Shelby County

Shelby County's civil service merit system adds bonus points to the passing exam score of an honorably discharged veteran who served in wartime or a declared national emergency. The Civil Service Merit Board sets the number, and the county does not publish it.

Honorable discharge and wartime or emergency service. Code 14-33(d) asks for an honorable discharge and service in time of war or national emergency declared by the President, and a passing score. The number of points is set by the Civil Service Merit Board.

Shelby County Government runs a free veterans service office in Memphis, with satellite hours in Arlington, Bartlett, Collierville and Millington. Its officers prepare and track VA compensation and pension claims and appeals, request DD-214s, and help with discharge upgrades and burial benefits. Call (901) 222-4237.

Any veteran, survivor or family member. The office helps veterans and their families and survivors with VA claims and records at no cost. No rating is needed.

Shelby County adds its own money to the state disabled veteran tax relief, matching the state payment dollar for dollar up to the county tax bill. For 2026 the state maximum on county taxes is $1,182.30, so a qualifying veteran can receive up to about $2,364.60 against the county bill. Apply to the Trustee by April 5, 2027; City of Memphis taxes have a separate October 6, 2026 deadline.

Permanent and total, as VA determines it. The match goes only to a homeowner already approved for the state relief. The rating route in 67-5-704(b)(3) asks for service-connected permanent and total disability as determined by VA, which a veteran paid at the total rate through unemployability that VA has found permanent also holds. It is recorded rather than enforced because the paraplegia, blindness and loss-of-limbs route and the prisoner of war route need no rating at all.

Tennessee's first veterans treatment court, run by General Sessions Criminal Court Judge Christian Johnson in Division 15 at 201 Poplar. It takes veterans charged with misdemeanors or felonies whose substance use or mental health contributed to the arrest, and on successful completion the charges can be dismissed. Call (901) 222-3703.

A veteran charged with a crime, with treatment needs. The court takes veterans charged with misdemeanor or felony offenses whose substance dependency or serious mental health issues may be amenable to treatment. The District Attorney must approve. No rating or particular discharge is required by the court's published rules.

Shelby County's wheel tax is $75 a year on a private car. A veteran rated one hundred percent permanent and total, or a former prisoner of war, is exempt under state law; claim it at the County Clerk. A lower-income resident with a disabled plate can get up to $75 back each year from the Trustee.

One hundred percent permanent and total, service-connected. Section 5-8-102 exempts a veteran with one hundred percent permanent total disability from a service-connected cause, as VA determines it. It is recorded rather than enforced because a former prisoner of war, and a veteran whose vehicle came with a VA adapted-vehicle grant under 38 U.S.C. 3901, are exempt at any rating.

A veteran rated one hundred percent permanent and total from a service-connected cause, or a former prisoner of war, is exempt from the county wheel tax. A separate route exempts any vehicle bought with a VA adapted-vehicle grant at any rating.

One hundred percent permanent total, service-connected. The first route in 5-8-102 asks for one hundred percent permanent total disability from a service-connected cause as determined by VA. It is recorded rather than enforced because the section reaches two other groups that need no rating.

Two different deals. A resident veteran rated 100 percent permanent and total buys a permanent combination license once for ten dollars. A resident 30 percent or more disabled by reason of service in any war pays nothing at all.

One hundred percent permanent and total buys the permanent license for $10. A resident veteran who is one hundred percent permanently and totally service-connected disabled may obtain a permanent sport combination hunting and fishing license on payment of a one-time ten dollar fee.

A free plate for a veteran entitled to compensation for loss or loss of use of a foot or hand, prescribed vision loss, or one hundred percent permanent total disability. The plate counts as a disabled veteran parking certificate, and since July 1, 2026 a free placard can be taken instead of it.

Entitled to compensation for a named loss. Loss or permanent loss of use of one or both feet, or one or both hands, or permanent impairment of vision of both eyes to the degree the section prescribes. No combined rating figure applies on this route.

The state reimburses the local property tax on the first $175,000 of full market value of a disabled veteran’s home, with no income limit. It is a reimbursement out of the general fund rather than an exemption, and the deadline is 35 days after the local taxes go delinquent.

Service-connected permanent and total disability. Section 67-5-704(b) offers three routes and this is the one a rating reaches. Subdivision (b)(3) asks for "service-connected permanent and total disability or disabilities, as determined by the United States department of veterans' affairs".

The means-tested programs a veteran falls back on when the disabled veteran route is out of reach: $38,470 of 2025 income and relief on the first $33,600 of market value for tax year 2026.

Maximum 2025 income of $38,470 for tax year 2026. Counted across the applicant, spouse, all owners, and any owner of a remainder or reversion whose legal residence the property was at any time during the year. Nursing home portions of social security, railroad retirement equivalent and veterans entitlements required by federal regulation to be paid to the home are excluded for an owner who relocates there.

A state medal presented by the Governor to the immediate survivor of an active-duty member killed in action or killed in an attack targeting service members. It reaches members stationed in Tennessee as well as legal residents.

Killed in action in one of four described circumstances. Engaged in action against an enemy of the United States, in military support operations involving conflict with an opposing foreign force, serving with friendly foreign forces in an armed conflict in which the United States is not a belligerent, or serving in a presidentially designated combat zone.

Tennessee taxes no income of any kind. The Hall tax on interest and dividends, the last thing that came close, was repealed for tax years beginning January 1, 2021, so there is no military retirement subtraction because there is no return.

No rating, no service test, no residency waiting period. There is no individual income tax to be exempted from, so no eligibility test of any kind attaches. This entry exists to answer the search rather than to gate anything.

A lottery-funded grant for post-9/11 veterans and Guard and reserve members holding the Iraq, Afghanistan or Inherent Resolve Campaign Medal or the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal: $1,000 a semester at twelve hours or more, $500 at six to eleven, for up to eight semesters; apply each year by September 1, March 1 or May 1.

One of four campaign or expeditionary medals, awarded on or after September 11, 2001. Iraq Campaign Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, or Inherent Resolve Campaign Medal (added by TSAC rule). Deployment without one of these medals does not qualify.

A veteran using VA education benefits and living in Tennessee pays no out-of-state tuition or fees at a public institution, regardless of formal residency. It turns on living here, not on being domiciled here.

Using VA education benefits at the enrolling institution. The individual must be a veteran or other person eligible for educational benefits administered by VA and must be using those benefits at the institution where enrolled. Transferred entitlement, Fry and survivors’ and dependents’ benefits qualify the user.

A county or city may appropriate its own money to add to the state tax relief a disabled veteran already receives, up to the total tax actually paid. Whether it does is a local ordinance question, not a state one.

Only where the local body has adopted it. Section 67-5-701(j)(1) is permissive. Counties, municipalities and metropolitan governments may appropriate funds for this; nothing requires them to.

A county register records a veteran’s discharge free of charge, and the record is confidential for seventy-five years rather than open to the public. A veteran can also have it removed or the social security number redacted.

Any veteran with a discharge document. Recording is free and carries no rating, wartime or length-of-service test. It is done at the county register of deeds.

Twenty paid working days a year for a reserve or Guard member employed by the state, plus additional paid days for any call to active state duty, with no length-of-service requirement and no effect on vacation, sick leave or performance rating.

A member of a reserve component, including the Tennessee National Guard. The leave runs to state employees who are members of a reserve component performing duty or training under competent orders, for the state or the United States.

Tennessee exempts a vehicle from sales tax for a uniformed service member on active duty stationed in the state, an AGR member, and a Guard or reserve member in a combat zone (67-6-303). A disabled veteran or service member with a VA automobile grant pays no sales tax on the price above the grant, nor the registration fee or local wheel tax (since March 5, 2018), and adaptive equipment is exempt (67-6-353).

Active duty in a uniformed service, stationed in Tennessee or on a shared-border reservation. Section 67-6-303(a)(1) covers a member of a uniformed service in active military service stationed in this state or at a military reservation located partially within it, under orders. Fort Campbell is the case the clause is written for.

A Guard member injured on state active duty or training is compensated as under workers’ compensation, on the higher of the civilian or federal wage. A death benefit runs to survivors with a statutory floor of $100,000.

Tennessee National Guard on state active duty or authorized training. The section covers injury, illness, disability or death arising from state active duty or authorized training. Federal Title 10 service is covered by the federal schemes instead.

A Tennessee private employer may adopt a written policy preferring veterans and certain spouses in hiring, and doing so is not an equal employment opportunity violation. Nothing requires an employer to have one.

Honorably discharged veteran, or a qualifying spouse. The section reaches an honorably discharged veteran, the spouse of a veteran with a service-connected disability, the unremarried surviving spouse of a veteran who died from a service-connected disability, and the unremarried surviving spouse of a member who died in the line of duty.

A disabled veteran who moves in with a relative or into a hospital or nursing facility keeps the property tax relief, so long as there is an intent to return. The 2018 act that fixed this paid people back to October 3, 2017.

Temporarily relocated for health care. To the home of a friend or relative, or to a hospital or skilled or intermediate care facility. Section 67-5-704(j).

Three separate routes carry the disabled veteran’s property tax relief to a surviving spouse who does not remarry. The cap is the same $175,000 the veteran had, which is not what the state’s own veterans department page says.

The veteran was eligible at death, or a later amendment would have made them so. Subsection (e). The second sentence reaches back: a subsequent amendment widening the definition of disabled veteran carries the spouse in even though the veteran died under the narrower one.

The administrative half of the tax relief program. A 35-day deadline with a good-cause waiver, a statutory power to cut every payment when the appropriation runs short, a two-year bar on clawbacks, and no repayment when VA reverses itself.

Thirty-five days after the local delinquency date. Section 67-5-701(d)(1). The date varies by jurisdiction. Applications and credit voucher presentments are valid only if received by the division of property assessments by May 5 following, or within thirty days of the deadline, whichever is later.

Tuition reimbursement for a serving Tennessee National Guard member toward a first bachelor’s or master’s degree or a vocational certificate. It pays last, after federal tuition assistance and every other grant.

Serving and in good standing in the Tennessee National Guard. The member must be currently active in the TNNG and in good standing, and still serving when the term ends.

Burial at no fee in five state veterans cemeteries. A 2026 act opened eligibility to reserve and Guard members with eight years of service or any call to state orders, and made the no-fee rule reach the most recent spouse and dependent children.

The federal route: 38 U.S.C. 2402 eligibility. Section 46-6-105(a)(1)(A) incorporates the national cemetery standard, which reaches a veteran discharged under conditions other than dishonorable, a member who died on active duty, and qualifying retirees and activated reservists.

Six skilled nursing homes for veterans with a Tennessee connection. The discharge test is strict: the Attorney General has opined that a general discharge under honorable conditions does not qualify, and federal law does not override that.

Honorable discharge, and a general discharge does not count. Section 58-7-101(b). Attorney General Opinion 20-13 holds that a general discharge under honorable conditions is separate and distinct from an honorable discharge and does not satisfy the section, and that federal law does not preempt that criterion.

Full waiver of tuition and fees at state institutions for a child under 23, or the spouse, of a veteran killed, who died of service injuries, or reported a prisoner of war or missing in action. A total disability rating does not open it.

The parent or spouse was killed, died of service injuries, or was a POW or MIA. Killed, died as a direct result of injuries received, or officially reported as a prisoner of war or missing in action while serving honorably during a qualifying period of armed conflict, or formerly a POW or MIA under those circumstances.

An honorably discharged veteran, including a Guard member, can have the designation printed on a Tennessee driver license or photo ID at renewal. It replaces carrying the DD214 to claim a discount.

Honorably discharged, including from the National Guard. Section 55-50-354 names an honorably discharged veteran and an honorably discharged member of the national guard.

Not points. A veteran who meets the minimum qualifications is guaranteed a first-round interview, wins a tie, and gets a written explanation filed within 30 days if passed over. Spouses qualify on a 100 percent rating or a line-of-duty death.

Honorably discharged, including reserve components performing active federal service. The policy names the Army, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, Marine Corps, Coast Guard and the reserve components as defined in 10 U.S.C. 10101 who perform active federal service.

A statutory framework for veterans treatment courts, either standing alone or as a track inside a certified drug court, run on a nonadversarial model where the prosecutor and defense work together for the participant.

A veteran or active-duty service member facing charges. Programs typically require the participant to be eighteen or older and a veteran or active duty. There is no rating test and no requirement that the conduct be connected to service, though many programs look for one.

Tennessee has no single definition. The discharge line moves from program to program, and the state veterans homes sit at the strictest end of it while the cemeteries sit at the most generous.

Veterans homes: honorable discharge only. Section 58-7-101(b) with Attorney General Opinion 20-13. A general discharge under honorable conditions does not qualify, and federal law does not preempt the state criterion.

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.