Salt Lake County

Salt Lake County Aging and Adult Services runs the VA's Veteran Directed Care programme locally: a disabled veteran of any age gets a budget for in-home care and hires their own caregivers, with a county case manager. Referral comes through the veteran's VA primary care team.

A disabled veteran the VA refers. The VA decides eligibility and refers the veteran. No particular rating is stated.

Salt Lake County Animal Services, the only municipal shelter in Utah partnered with Pets for Patriots, waives the adoption fee for veterans, active-duty members and their families who are members of the charity, for its harder-to-place dogs and cats.

A veteran, service member or family member who joins Pets for Patriots. Membership in the charity is the gate. No rating is needed.

Salt Lake County's Treasurer takes Utah's veteran disability exemption by September 1: the rating percentage of $535,459 of taxable value in 2026, from $53,546 at 10 percent to the whole limit at 100. It can also cut vehicle registration through a car slip. The County Council grants late and earlier-year claims at most meetings. The county's page and form leave out that VA's unemployability rating counts as 100 percent.

A rating of 10 percent or more, in proportion. Section 59-2a-501(2): the percentage of disability times the adjusted taxable value limit, nothing below 10 percent. Recorded rather than enforced because a survivor route needs no rating of the claimant.

The Third District Court runs a veterans court in Salt Lake City, at least 18 months long and usually 20 to 24, with VA treatment, testing and graduated sanctions. The county's public defender describes it as for honorably discharged veterans; the Utah statute's test is eligibility for VA health care, which can reach a veteran with a worse discharge.

A veteran VA treats, charged in the Third District. The statute asks for VA health care eligibility, not a particular discharge. No rating is needed.

Serve 200 days of active duty outside Utah inside any continuous 365-day period and the entire taxable value of your Utah primary residence is exempt for the following calendar year. It is one exemption per qualifying period, the days cannot be counted twice, and you must apply each time by September 1.

200 days of active duty outside Utah in one continuous 365-day period. Utah Code § 59-2a-101(25). The days need not be consecutive but must fall inside a single 365-day window, must be outside the state, and may be in an active or a reserve component.

New in 2026: the Division of Professional Licensing must, with the veterans department, publish a public resource mapping military skills, credentials, training and education onto Utah licence requirements, and must then give a veteran or serving member credit for them where the requirements are not otherwise met. The reporting duty expires in 2029; the benefit itself does not.

Covers a veteran or a currently serving member. Utah Code § 58-1-313(1)(b) defines service member by reference to § 71A-1-101, so a serving member may use the section before separating. "Veteran" carries the § 68-3-12.5 definition.

Utah community colleges must give enrolment preference to veterans who show anything other than a dishonorable discharge, which is the widest discharge test in the Utah code. Separately, every public institution must tell an applicant in writing that a counsellor meeting is required to receive credit for military training, and must report the credits awarded to the veterans department each year.

Other than a dishonorable discharge is enough for community college preference. Utah Code § 53H-3-1103(1). This is wider than the § 68-3-12.5 definition of veteran and reaches an other than honorable, bad conduct or uncharacterized discharge.

Any Utah veteran, at any age, may enrol at a public institution in classes with surplus space and is exempt from tuition and other charges except a registration fee the board sets. It is the least known education benefit in Utah, it has no degree requirement and no cap, and the price of it is that you are admitted only after the regularly enrolled students.

Any Utah veteran, at any age. Utah Code § 53H-11-304(2)(a) reaches Utah residents "who have reached 62 years old or are veterans as defined in Section 68-3-12.5". No rating, no wartime period, no degree requirement.

A Utah local school board may award an honorary high school diploma to a veteran of World War II, Korea or Vietnam who left school to enlist. It reaches someone who has since moved away, as long as they lived in the district when they left, and it is available to a veteran released because of a service-related disability rather than discharged honorably. The board decides whether to do it at all.

The district decides whether to award one at all. Utah Code § 53G-7-214(1) says a local school board "may" award the diploma. Practice varies district by district; there is no statewide entitlement.

A Utah resident with a service-connected disability of 20 percent or more buys a fishing licence for $12 against $39, a hunting licence for $25.50 and a combination licence for $28.50 against $43. The statute sets a 25 percent minimum discount and no eligibility percentage at all; the 20 percent floor comes from the Division of Wildlife Resources, so a veteran at 10 percent is refused here and allowed on the property tax exemption.

A 20 percent service-connected rating, which the statute does not require. Utah Code § 23A-4-302 sets no eligibility percentage, only a minimum 25 percent fee reduction and a direction to use VA disability guidelines. The 20 percent floor is imposed by the Division of Wildlife Resources. Recorded rather than enforced because the state parks benefit in § 79-4-1002 needs any rating at all.

State employees get 15 days of paid military leave a year on top of vacation; counties and cities may grant the same but do not have to. Any reserve component member gets up to five years of unpaid leave, and discriminating in hiring on reserve membership is a class B misdemeanor. A professional licence that expires during activation is extended 90 days and renewed free with continuing education waived.

15 paid days a year is mandatory for state employees and discretionary for cities and counties. Utah Code § 71A-8-102(1) says state employees "shall be allowed full pay"; subsection 2 says county and municipal employees "may be allowed up to full pay" at the employer’s discretion. Either way it is on top of vacation leave.

Utah gives a nonrefundable credit equal to the income tax rate multiplied by your military retirement pay, which cancels the Utah tax on that pay. It cannot be carried forward or back, and you cannot claim it in the same year as the general retirement credit, so a military retiree with other retirement income has to choose.

No age test and no dollar cap. Utah Code § 59-10-1043 applies to any claimant who receives military retirement pay, without an age condition, and the credit is the full flat rate times the pay included in federal adjusted gross income.

The Utah National Guard may pay tuition and fees for an active member at a Utah institution, capped at the resident rate for the course actually taken, and fees here expressly include required textbooks and course materials. The adjutant general may also use the same appropriation to repay a member’s student loans. Both are discretionary and both can be recouped if you stop meeting the requirements.

You must be an active member of the National Guard when the assistance is received. Utah Code § 39A-3-201(2)(a) for tuition and fees, and subsection 6(b) for loan repayment. Separation ends both.

Utah enacted a 2026 law directing the Huntsman Mental Health Institute to run a clinical study of MDMA, psilocybin or 5-MeO-DMT assisted therapy for veterans with treatment-resistant PTSD. It is a research study, not a treatment programme, it starts only when enough money is raised or appropriated, and the target start date is January 1, 2027.

A PTSD diagnosis with a documented inadequate response to at least one evidence-based treatment. Utah Code § 26B-7-126(1)(c) and (k). Nothing requires the PTSD to be service-connected or rated by VA.

A Utah resident veteran who earned a Purple Heart gets undergraduate tuition waived outright at any public institution, full-time, part-time or summer. Graduate tuition is waived up to $15,000, raised from $10,000 in 2026, and the 2026 act also removed the rule that you had to start graduate study within ten years of your undergraduate degree. Fees are excluded, twice over.

A Purple Heart earned as a result of military service, and Utah residence. Utah Code § 53H-11-303(1)(a). No disability rating, no wartime period and no limit on when the award was earned.

A Utah public officer or employee who enters military service gets up to five years of leave, must be restored to the same or an equivalent position within 20 days of asking, and cannot be discharged or have pay cut without cause for a year after returning. If the employer refuses, the district court hears it on a speedy basis with no court costs against you and attorney fees if you win.

Up to five years of leave, state or federal service. Utah Code § 71A-8-101(2) covers "state or federal active service in any branch of the armed forces of this state or of the United States".

A Utah public institution must classify a veteran as a resident student for tuition on evidence of an honorable or general discharge, regardless of whether the veteran ever served in Utah, with no durational residency, no GI Bill condition and no window after discharge. The veteran’s spouse and dependent children get it on the same evidence, and active duty members, their families, ROTC participants and Department of Defense civilians each have their own route.

An honorable or general discharge is the entire test. Utah Code § 53H-11-202(8)(c): an institution shall grant resident student status to "a military veteran, regardless of whether the military veteran served in Utah". No durational residency, no GI Bill condition, no window after discharge.

Anyone offering to help a Utah veteran apply for VA benefits must be VA-accredited and must hand you a signed disclosure form, on a state-approved template, stating there is no charge for help with an initial application. Charging before a notice of disagreement is filed is prohibited, so are referral fees and guarantees, and the Division of Consumer Protection enforces it under the consumer sales practices act.

The person must be VA-accredited, and their registration number goes on the form. Utah Code § 71A-4-102(1) and (2)(a). Accreditation is verifiable on VA’s accreditation search.

Undergraduate tuition is waived at Utah public institutions for a dependent of a service member killed on state or federal active duty, or who died of wounds received on such duty. A dependent of a Utah National Guard member does not have to be a Utah resident student. It covers tuition only: not fees, not books, not housing.

Killed on state or federal active duty, or died later of wounds received on it. Utah Code § 53H-11-308(1)(b)(i) and (ii), in each case under orders of competent authority and not as a result of the member’s own misconduct.

Utah gives its National Guard and State Defense Force members on state orders the protections federal law gives on federal orders: a six percent interest cap, no foreclosure or repossession without a court order, protection against eviction where rent is under $2,400 a month, stays of proceedings, tolled limitation periods, and no adverse credit inference for using any of it. Federal law does not cover state active duty, which is the gap this fills.

It covers state military service, which federal law does not. Utah Code §§ 39A-6-101 and 39A-6-102. The chapter applies to a Utah National Guard or State Defense Force member serving on active military service in an organized military unit under the governor’s orders.

An honorably discharged Utah-resident veteran with any current service-connected disability rating gets free day-use admission to state parks, and the pass covers up to seven guests in the same vehicle. Camping is not included. The pass is being replaced during 2026, and in the meantime a current VA Summary of Benefits letter gets you in at the gate.

Any current service-connected rating, with no percentage floor. Utah Code § 79-4-1002(2) requires only "a current service-connected disability rating issued by the United States Veterans Benefits Administration". The department describes it as any disability rating. Recorded rather than enforced because the statute sets no minimum.

Four state homes in Salt Lake City, Ogden, Payson and Ivins, each at least 80 beds, run day to day by a contracted private provider. A veteran with a 70 percent or higher service-connected disability pays nothing. For others the VA pays a per diem of about $120 a day and the resident covers the rest. Spouses and Gold Star parents may be admitted but VA subsidises none of their care.

A 70 percent or higher service-connected rating means no cost at all. The Department of Veterans and Military Affairs states there is no cost for veterans at 70 percent or higher, which reflects the enhanced federal per diem under 38 U.S.C. § 1745. Below that the VA per diem is about $120 a day and the resident pays the balance. Recorded rather than enforced because admission itself needs no rating.

An employer who hires a veteran discharged within the last two years who is on or has exhausted unemployment benefits can claim $200 a month in year one and $400 a month in year two, up to $2,400 and $4,800. The veteran must work 35 hours a week for at least 45 of the 52 weeks after starting. It pays the employer, not the veteran, which is why it is worth raising in an interview.

Mobilised to active federal service, discharged honorable or general within two years. Utah Code § 59-10-1031(1). The two-year window runs from discharge to the date the employment begins, and drill-only reserve service does not qualify.

Two separate credits. A surviving spouse or dependent child gets a credit equal to the tax rate times their Survivor Benefit Plan payments, but only where the death was on active duty or from a service-connected cause during inactive duty training. And where a service member dies a combat related death, the whole of that person’s Utah tax liability for the year of death is credited.

The survivor credit needs a death on active duty, or a reserve death in inactive duty training. Utah Code § 59-10-1036(2). A Survivor Benefit Plan payment arising from a retiree’s later death does not qualify here; § 59-10-1043 may reach it instead.

A recognised veterans remains organization may inventory the unclaimed cremated remains held at any Utah funeral establishment, and the establishment must release a veteran’s or dependent’s remains on documentation of eligibility. Everyone involved is immune from liability. Unlike other states, Utah imposes no waiting period at all, so a family that has not collected remains should act rather than assume there is a clock.

No waiting period at all. Utah Code § 71A-7-203 imposes no minimum period for which remains must be unclaimed before an organization may inquire or a facility must disclose or release. Other states impose clocks measured in months.

A $2,500 grant toward buying a first home in Utah, for a veteran who separated within the last five years or anyone currently serving in the active, reserve or Guard components. Owning a home in another state does not disqualify you. It is not in the Utah Code at all: it is an administrative programme funded by appropriation and run with the Utah Housing Corporation, and the application has to be in before closing.

Separated within the last five years, or currently serving. The department limits the grant to a veteran who separated within the last five years or a current member of the active, reserve or Guard components. Most other Utah veteran benefits have no time limit after discharge.

The exemption is your disability percentage multiplied by an indexed limit, which the Tax Commission currently publishes as $535,459 of taxable value. Individual unemployability counts as 100 percent whatever the schedule says, the floor is 10 percent, it can be applied to a vehicle instead of a house, and a 100 percent veteran can get it approved before buying.

A 10 percent rating is the floor, and the exemption scales from there. Utah Code § 59-2a-501(2)(d) forbids an exemption below 10 percent, and (2)(a) sets the amount at the disability percentage times the adjusted taxable value limit. Recorded rather than enforced because the survivor routes in subsection 3 exempt the full value without reference to the claimant’s own percentage.

A state-run database that matches veterans and their dependent spouses and children who need specific goods, services or labour with donors willing to provide them free. Registry information is not public. A donor who helps is treated as acting on the state’s behalf for volunteer immunity purposes, which is what makes tradespeople willing to sign up.

Any Utah veteran, plus a dependent spouse and children. Utah Code § 71A-5-101(1)(b) defines recipient as a veteran under § 68-3-12.5 or a veteran’s dependent spouse and children. No disability, wartime period or income test.

One state cemetery, at Bluffdale just north of Camp Williams. There is no fee for a veteran’s burial. A spouse or dependent child pays a fee the department adjusts annually and does not publish, because the statute lets it charge "at least the cost". Any funeral home can handle it: the mortuary sends the discharge paper and books the graveside time.

No fee for the veteran’s own burial. Utah Code § 71A-7-301(2)(c) authorises a fee only for the burial of "a veteran’s spouse and any other persons", and the department states there are no fees for a veteran’s burial.

A Utah private employer may prefer veterans, and if it does the policy must be in writing, applied uniformly to hiring, promotion and retention including during a layoff, and publicly posted. That gives a veteran something to read and something to hold the employer to. The state will help the employer verify your status.

Permission for the employer, with conditions attached to the policy. Utah Code § 34-50-103(1) makes it optional, but subsection 2 requires any policy to be in writing and applied uniformly to hiring, promotion and retention including during a reduction in force.

Five percent of the total possible score for a veteran or a currently serving service member, ten percent for one with a disability of any percentage or a Purple Heart, and the same percentage for a spouse or surviving spouse. Where there is no numeric score you get interview preference. Willfully failing to give the preference is a class B misdemeanor.

Preference eligible includes serving members, spouses and retirees. Utah Code § 71A-2-101(1)(c): any veteran or service member, an individual with a disability regardless of percentage, the spouse or surviving spouse of a veteran or service member, a Purple Heart recipient, or a retired member of the armed forces.

A veteran charged with a crime who has a mental health condition, a traumatic brain injury or a substance use disorder may be screened into a veterans treatment court, with judicial supervision and treatment in place of ordinary prosecution. The definition of veteran here is VA health care eligibility, which is the widest door in Utah law for someone with a bad paper discharge. The prosecutor must sign, and the courts exist only in districts that have created one.

Veteran here means qualifying for VA health care, not the general definition. Utah Code § 78A-5-302(7). There is no 180-day requirement and no discharge characterisation, so a veteran with bad paper who qualifies for VA health care is inside this part.

A grant for a veteran in the final year of a bachelor’s degree who has run out of federal education benefits. Unlike most tuition help it can pay tuition, fees, books, education-related supplies and a housing allowance, and it works at private Utah institutions as well as public ones. You must complete a FAFSA, and the award ceiling is set by the board rather than the statute.

Federal education benefits exhausted or no longer available. Utah Code § 53H-11-413(1)(c)(iii) requires that the veteran has exhausted the federal benefit or demonstrates no longer qualifying under any federal programme, covering 10 U.S.C. ch. 1606 and 38 U.S.C. chs. 30, 31 and 33.

Utah defines veteran once for the entire code: 180 days of service, active duty or reserve drilling time, or any service-related injury, with an honorable or general discharge. There is no wartime period. Then the definition says it is not intended to confer eligibility for benefits, and four programs depart from it anyway.

180 days of service, and reserve drilling time counts. Utah Code § 68-3-12.5(43)(a)(i). Active duty or service "in a reserve component, to include the National Guard", with no requirement of federal activation and no wartime period anywhere in the definition.

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.