Colleton County

The Colleton County Veterans Affairs Office - Kenneth V. DeLee, Director/Veterans Affairs Officer, with Senior Clerk Nikki Smith, 219 S. Lemacks Street, Suite 124, Bernard Warshaw Complex (the Health Department building), P.O. Box 637, Walterboro (843-549-1412, extensions 6897 and 6898, fax 843-549-0132, [email protected]), weekdays 8:00 to 5:00 with a drop box - executes the actions that determine a veteran's and their dependents' entitlement to federal and state benefits: compensation, pension, survivor's benefits, burial and memorial benefits, home loans, educational assistance, VA Government Life Insurance, military service records, medal replacement, VA health-care enrollment and applications for the Veterans Victory House, the state nursing home in Walterboro.

Colleton County veterans, their dependents and survivors. The office executes the actions that determine entitlement to federal and state benefits; no rating is needed to ask it.

The Colleton County Veterans Council (P.O. Box 637, Walterboro; 843-549-1412) runs the county's annual Veterans Day Parade - the 2025 form: Sunday, November 9, 2025, 3:00 p.m., lineup 2:00 p.m. at the Colleton Civic Center, 494 Hampton Street, Walterboro, the route down Hampton Street to Jefferies Boulevard, East Washington Street and Memorial Avenue and back to the Civic Center - with parade chairman Bob Tiegs (843-908-9732) and entry forms on the county's Veterans Affairs page.

The county’s veterans and the public. A parade and its entry form, not a benefit with eligibility tests. The rating filter never hides this entry.

The Fourteenth Circuit Solicitor's Multidisciplinary Court - an alternative to prison for non-violent offenders whose crimes stem from addiction or the effects of military service such as PTSD - expanded into Colleton County in August 2021 on a 740,000-dollar Bureau of Justice Assistance grant; Family Court Judge Gerald C. Smoak Jr. and Probate Judge Ashley Amundson preside over the Colleton sessions (MDC Director Teresa Pye), and its community partners include the Colleton County Sheriff's Office, Clerk of Court Rebecca Hill, Pillars4Hope and the Colleton County Veterans Affairs office, which 'provides counseling services to participants in our Veterans Track'.

Eligible veteran defendants in the Fourteenth Circuit. Participation runs through a guilty plea in General Sessions with the sentence held in abeyance and screening for eligibility; the veterans track treats conduct tied to military service.

Every county has a veterans’ affairs officer who must be accredited within a year and take refresher training annually. The officer is appointed by the state secretary on the recommendation of the county legislative delegation. Section 25-11-40 lets the secretary remove an officer for cause, and a 2025 section says the secretary may not remove one for any reason; the two have not been reconciled.

The office serves veterans generally; the definition in subsection (A) governs the office, not the claimant. Section 25-11-40(A) defines veteran for purposes of that section as a person who served on active duty and was honorably discharged or released due to a service-connected disability. It is a drafting artifact copied from Section 12-6-3720(H)(2) and does not describe who the county office may assist.

Up to three free plates for a veteran considered totally and permanently disabled from a service-connected disability, in four designs including wheelchair and female variants. Free municipal meter parking for these plates rests on an older section that 2026 Act No. 115 repeals from October 6, 2026; after that they carry none, although the valor and Purple Heart plates in Article 149 still do.

Totally and permanently disabled from a service-connected disability. Section 56-3-14940(A). All four designs require the applicant to be considered totally and permanently disabled due to a service-connected disability as evidenced by official military documentation, and subsection (C) asks for a letter from VA indicating the disability rating.

Any institution of higher education receiving state funding, directly or indirectly, must excuse a student called to military service, duty, training or disaster relief, may not penalize the absence, and must allow missed tests and assignments to be made up.

Military service, duty, training or disaster relief, in any component. Section 25-1-2270 applies without distinction to the active component, reserve component and National Guard, and names disaster relief efforts alongside service, duty and training.

Free tuition at any state-supported college, university or technical college for the child of a wartime veteran who meets one of nine conditions. The permanent and total disability route is expressly "from any cause", so it does not have to be service-connected. Since May 15, 2026 a child who has lived in South Carolina since birth qualifies wherever the veteran lives. The child must be twenty-six or younger and pursuing an undergraduate degree.

The veteran served honorably during a federal wartime period. Section 59-111-20(B), as rewritten by 2026 Act No. 135, requires honorable service during a war period as defined by 38 U.S.C. § 101. No combat service and no theatre of operations is required, only service inside the federal dates.

A free three-year combination hunting and fishing licence for any resident receiving VA disability benefits, with no rating floor, plus free deer tags. Residency for that licence is 365 days, not the ordinary 30. The half-price all-park passport for a 100 percent disabled resident is administrative pricing, not statute.

Any level of VA disability benefits opens the free licence. Section 50-9-525(A) asks only whether the resident is determined to be disabled and receiving benefits under the Veterans Administration. It sets no rating floor, so a veteran receiving compensation at any percentage qualifies. Recorded rather than enforced because the section names no percentage.

A veteran with ninety days of active duty using Chapter 30, 31 or 33 benefits pays in-state tuition with no waiting period, and so does a transferee. Federal law adds Chapter 35 users and, from August 1, 2026, Chapter 1606 Selected Reserve users. The three-year enrollment deadline that every older source describes was repealed in 2021 in both state and federal law.

Ninety days or longer of active duty, or a transferred or Fry or Chapter 31 entitlement. Section 59-112-50(C)(2). The test is ninety days of active duty in the uniformed services, their reserve forces or the National Guard, with no discharge characterisation and no rating. Transferees under 38 U.S.C. § 3319, Fry Scholarship users under § 3311(b)(9) and Chapter 31 participants under § 3102(a) are covered individuals in their own right.

An employer earns $3,000, then $2,500, then $1,000 for a veteran hired into a federally validated registered apprenticeship. The credit closes to new hires after 2026, and the definition of veteran is a three-year window from discharge, not a status.

Honorable discharge, or release for a service-connected disability. Section 12-6-3720(H)(2). Active duty service in the Armed Forces of the United States is required. No rating threshold appears anywhere in the section.

All military retirement income is deductible with no cap and no age condition, from tax year 2022. The trap is that claiming it wipes out the general retirement deduction and the age 65 deduction dollar for dollar, so a retiree with other income can gain less than the headline suggests. A surviving spouse is exempt from that offset.

A qualified military retirement plan, at any age. Section 12-6-1171(A) and (B). The deduction covers all military retirement income included in South Carolina taxable income, with no cap and no age tier, first applying to tax years beginning after 2021.

Guard and reserve drill pay, inactive duty training pay and the customary annual training period are excluded from South Carolina gross income, with the annual training capped at fifteen days for Guard and fourteen days plus travel for reserve members. Active component pay is not excluded, and a member called to active duty may exclude only fifteen days.

Guard or reserve component service, without a rating or a disability. Section 12-6-1120(7) turns on the character of the service, not on any disability. Weekend drills and inactive duty training are excluded without limit.

A licensing board must approve a relocating military spouse to keep working on an out-of-state licence and must issue the South Carolina licence within fifteen business days of a complete application. Lawyers and educators are expressly excluded from the state section, but federal law since December 2024 makes a member’s or spouse’s out-of-state licence valid here on a move under orders.

Married to and living with an active duty member relocated to South Carolina on orders. Section 25-1-170(B)(1) and (E)(1). Active duty is required, and the spouse must be living with the member. A Guard or reserve spouse without active duty orders is outside the section.

Grants of $500 on mobilised status, $1,000 to next of kin on a service injury or death, and up to $2,000 on need, from a fund built out of income tax check-off donations. Every route requires a post-9/11 mobilisation of thirty consecutive days, a pay grade no higher than O-3 or W-2, and a family member in DEERS.

A Guard or reserve member mobilised at least thirty consecutive days since September 11, 2001. Sections 25-11-340(A)(2) and 25-11-350(A)(2). Any active duty since September 11, 2001 counts as eligible active duty, but the thirty consecutive days is a hard minimum.

Fifteen paid workdays a year for Guard and reserve duty, thirty more in an emergency, and thirty more for a state employee serving in a combat zone who has exhausted military leave. Weekends and holidays do not count against the fifteen days unless they are regular workdays.

A public officer or employee who is a Guard or reserve component member. Section 8-7-90 lists the South Carolina National Guard and the Army, Air Force, Naval, Marine Corps and Coast Guard Reserves. It turns on the employment and the membership, not on any disability.

Article 149 sorts military plates into six tiers, and which tier a plate sits in decides whether it is free and whether it parks free at a meter. Valor, distinguished service and Purple Heart, POW and Gold Star plates are free and park free; campaign plates pay the ordinary registration fee, except the Korean War plate.

The award, campaign or component the plate names, on a DD-214, NGB Form 22 or orders. Sections 56-3-14910(C), 56-3-14920(C), 56-3-14930(C), 56-3-14950(C), 56-3-14960(C) and 56-3-14970(C). No rating and no disability is required for any of these tiers.

Grants of up to 100 percent of tuition and fees, including textbooks, for a drilling South Carolina Guard member. The statute caps the lifetime total at $18,000 and the hours at 130; the 2026-27 budget proviso raises the lifetime cap to $25,000, sets $12,000 a year and lifts the 130-hour cap, and it expires on June 30, 2027.

A drilling South Carolina Guard member who has completed basic training and AIT. Section 59-114-40(A)(1) and (B). Good standing with the active National Guard is required at the beginning of and throughout each academic year for which benefits are payable.

The house and its lot are exempt from all property tax. The test is not a rating percentage: the statute defines permanently and totally disabled as the inability to perform substantial gainful employment. Since 2024 the exemption runs for the whole year in which the disability occurs, and a surviving spouse can carry it to a house bought later.

Permanently and totally disabled from a service-connected disability. Section 12-37-220(B)(1)(f)(i)(A). Subitem (f)(ii) defines the term functionally as the inability to perform substantial gainful employment by reason of a medically determinable impairment lasting or expected to last twelve months or more, or to result in death. It names no rating percentage.

A Medal of Honor recipient or a former prisoner of war is exempt on the dwelling and one acre, and on two vehicles. The conflict list for the POW exemptions still ends at Vietnam, so a POW of any later conflict is outside them.

Medal of Honor, any conflict and any date. Item (B)(43) reaches a Medal of Honor recipient "regardless of when it was awarded or the conflict involved". Item (B)(26) exempts two private passenger vehicles with no surviving spouse clause.

A clerk of court records a discharge free of charge, certified copies cost no more than fifty cents, and since 2005 a recorded DD-214 is not a public record. A veteran who filed one before that can have it pulled out of the public records on a sworn written request.

An official discharge or certificate of lost discharge from the armed services. Section 30-15-20. The clerk of court records it free of charge, and Section 30-15-40 permits the clerk to inquire into the validity of the discharge and requires an oath from the person seeking registration.

A Guard or State Guard member released from duty ordered by the Governor has a right to the previous position, enforceable in circuit court with lost wages and benefits. The window to apply is five days, which is far shorter than USERRA’s, and a member of another state’s guard working in South Carolina is covered.

State duty at the direction of the Governor, honorably released. Sections 25-1-2310 and 25-1-2340 cover the South Carolina National Guard and the South Carolina State Guard. Section 25-1-2350 covers a person employed in South Carolina who is a member of another state’s national or state guard called by that state’s Governor.

An active member of the state retirement system may buy up to six years of service credit for military service, at an actuarially neutral price with a floor of sixteen percent of current or career highest salary per year. Any discharge other than dishonorable qualifies.

Discharged or separated under conditions other than dishonorable. Section 9-1-1140(C). Only a dishonorable discharge is named as disqualifying, which makes this the broadest discharge test in the South Carolina file.

Act No. 211 of 2026 bans compensation for veterans benefits claim work except as federal law permits, bars referral fees, outcome guarantees and upfront or nonrefundable fees, caps any lawful fee at the lesser of five times the monthly increase or $12,500, and makes a violation a misdemeanour and an Unfair Trade Practices claim.

It protects any claimant, with no rating or service test. Section 25-11-810(5) defines claimant to include the veteran, a surviving spouse, dependent children, dependent parents, a fiduciary and a legal representative. The article regulates the consultant, not the claimant, so nothing about the veteran gates it.

South Carolina adopts the federal SCRA as state law, extends it to state active duty, and adds a right to terminate telecom, internet, television, gym and satellite radio contracts on ninety-day relocation orders. The Attorney General can sue, and an intentional violation carries a civil penalty of up to $5,000.

A servicemember engaged in military service, including state active duty. Sections 25-1-4030 and 25-1-4040. For the categories the federal Act does not reach, the remedies apply only once the servicemember gives the person a written or electronic copy of the order to military service.

Burial at no charge for a veteran with an honorable discharge, and a fee not exceeding cost for an immediate family member. The South Carolina residency requirement was deleted outright by 2024 Act No. 153, and published guidance still lists it.

An honorable discharge from the Armed Forces. Section 25-11-80(F)(2). Honorable only, which is narrower than the "other than dishonorable" test the same chapter uses for the state veterans homes in Section 25-11-720.

Two private passenger vehicles are exempt from property tax. The statute conditions the exemption on plates issued under sections repealed in 2022, which leaves the certificate filed with the DMV as the only route whose statutory basis still exists.

Total and permanent disability, certified to the DMV. Section 12-37-220(B)(3) requires either the special plate or a certificate signed by the county service officer or VA "of the total and permanent disability" filed with the Department of Motor Vehicles. The plate route points at Sections 56-3-1110 to 56-3-1130, repealed effective May 6, 2022.

A free veteran designation on the front of a driver’s licence or identification card. Three document routes, and the National Guard route demands at least twenty years of service. A Veterans Health Identification Card is expressly not accepted.

Honorable, or general under honorable conditions, on a DD Form 214. Section 56-1-140(B)(1). The DD-214 route requires a characterization of service or discharge status of honorable or general under honorable conditions and must establish qualifying military service in the United States armed forces.

Six state veterans homes, moved from the Department of Mental Health to the Department of Veterans’ Affairs in 2024 and 2025. Since 2025 there is no statutory admission test at all: the department adopts the criteria and sets the fees by policy, so the residency and care requirements a veteran will be quoted are administrative.

Discharged under other than dishonorable conditions, any branch, any era. Section 25-11-720 defines "South Carolina veterans" as any ex service South Carolina citizen discharged under other than dishonorable conditions who served in any branch of the military or naval service. There is no wartime, days-of-service or rating test in the statute.

South Carolina has no statutory veterans preference. The preference is a Department of Administration policy effective January 1, 2021 requiring that at least one qualified veteran be interviewed for each full-time equivalent position posted. No points, no ranking, no removal protection and nothing to sue on.

Honorable discharge and federal preference eligibility. The Department of Administration policy reaches honorably discharged members of the Armed Forces who receive employment preference from the federal government, on production of a DD Form 214 with the state application.

South Carolina has no single statutory definition of veteran. Seven provisions carry seven different tests, from "other than dishonorable conditions" at the veterans homes to a discharge caused by a service-connected disability in the county officer and apprenticeship credit sections. A summary that uses one definition will be wrong somewhere.

Other than dishonorable, for the veterans homes and the retirement purchase. Section 25-11-720 and Section 9-1-1140(C). Both reach a discharge under conditions other than dishonorable, with no wartime, days-of-service or rating test.

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

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

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

A free lifetime pass to national parks, wildlife refuges, national forests and other federal lands for every U.S. military veteran and Gold Star family, and a free annual pass for current members and dependents.

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

A one-time payment of up to $27,908.90 toward a vehicle, plus adaptive equipment such as hand controls and lifts, for service-connected loss of a hand or foot, severe vision loss, severe burns, or ALS.

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

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

A free gravesite, opening and closing, vault liner, headstone and perpetual care in a VA national cemetery for an eligible veteran, and for an eligible spouse or dependent child.

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

Health coverage for a spouse or child of a veteran who is permanently and totally disabled from a service-connected disability, or who died in service or from a service-connected disability.

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

Military pay earned in any month served in a combat zone is free of federal income tax, in full for enlisted members and warrant officers and up to the top enlisted rate plus hostile fire pay for officers.

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

A tax-free monthly payment to a military retiree, at any rating from 10%, that replaces retired pay lost to the VA offset for disabilities the service branch decides are combat-related.

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

Shopping at military commissaries and exchanges, and MWR retail, for every veteran with a VA service-connected rating, Purple Heart recipients, former POWs and primary family caregivers, since January 1, 2020.

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

Lets a military retiree rated 50% or more receive retired pay and VA disability compensation at the same time, instead of having retired pay cut dollar for dollar.

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

A free copy of a DD-214 and other service records from the National Archives’ National Personnel Records Center, requested online or on Standard Form 180.

Monthly tax-free payment to a surviving spouse, child, or parent after a service-connected death, or in defined cases after the death of a totally disabled veteran.

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

Education and training help for a spouse or child of a veteran who is permanently and totally disabled from a service-connected disability, or who died in service or from a service-connected disability.

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

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

Asks the service branch’s Discharge Review Board or Board for Correction to upgrade a discharge, with liberal consideration for PTSD, TBI, sexual assault or harassment, and the repealed Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy.

Up to 9 more months of Post-9/11 GI Bill or Fry benefits, or $30,000, for a student finishing a STEM degree or clinical training who has 6 months or less of entitlement left.

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

Life insurance through the service member for a spouse, up to $100,000 and not more than the member’s SGLI, and $10,000 free for each dependent child.

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

Three ways a federal agency can hire a veteran outside or ahead of normal competition: VEOA for merit promotion jobs, VRA up to GS-11, and noncompetitive appointment for a veteran rated 30% or more.

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

VA disability compensation, pension, DIC, education and grant payments are not federal taxable income, and retired pay replaced by a retroactive VA rating can be refunded.

Five or ten points added to a passing score, or priority in category rating, for a qualifying veteran applying for a federal competitive service job, with ten points for a service-connected disability.

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

A free government headstone or marker for the grave of an eligible veteran in any cemetery, or a medallion to fix to a privately bought headstone.

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

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

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

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

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

Compensation at the 100% rate, $3,938.58 a month for a veteran alone, for a veteran whose service-connected disabilities keep them from holding a steady job, without changing the rating itself.

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

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

Free job search help from veterans’ employment specialists at American Job Centers, with priority of service for veterans and eligible spouses in every Labor Department-funded job program.

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

VA pays back the fees for a licensing or certification test, up to $2,000 a test, and for prep courses, out of GI Bill or DEA entitlement.

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

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

Up to 36 months of Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits at the 100% level for the child or surviving spouse of a service member who died in the line of duty after September 10, 2001.

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

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

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

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

An honor guard of at least two uniformed members, one from the veteran’s branch, who fold and present the flag and play Taps, at the family’s request and at no cost.

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

Free VA treatment for any physical or mental health condition related to military sexual trauma, without having reported it at the time and regardless of discharge status or length of service.

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

Up to 36 months of education payments, $2,601 a month for full-time school from October 1, 2026, for a veteran who paid $1,200 into the program during active duty.

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

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

Up to 36 months of education payments, $508 a month full time from October 1, 2026, for a Guard or Reserve member with a six-year Selected Reserve obligation.

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

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

A direct VA mortgage, from 2.47% fixed for 30 years when read, to buy, build or improve a home on federal trust land for a Native American veteran or a veteran married to a Native American.

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

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

Expanded VA health care and presumptive disability compensation for veterans exposed to burn pits, Agent Orange, radiation and other toxins, with health care enrollment open to every eligible toxic-exposed veteran since March 5, 2024.

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

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

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

Lets a service member with six years of service who agrees to four more transfer up to 36 months of unused Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits to a spouse or child.

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

An engraved certificate signed by the current President honoring a deceased veteran or reservist eligible for national cemetery burial, free to next of kin, family and friends.

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

A monthly stipend, training, respite, mental health counseling and, in some cases, CHAMPVA health coverage for the family caregiver of a veteran rated 70% or more who needs in-person personal care.

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

Free business training, counseling and loan guidance for veterans, service members and military spouses through Boots to Business and Veterans Business Outreach Centers.

Low-cost term life insurance of up to $500,000 for service members, at 5 cents per $1,000 a month plus $1 for traumatic injury coverage.

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

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

Expedited Social Security disability claims for a service member disabled on active duty on or after October 1, 2001, and for a veteran rated 100% permanent and total by VA.

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

Extra earnings credited to a Social Security record for active duty from 1957 through 2001: $300 a quarter from 1957 to 1977, and $100 for each $300 of pay from 1978 to 2001, up to $1,200 a year.

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

Free seats left over on military aircraft for service members, retirees, Guard and Reserve members, their dependents, some surviving spouses, and veterans with a permanent service-connected disability rated as total.

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

A higher or added monthly rate for a service-connected loss of a limb, an organ or its use, blindness, being housebound, or needing another person’s daily help. SMC-K adds $139.87 a month to any rating from 0% up.

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

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

Grants to build, buy or adapt a barrier-free home for a veteran with certain severe service-connected disabilities: up to $126,526 (SAH) or $25,350 (SHA) in fiscal year 2026, with temporary residence grants of $50,961 or $9,100.

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

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

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

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

A monthly annuity to a military retiree’s surviving spouse or child, generally 55% of the chosen base amount of retired pay, and automatic coverage for the survivors of a member who dies on active duty.

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

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

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

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

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

A one-time payment of $25,000 to $100,000 to a service member with SGLI who suffers a scheduled traumatic loss, such as amputation, paralysis, blindness or an inability to perform daily activities.

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

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

Protects a civilian job, seniority and health coverage when a worker leaves for military service, for up to five years of cumulative service with one employer.

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

A free U.S. flag to drape the casket or accompany the urn of an eligible veteran or reservist, given to the next of kin.

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

Mileage at 41.5 cents a mile, less a $3 one-way deductible capped at $18 a month, for travel to VA or VA-approved care by a veteran rated 30% or more, traveling for a service-connected condition, on pension, or with low income.

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

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

Burial in a VA national cemetery, a government headstone or marker, and in some cases a burial allowance.

Money toward a veteran’s funeral and burial: up to $2,000 for a service-connected death after September 10, 2001, and $1,032 each for burial and plot for a non-service-connected death on or after October 1, 2026.

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

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

A VA-backed refinance of any existing mortgage, VA or not, that can take cash out of home equity, with a 2.15% funding fee on first use and 3.3% after.

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

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

A yearly payment of $1,053.19 for each qualifying item when a service-connected prosthetic or orthopedic device, or a prescribed skin medication, wears out or stains clothing.

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

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

VA-paid care from a community provider when VA cannot see an enrolled veteran within 30 minutes’ drive and 20 days for primary or mental health care, or 60 minutes and 28 days for specialty care.

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

Free comprehensive dental care for a veteran rated 100% or paid at the 100% rate for unemployability, or who is a former prisoner of war, with narrower classes for other veterans.

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

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

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

When VA decides a beneficiary cannot manage VA payments, it appoints a fiduciary to receive and manage them, and oversees that fiduciary.

Enrollment in the VA health care system. A disability rating can change priority and copays. It is not the only way in.

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

Hearing aids, eyeglasses and contact lenses for an enrolled veteran with a compensable service-connected disability, a Purple Heart, former POW status, and other listed situations.

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

No VA funding fee, which is otherwise 1.25% to 3.3% of a purchase loan, for a veteran receiving or entitled to VA compensation, a surviving spouse on DIC, a Purple Heart recipient on active duty, and a service member with a pre-discharge rating.

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

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

A guaranty that helps an eligible veteran, service member, or some surviving spouses buy, build, or refinance a home with a private lender.

A streamline refinance of an existing VA-backed loan to a lower rate or from an adjustable to a fixed rate, with a 0.5% funding fee and usually no appraisal.

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

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

Mental health care from VA, including free emergency suicidal crisis care for any veteran and most former service members, whatever the discharge or enrollment status.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Up to $100 a month, and $1,200 over a lifetime, for tutoring in a course a GI Bill student is failing or at risk of failing.

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

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

Free help with a VA claim from a VA-accredited Veterans Service Organization representative, or paid help from an accredited attorney or claims agent after an initial decision.

Tuition, housing and books for a non-degree high-tech training program, for a veteran or separating service member with 36 months of active duty, limited to 4,000 paid participants a fiscal year.

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

Free, confidential counseling at community Vet Centers for combat veterans, service members, survivors and families, kept apart from the VA medical record and open without VA health care enrollment.

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

A free digital Veteran ID Card for proof of service at businesses, for a veteran with an honorable or general discharge, and a VA health ID card for enrolled veterans.

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

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

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

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

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

Guaranteed-acceptance whole life insurance of up to $40,000 for a veteran 80 or younger with any service-connected rating, including 0%, with no health questions.

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

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

Paid part-time work on VA-related jobs at a school, VA facility or veterans’ organization for a student using VA education benefits at three-quarter time or more.

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

Renewable term life insurance of $10,000 to $500,000 after separation, converting SGLI. No health review if the application is in within 240 days.

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

Mortgage life insurance of up to $200,000, paid to the lender, for a veteran under 70 who has received a Specially Adapted Housing grant.

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

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

A federal tax credit to employers of up to $9,600 for hiring a qualified veteran, for hires who began work on or before December 31, 2025. The credit has expired for later hires unless Congress extends it.

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

Covers private, out-of-state, foreign or graduate tuition above the Post-9/11 GI Bill cap, matched by the school, for a student at the 100% benefit level.

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

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