating is a service-connected disability for this purpose.

Drill pay, annual training, dual-status technician wages and state active duty pay are all excluded from Nebraska income tax, and from 2027 the exclusion widens to cover title 10 duty as well.

A member of the Nebraska National Guard. Section 77-2716(21) is written by reference to Nebraska National Guard membership. A Nebraska resident in another state’s Guard or in a federal reserve component is outside it.

One hundred percent of resident tuition for an undergraduate programme, at private nonprofit colleges as well as public ones, capped at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln rate and at twelve hundred members a year.

A member of the Nebraska National Guard. Section 85-505. Members of federal reserve components use the separate Active Selected Reserve credit in 80-901 instead.

A private employer of any size may adopt a written veterans preference policy, is protected from discrimination claims for using it, and is listed on a public registry kept by the Commissioner of Labor.

The employer must have adopted a written policy. Section 48-238(2). The preference is voluntary. A veteran has no claim against an employer that has not adopted one.

A home VA substantially contributed to is exempt for the life of the veteran and of an unmarried surviving spouse, and the exemption follows the proceeds into a replacement home bought within a year.

Paraplegic or multiple amputee, described functionally rather than by rating. Section 77-3526 defines both terms by what the veteran cannot do without aids. No combined rating percentage appears in sections 77-3526 to 77-3528.

The spouse and children of a Nebraska National Guard member who dies in the active service of the state get full tuition for four undergraduate years, with a ten year window for the spouse.

A Nebraska National Guard member who died in the active service of the state. Section 85-507. State active duty is the Governor’s call for a state emergency. A death on federal title 10 duty is covered by federal survivor programmes and by 80-411 instead.

Every Nebraska public college must automatically accept a qualifying veteran or serving member who meets its admissions requirements. The word automatically is doing less work than it appears to.

A Nebraska high school graduate from January 1, 2002 onward. Section 85-2902(2)(a)(i). Graduating before 2002, or not graduating from high school, puts a veteran outside the Act whatever their service.

Two state cemeteries, at Alliance and at Grand Island, on federal eligibility rules. The operating money comes from an endowment and from licence plate fees, and by statute never from the General Fund.

Federal National Cemetery Administration eligibility. Section 12-1301(7) adopts the NCA definition rather than writing a state one, so the rules are those of 38 U.S.C. 2402.

Five percent added to a passing score, ten for a disabled veteran, and where no exam is used the preference decides between equally qualified candidates. Violating it is a misdemeanour.

Full-time duty during a war or a VA-recognised qualifying period. Section 48-225(3). Service between January 31, 1955 and February 28, 1961 must have exceeded one hundred eighty days unless the shorter service resulted from a service-connected or service-aggravated disability.

Emergency money for food, shelter, fuel, transport, clothing, medical care and funerals, paid from the interest on a trust the Legislature created in 1921. One claim per thirty days.

Active duty other than for training, honorable or general discharge. Section 80-401.03(4)(a). No wartime period is required on this branch. A death in service or as a direct result of service also qualifies the family.

Four state homes offering assisted living, skilled nursing and memory care. Two years of Nebraska residency, a Guard member whose only service was training qualifies, and parents of the dead are admissible.

Active duty other than for training, or Nebraska Guard duty including training. Section 80-316(1)(a). The Nebraska National Guard clause expressly includes active duty for training, so a Guard member with no federal active service is eligible.

One registration with the Department of Veterans’ Affairs unlocks every military plate, the veteran designation on a driver’s licence and the vehicle tax exemption. The statute then says the test proves nothing else.

Honorable or general under honorable conditions. Section 60-4,189(1)(a)(i). A characterization of service must appear on the discharge document submitted to the registry.

Up to $350 toward a veteran’s pet adoption fees, paid to the shelter, funded entirely by the sale of a licence plate and available only while the plate money lasts.

Active duty other than for training, honorable or general discharge. The department states the definition for this programme. There is no rating test and no wartime period.

All tuition, and the fees left after federal and state grants, waived at the University of Nebraska, the state colleges and the community colleges. Permanent individual unemployability counts; a temporary total rating does not.

A parent, stepparent or spouse who died on active duty or of a service-connected disability. Section 80-411(2)(b)(i) and (ii). No rating is involved on either route.

Nebraska has at least seven definitions of veteran and they disagree. The rating thresholds run 0, 10, 50 and 100, and a general discharge that is good enough for one exemption is not good enough for the next.

Zero percent: the mobile home exemption, the vehicle tax exemption, the preference points. Sections 77-202.24, 60-3,185(2) and 48-225(4) all use a definition under which establishing the present existence of a service-connected disability is enough. A zero percent rating qualifies.

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.