VetTOC · Veteran benefits reference
Find a VA-accredited representative: www.va.gov/get-help-from-accredited-representative/find-rep
The County Clerk registers any veteran’s DD-214 at no charge (certified copies extra), and issues peddler’s licenses to honorably discharged veterans who have lived in New Jersey…
The county’s Veteran Cemetery Care Program places American flags on veterans’ graves just before Memorial Day and cuts the grass of unmaintained veteran graves all summer across…
The Sheriff’s Office issues a free Veteran ID card on an honorable DD-214 and proof of residency, Monday to Friday 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., (609) 265-3788; the County Clerk issues free…
A free round-trip shuttle to the Philadelphia VA Medical Center runs Tuesday through Friday, arriving 9:30 a.m. and departing 2:30 p.m., with seats reserved through Sen-Han…
www.burlingtoncountynj.gov/663/Bus-Service-to-Philadelphia-Medical-Cent
Free burial, grave liner, marker and perpetual care for eligible veterans at New Jersey's state veterans cemetery in Arneytown, North Hanover Township, with eligibility following…
Half fare on NJ Transit buses and trains at all times for a disabled veteran, except on peak commuter trains excluded from excursion fares.
Gate: A compensable service-connected disability from war service
lis.njleg.state.nj.us/nxt/gateway.dll/statutes/1/25092/25163
A $250 deduction from the property tax bill each year for an honorably discharged veteran with active service in any era who owns property and is domiciled in New Jersey, and for…
lis.njleg.state.nj.us/nxt/gateway.dll/statutes/1/51481/51860
A $6,000 personal exemption on the New Jersey income tax return for an honorably discharged veteran, and another $6,000 for a spouse on a joint return who is also a veteran.
lis.njleg.state.nj.us/nxt/gateway.dll/statutes/1/53569/53581
A full exemption from property tax on the home of a veteran whom VA has found totally and permanently disabled from service, by schedule or through unemployability, or who has…
Gate: 100 percent schedular rating; Permanent and total; Or paid at 100 percent through individual unemployability; Permanent and total, on the unemployability route too
lis.njleg.state.nj.us/nxt/gateway.dll/statutes/1/51481/51756
The state pays $1,800 a year, in monthly payments of $150, for life to a wartime veteran who entered service from New Jersey and is totally blind, paraplegic, hemiplegic or a…
lis.njleg.state.nj.us/nxt/gateway.dll/statutes/1/32256/32276
In New Jersey civil service, every disabled veteran who passes an open competitive exam is ranked above every veteran, and every veteran above every non-veteran, regardless of…
Gate: Disabled veterans preference with compensable service-connected disability from war service
New Jersey public colleges must give veterans and service members priority course registration, readmit a student who left for military service with the same academic standing…
lis.njleg.state.nj.us/nxt/gateway.dll/statutes/1/15935/18794
State agencies aim to award at least 3 percent of contracts to New Jersey businesses at least 51 percent owned by veterans with any service-connected disability, and a resident…
Gate: Any service-connected rating for the set-aside
lis.njleg.state.nj.us/nxt/gateway.dll/statutes/1/46832/51004
A $15 Disabled Vet plate for any veteran with a service-connected disability, free municipal meter parking for 24 hours with that plate or a placard, disability parking for a…
Gate: Any service-connected rating for the Disabled Vet plate and the meter exemption; Permanently 100 percent disabled for disability parking without a physician
lis.njleg.state.nj.us/nxt/gateway.dll/statutes/1/32680/32952
Free hunting, fishing and trapping licences, permits, stamps and tags for a New Jersey resident with any service-connected disability who was honorably discharged, and for an…
Gate: Any service-connected rating, including 0 percent
lis.njleg.state.nj.us/nxt/gateway.dll/statutes/1/21638/21724
Free undergraduate tuition at any New Jersey public or private college for a child of a service member from New Jersey declared a prisoner of war or missing in action after…
lis.njleg.state.nj.us/nxt/gateway.dll/statutes/1/32397/32646
Military retired pay and military survivor benefit payments are fully excluded from New Jersey income tax at any age, with no dollar limit.
Gate: Student loan discharge exclusion at 100 percent or through unemployability
lis.njleg.state.nj.us/nxt/gateway.dll/statutes/1/53569/53674
Up to 16 credits a semester tuition-free at a New Jersey public college or university, undergraduate or graduate, for an active New Jersey Guard member in good standing who has…
lis.njleg.state.nj.us/nxt/gateway.dll/statutes/1/15935/18814
A state-endorsed high school diploma, including after death, for an honorably discharged veteran of World War I, World War II, Korea or Vietnam who left a New Jersey high school…
lis.njleg.state.nj.us/nxt/gateway.dll/statutes/1/15935/16521
Every New Jersey licensing board must license a military spouse transferred here by endorsement or with a one-year temporary courtesy licence, teachers get a 180-day temporary…
lis.njleg.state.nj.us/nxt/gateway.dll/statutes/1/41981/42015
A resident deployed in time of war, or a Guard or reserve member mobilized for federal active duty, can defer property tax bills that fall due during the deployment until 90 days…
lis.njleg.state.nj.us/nxt/gateway.dll/statutes/1/51481/51873
Since January 2026 the Law Against Discrimination protects a person's service in the Armed Forces, not only liability for future service, in employment, housing, public…
Free admission to state parks and forests for active New Jersey Guard members and Gold Star families, free entry for veterans at a veterans' organization event, and a free beach…
Gate: Free beach driving permit at any service-connected rating
Seven state medals for New Jersey veterans, among them the Distinguished Service Medal for combat theater service, the Meritorious Service Medal and the Global War on Terrorism…
lis.njleg.state.nj.us/nxt/gateway.dll/statutes/1/32397/32573
The Motor Vehicle Commission prints a veteran designation on a driver licence or ID for a resident discharged honorably or under general honorable conditions from the Armed…
lis.njleg.state.nj.us/nxt/gateway.dll/statutes/1/32680/32809
A statewide program that lets police and prosecutors send a veteran or service member with a mental illness who is charged with a non-violent lower-level offense to treatment…
Two state-run transitional housing programs for homeless veterans, Veterans Haven North in Glen Gardner and Veterans Haven South in Winslow Township, with counseling, addiction…
Three state nursing homes for veterans of any era with 90 days of service, their spouses, surviving spouses and Gold Star parents, with preference for two years of New Jersey…
Gate: At 70 percent or more VA pays the full rate
lis.njleg.state.nj.us/nxt/gateway.dll/statutes/1/32397/32655
A veteran in the Public Employees' Retirement System or the Teachers' Pension and Annuity Fund can retire at 55 with 25 years, or at 60 with 20, on 54.5 percent of the best 12…
lis.njleg.state.nj.us/nxt/gateway.dll/statutes/1/39952/40754
Since January 2026 the primary home and one second home of a veteran, service member or military spouse are exempt from creditors without any value limit, along with retirement…
Two Vietnam-era programs, the Veterans Tuition Credit Program and Vietnam veterans tuition assistance, are still in the statutes and still advertised, but their application…
lis.njleg.state.nj.us/nxt/gateway.dll/statutes/1/32397/32647
Up to $500 a year for four years toward school or college for a New Jersey child aged 16 to 21 whose resident parent died in wartime service, died later of a disability from that…
lis.njleg.state.nj.us/nxt/gateway.dll/statutes/1/32256/32284
A refundable income tax credit of up to $675 a year for a New Jersey relative who cares for a post-9/11 veteran who meets VA's standard for individual unemployability and lives…
Gate: The veteran meets VA's standard for individual unemployability
lis.njleg.state.nj.us/nxt/gateway.dll/statutes/1/53569/53619
New Jersey has no single definition. Property tax relief and the income tax exemption need an honorable discharge from active service in any era.
lis.njleg.state.nj.us/nxt/gateway.dll/statutes/1/51481/51859
A higher VA pension for a veteran or survivor who needs another person’s help with daily living or is confined to the home.
A free lifetime pass to national parks, wildlife refuges, national forests and other federal lands for every U.S. military veteran and Gold Star family, and a free annual pass…
www.nps.gov/planyourvisit/veterans-and-gold-star-families-free-access.htm
A one-time payment of up to $27,908.90 toward a vehicle, plus adaptive equipment such as hand controls and lifts, for service-connected loss of a hand or foot, severe vision…
Gate: Qualifying loss
www.va.gov/disability/eligibility/special-claims/automobile-allowance-adaptive-equipment
A free gravesite, opening and closing, vault liner, headstone and perpetual care in a VA national cemetery for an eligible veteran, and for an eligible spouse or dependent child.
Health coverage for a spouse or child of a veteran who is permanently and totally disabled from a service-connected disability, or who died in service or from a service-connected…
Gate: Permanent and total disability
www.va.gov/family-and-caregiver-benefits/health-and-disability/champva
Military pay earned in any month served in a combat zone is free of federal income tax, in full for enlisted members and warrant officers and up to the top enlisted rate plus…
www.irs.gov/individuals/military/tax-exclusion-for-combat-service
A tax-free monthly payment to a military retiree, at any rating from 10%, that replaces retired pay lost to the VA offset for disabilities the service branch decides are…
Gate: Rated 10% or more
Shopping at military commissaries and exchanges, and MWR retail, for every veteran with a VA service-connected rating, Purple Heart recipients, former POWs and primary family…
Gate: Any service-connected rating
Lets a military retiree rated 50% or more receive retired pay and VA disability compensation at the same time, instead of having retired pay cut dollar for dollar.
Gate: Rated 50% or more
A free copy of a DD-214 and other service records from the National Archives’ National Personnel Records Center, requested online or on Standard Form 180.
Monthly tax-free payment to a surviving spouse, child, or parent after a service-connected death, or in defined cases after the death of a totally disabled veteran.
www.va.gov/family-and-caregiver-benefits/survivor-compensation/dependency-indemnity-compensation
Education and training help for a spouse or child of a veteran who is permanently and totally disabled from a service-connected disability, or who died in service or from a…
Gate: Sponsor status
www.va.gov/family-and-caregiver-benefits/education-and-careers/dependents-education-assistance
Asks the service branch’s Discharge Review Board or Board for Correction to upgrade a discharge, with liberal consideration for PTSD, TBI, sexual assault or harassment, and the…
Up to 9 more months of Post-9/11 GI Bill or Fry benefits, or $30,000, for a student finishing a STEM degree or clinical training who has 6 months or less of entitlement left.
www.va.gov/education/other-va-education-benefits/stem-scholarship
Life insurance through the service member for a spouse, up to $100,000 and not more than the member’s SGLI, and $10,000 free for each dependent child.
Three ways a federal agency can hire a veteran outside or ahead of normal competition: VEOA for merit promotion jobs, VRA up to GS-11, and noncompetitive appointment for a…
Gate: 30% for the disabled veteran authority
VA disability compensation, pension, DIC, education and grant payments are not federal taxable income, and retired pay replaced by a retroactive VA rating can be refunded.
Five or ten points added to a passing score, or priority in category rating, for a qualifying veteran applying for a federal competitive service job, with ten points for a…
A free government headstone or marker for the grave of an eligible veteran in any cemetery, or a medallion to fix to a privately bought headstone.
www.va.gov/burials-memorials/memorial-items/headstones-markers-medallions
Transitional housing with services, for up to about two years, from community agencies VA funds, for a homeless veteran.
A HUD Housing Choice rental voucher paired with VA case management for a homeless veteran, with housing first and no sobriety or treatment precondition.
Compensation at the 100% rate, $3,938.58 a month for a veteran alone, for a veteran whose service-connected disabilities keep them from holding a steady job, without changing the…
Gate: Schedular rating gate; Unable to keep substantially gainful work
www.va.gov/disability/eligibility/special-claims/unemployability
Free job search help from veterans’ employment specialists at American Job Centers, with priority of service for veterans and eligible spouses in every Labor Department-funded…
VA pays back the fees for a licensing or certification test, up to $2,000 a test, and for prep courses, out of GI Bill or DEA entitlement.
www.va.gov/education/about-gi-bill-benefits/how-to-use-benefits/test-fees
Up to 36 months of Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits at the 100% level for the child or surviving spouse of a service member who died in the line of duty after September 10, 2001.
www.va.gov/education/survivor-dependent-benefits/fry-scholarship
A special monthly pension of $5,780 for each living Medal of Honor recipient, paid regardless of income or other benefits.
www.va.gov/disability/compensation-rates/special-benefit-allowance-rates
An honor guard of at least two uniformed members, one from the veteran’s branch, who fold and present the flag and play Taps, at the family’s request and at no cost.
Free VA treatment for any physical or mental health condition related to military sexual trauma, without having reported it at the time and regardless of discharge status or…
www.va.gov/health-care/health-needs-conditions/military-sexual-trauma
Up to 36 months of education payments, $2,601 a month for full-time school from October 1, 2026, for a veteran who paid $1,200 into the program during active duty.
www.va.gov/education/about-gi-bill-benefits/montgomery-active-duty
Up to 36 months of education payments, $508 a month full time from October 1, 2026, for a Guard or Reserve member with a six-year Selected Reserve obligation.
www.va.gov/education/about-gi-bill-benefits/montgomery-selected-reserve
A direct VA mortgage, from 2.47% fixed for 30 years when read, to buy, build or improve a home on federal trust land for a Native American veteran or a veteran married to a…
www.va.gov/housing-assistance/home-loans/loan-types/native-american-direct-loan
Expanded VA health care and presumptive disability compensation for veterans exposed to burn pits, Agent Orange, radiation and other toxins, with health care enrollment open to…
Education assistance tied to qualifying active duty after September 10, 2001. Often called the GI Bill or Chapter 33.
Lets a service member with six years of service who agrees to four more transfer up to 36 months of unused Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits to a spouse or child.
An engraved certificate signed by the current President honoring a deceased veteran or reservist eligible for national cemetery burial, free to next of kin, family and friends.
www.va.gov/burials-memorials/memorial-items/presidential-memorial-certificates
A monthly stipend, training, respite, mental health counseling and, in some cases, CHAMPVA health coverage for the family caregiver of a veteran rated 70% or more who needs…
Gate: Veteran rated 70% or more
Free business training, counseling and loan guidance for veterans, service members and military spouses through Boots to Business and Veterans Business Outreach Centers.
www.sba.gov/business-guide/grow-your-business/veteran-owned-businesses
Low-cost term life insurance of up to $500,000 for service members, at 5 cents per $1,000 a month plus $1 for traumatic injury coverage.
Expedited Social Security disability claims for a service member disabled on active duty on or after October 1, 2001, and for a veteran rated 100% permanent and total by VA.
Gate: 100% P&T, or disabled on active duty
Extra earnings credited to a Social Security record for active duty from 1957 through 2001: $300 a quarter from 1957 to 1977, and $100 for each $300 of pay from 1978 to 2001, up…
Free seats left over on military aircraft for service members, retirees, Guard and Reserve members, their dependents, some surviving spouses, and veterans with a permanent…
Gate: Permanent total rating for veterans
www.amc.af.mil/AMC-Travel-Site/AMC-Space-Available-Travel-Page
A higher or added monthly rate for a service-connected loss of a limb, an organ or its use, blindness, being housebound, or needing another person’s daily help.
Gate: A specific service-connected loss
www.va.gov/disability/compensation-rates/special-monthly-compensation-rates
Grants to build, buy or adapt a barrier-free home for a veteran with certain severe service-connected disabilities: up to $126,526 (SAH) or $25,350 (SHA) in fiscal year 2026,…
Gate: Qualifying severe disability
Grant-funded help, including temporary rent, deposits, utilities and case management, to keep a very low-income veteran family housed or rehouse it quickly.
A monthly annuity to a military retiree’s surviving spouse or child, generally 55% of the chosen base amount of retired pay, and automatic coverage for the survivors of a member…
Needs-based monthly payment for a surviving spouse or child of a wartime veteran with limited income and net worth.
www.va.gov/family-and-caregiver-benefits/survivor-compensation/survivors-pension
A one-time payment of $25,000 to $100,000 to a service member with SGLI who suffers a scheduled traumatic loss, such as amputation, paralysis, blindness or an inability to…
Protects a civilian job, seniority and health coverage when a worker leaves for military service, for up to five years of cumulative service with one employer.
A free U.S. flag to drape the casket or accompany the urn of an eligible veteran or reservist, given to the next of kin.
Mileage at 41.5 cents a mile, less a $3 one-way deductible capped at $18 a month, for travel to VA or VA-approved care by a veteran rated 30% or more, traveling for a…
Gate: Rated 30% or more, or another path
www.va.gov/resources/reimbursed-va-travel-expenses-and-mileage-rate
Burial in a VA national cemetery, a government headstone or marker, and in some cases a burial allowance.
Money toward a veteran’s funeral and burial: up to $2,000 for a service-connected death after September 10, 2001, and $1,032 each for burial and plot for a non-service-connected…
A VA-backed refinance of any existing mortgage, VA or not, that can take cash out of home equity, with a 2.15% funding fee on first use and 3.3% after.
www.va.gov/housing-assistance/home-loans/loan-types/cash-out-loan
A yearly payment of $1,053.19 for each qualifying item when a service-connected prosthetic or orthopedic device, or a prescribed skin medication, wears out or stains clothing.
Gate: Service-connected disability
www.va.gov/disability/eligibility/special-claims/clothing-allowance
VA-paid care from a community provider when VA cannot see an enrolled veteran within 30 minutes’ drive and 20 days for primary or mental health care, or 60 minutes and 28 days…
Free comprehensive dental care for a veteran rated 100% or paid at the 100% rate for unemployability, or who is a former prisoner of war, with narrower classes for other veterans.
Gate: 100% for full dental (Class IV); Paid at 100% for unemployability
Monthly tax-free pay for an illness or injury VA decides is connected to military service.
Gate: Combined rating
When VA decides a beneficiary cannot manage VA payments, it appoints a fiduciary to receive and manage them, and oversees that fiduciary.
Enrollment in the VA health care system. A disability rating can change priority and copays. It is not the only way in.
Hearing aids, eyeglasses and contact lenses for an enrolled veteran with a compensable service-connected disability, a Purple Heart, former POW status, and other listed situations.
Gate: Compensable rating, or another listed path
No VA funding fee, which is otherwise 1.25% to 3.3% of a purchase loan, for a veteran receiving or entitled to VA compensation, a surviving spouse on DIC, a Purple Heart…
Gate: Receiving or entitled to compensation
www.va.gov/housing-assistance/home-loans/funding-fee-and-closing-costs
A guaranty that helps an eligible veteran, service member, or some surviving spouses buy, build, or refinance a home with a private lender.
A streamline refinance of an existing VA-backed loan to a lower rate or from an adjustable to a fixed rate, with a 0.5% funding fee and usually no appraisal.
www.va.gov/housing-assistance/home-loans/loan-types/interest-rate-reduction-loan
Mental health care from VA, including free emergency suicidal crisis care for any veteran and most former service members, whatever the discharge or enrollment status.
www.va.gov/health-care/health-needs-conditions/mental-health
Needs-based monthly payment for a wartime veteran with limited income who is 65 or older, or permanently and totally disabled.
Artificial limbs, wheelchairs, home oxygen, orthotics, mobility aids and home medical equipment for an enrolled veteran who needs them, prescribed by a VA clinician.
Up to $100 a month, and $1,200 over a lifetime, for tutoring in a course a GI Bill student is failing or at risk of failing.
www.va.gov/education/about-gi-bill-benefits/how-to-use-benefits/tutor-assistance
Free help with a VA claim from a VA-accredited Veterans Service Organization representative, or paid help from an accredited attorney or claims agent after an initial decision.
Tuition, housing and books for a non-degree high-tech training program, for a veteran or separating service member with 36 months of active duty, limited to 4,000 paid…
www.va.gov/education/about-gi-bill-benefits/how-to-use-benefits/vettec-high-tech-program
Free, confidential counseling at community Vet Centers for combat veterans, service members, survivors and families, kept apart from the VA medical record and open without VA…
www.va.gov/health-care/health-needs-conditions/mental-health
A free digital Veteran ID Card for proof of service at businesses, for a veteran with an honorable or general discharge, and a VA health ID card for enrolled veterans.
Work support, and sometimes training, when a service-connected disability limits the work a veteran can do. Also called VR&E or Voc Rehab.
Gate: Service-connected rating
www.va.gov/careers-employment/vocational-rehabilitation/eligibility
SBA certification that lets a veteran-owned or service-disabled veteran-owned small business compete for federal sole-source and set-aside contracts.
Gate: Any service-connected rating for SDVOSB
Guaranteed-acceptance whole life insurance of up to $40,000 for a veteran 80 or younger with any service-connected rating, including 0%, with no health questions.
Gate: Any service-connected rating
Paid part-time work on VA-related jobs at a school, VA facility or veterans’ organization for a student using VA education benefits at three-quarter time or more.
www.va.gov/education/about-gi-bill-benefits/how-to-use-benefits/work-study
Renewable term life insurance of $10,000 to $500,000 after separation, converting SGLI. No health review if the application is in within 240 days.
Mortgage life insurance of up to $200,000, paid to the lender, for a veteran under 70 who has received a Specially Adapted Housing grant.
A federal tax credit to employers of up to $9,600 for hiring a qualified veteran, for hires who began work on or before December 31, 2025.
www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/work-opportunity-tax-credit
Covers private, out-of-state, foreign or graduate tuition above the Post-9/11 GI Bill cap, matched by the school, for a student at the 100% benefit level.
www.va.gov/education/about-gi-bill-benefits/post-9-11/yellow-ribbon-program