South Dakota

Every assessment notice in the state has to name the veteran exemptions by March 1. The application deadlines are eight months later, on November 1, and three separate four-year look-backs exist for people who missed them.

The notice duty is on the assessor, by March 1. Section 10-6-154 requires every annual assessment notice to state that the disabled veteran, surviving spouse, and paraplegic veteran exemptions may be available, with the section numbers.

Domiciliary and nursing care at Hot Springs, up to seventy-eight nursing beds. A 2024 act deleted both the South Dakota residency requirement and the income cap, leaving federal per diem eligibility as the whole test.

A veteran under 33A-2-1 who is federally per diem eligible. Admission turns on being a veteran as defined by 33A-2-1 and being eligible for payment of per diem for domiciliary or nursing home care in a state home. The old five-year residency requirement and income cap were repealed in 2024.

One hundred dollars toward the burial of a veteran or a veteran’s spouse whose estate and family cannot pay. It is a means-tested allowance, not a general burial benefit, and the claim has to be filed within a year.

A year of residence, before service or before death. The veteran must have been a United States citizen and a resident of South Dakota for one year preceding entrance into military service or for one year preceding death. Either window qualifies.

Every county must employ, share, or contract for a veterans service officer, tribes may appoint their own, and the state prosecutes federal claims without charge. Department records on a claim are confidential by statute.

Every county must have access to an officer. A county must employ a veterans service officer, join with other counties to employ one, or contract with the Department of Veterans Affairs. The secretary must approve the employment.

Two hundred thousand dollars of the full and true value of an owner-occupied dwelling is exempt for a veteran rated permanently and totally disabled from a service-connected disability. The deadline is November 1 and the application is confidential.

Rated permanently and totally disabled. Section 10-4-40 requires a veteran "rated as permanently and totally disabled from a service-connected disability". One route is a service-connected rating that VA has made both total and permanent.

A nonprofit may host a free special pheasant hunt for veterans rated twenty percent or more, or receiving special monthly compensation at rate K, and for Purple Heart recipients. No fee may be charged by anyone, and residency is not required.

Twenty percent, or special monthly compensation at rate K. A veteran adjudicated by VA as twenty percent or more disabled from a service-connected disability, or designated to receive special monthly compensation level K under 38 U.S.C. 1114. A Purple Heart recipient qualifies with no disability finding, so this figure cannot hide the entry.

A veteran records a discharge certificate with the county register of deeds free, and certified copies go free to a listed set of people. A 2026 act rewrote the release rules and carved out the version that hides the character of discharge.

Recording is free to the veteran. A veteran may record a certificate of discharge from armed forces or National Guard service with a county register of deeds without charge.

One month of free undergraduate tuition for each month of qualifying service, never less than one academic year and never more than four, at a Regents university or a technical college. Federal education benefits have to be exhausted first.

A wartime veteran under 33A-2-2, or a Red Cross or war relief worker, residing in the state now. The entitlement runs to a veteran as defined by 33A-2-1 and 33A-2-2, or to a person who performed active war service such as nursing or caring for service members as a member of the Red Cross or a similar government-approved war relief organisation during a 33A-2-2 period, who resides in South Dakota and qualifies for resident tuition. Residence at the time of entry into service does not affect eligibility.

Free tuition at a Regents university or technical college for a resident child under twenty-five of a veteran who died from any cause while in the armed forces. The cause of death does not have to be service-connected.

Death from any cause while in service. The parent must have died from any cause while in the service of the armed forces. Neither a service connection nor any VA determination is required.

There is no state individual income tax, so military retired pay, drill pay, VA compensation and a survivor annuity are all untaxed by the state without an exemption, a cap, a residency window or a form.

No claim to make. There is no individual income tax, so the result does not depend on a rating, an age, a number of years served, a residency date or a filing. Nothing here can be lost by failing to claim it.

Up to $200 to set a federal headstone, or $100 toward a privately bought stone with the veteran’s military details etched on the back. Two 2023 acts amended the same section a month apart and left the figures disagreeing.

A year of South Dakota residence, before service or before death. The veteran must have been a resident of the state for one year preceding entrance into military service or preceding death.

A veteran who served in the Second World War, Korea, or between February 28, 1961 and May 7, 1975 may request an honorary high school diploma from any school district in the state, and the district must award it.

Honorably discharged, and service inside one of three windows. December 7, 1941 to September 2, 1945; June 25, 1950 to July 31, 1953; or February 28, 1961 to May 7, 1975. Service falling only between August 1953 and February 1961 does not qualify.

As between equally needy and equally eligible applicants, a municipal or county housing authority must prefer the family of a service member or veteran, and one admission condition is waived for them.

A tie-breaker between equally placed applicants. The preference applies as between applicants equally in need and eligible for occupancy at the rent involved. It does not move a veteran ahead of a needier applicant.

A resident stationed outside the state hunts small game and fishes with no licence and no fee, a nonresident on active duty can buy a three-day waterfowl licence, and a big game licence lost to a deployment is reissued.

Resident, on active duty, stationed outside South Dakota. The fee and licence exemption for small game hunting and fishing requires a South Dakota resident on active duty stationed outside the state, carrying orders and a military identification card. Active duty for training as a reserve or Guard member does not count.

A lifetime park entrance licence and a fifty percent camping discount for a resident veteran with a total service-connected disability, a K Award, or prisoner of war status. Game, Fish and Parks also takes a Purple Heart, which the statute does not mention.

A total service-connected allotment, a K Award, or POW status. Four routes: a veteran allotment for a total disability deemed a service-connected injury; a VA K Award; having been held as a prisoner of war; or service on active duty, in the reserve or in the National Guard with a VA classification of total disability from a service-connected injury. The prisoner of war route needs no rating at all, so a rating filter cannot decide this entry.

Nineteen plates, from a plain veteran plate to the Medal of Honor, each with its own eligibility rule. A ten dollar issuance fee covers most of them; five carry a registration fee exemption instead.

A South Dakota resident with a South Dakota licence or ID card. Section 32-5-156 requires residence in the state, a valid South Dakota driver licence or nondriver identification card, compliance with registration law, and payment of the fees.

Federal pay rates on state active duty, medical care at state expense and full pay until a medical board clears an injured member, expense reimbursement, and state law extending USERRA and the SCRA to a governor-ordered activation.

Federal rates of pay on state active duty. A Guard member ordered into active service is paid the same compensation at the same rate as a member of like rank and grade of the armed forces of the United States.

One hundred percent of in-state resident tuition for a member of the South Dakota National Guard, undergraduate and graduate, and since 2024 at in-state private nonprofit institutions as well. The GI Bill does not reduce it.

A serving Guard member throughout the term. Membership in a South Dakota Army or Air National Guard unit throughout each semester or vocational program applied for, initial basic training completed, satisfactory duty on return including at least ninety percent attendance at scheduled drills and annual training, satisfactory academic progress, and notice to the institution at registration.

A wheelchair home owned and occupied by a paraplegic veteran, a veteran with loss or loss of use of both lower extremities, or the unremarried widow or widower, is exempt from property tax entirely. No rating percentage appears anywhere in it.

A mobility finding, not a rating. The veteran must be paraplegic or have the loss or loss of use of both lower extremities. No combined rating percentage appears in 10-4-24.9 or 10-4-24.10, so a rating filter cannot decide this entry either way.

Three separate routes: restoration of a licence held at the time of induction, credit for military training toward licensing requirements, and a thirty-day expedited licence for an active duty member or spouse transferred into the state. Federal law since December 2024 goes further and treats a member’s or spouse’s out-of-state licence as valid on a move under orders.

Restoration requires the licence to have been held at entry. Section 36-1-1 restores a professional or occupational status held in good standing at the time of induction, enlistment or engagement, on compliance with current requirements.

The same $200,000 exemption passes to a surviving spouse, and there are two ways in: the veteran was permanently and totally disabled, or the spouse receives DIC for a service-connected death. Remarriage ends it.

Two routes, and the DIC route asks for no rating. The spouse qualifies if the veteran was rated permanently and totally disabled from a service-connected disability, or if the spouse receives dependency and indemnity compensation as a result of the veteran’s service-connected death. The second route does not depend on the rating the veteran held.

A separate income-scaled reduction of 25 to 100 percent of the tax on a single-family dwelling owned and occupied by a paraplegic. It is not a veterans program, and a veteran who does not live in a purpose-built wheelchair home may reach it when the exemption is out of range.

A mobility finding and no service requirement. The dwelling must be owned and occupied by a paraplegic or an individual with the loss or loss of use of both lower extremities. Military service is not part of the test, which is what makes this reachable when 10-4-24.10 is not.

Since 2025 a paid claims consultant must sign a written agreement, may not charge an initial or nonrefundable fee, may not guarantee an outcome, and is capped at five times the monthly increase in benefits actually awarded.

It regulates the consultant, not the veteran. The duties run to any person who takes compensation to advise, assist or consult on a veterans’ benefits matter. Nothing is required of the veteran to be protected.

A combined resident small game and fishing licence for a ten dollar fee, valid four calendar years, on a forty percent service-connected allotment, a K Award, a forty percent Social Security disability with service, or prisoner of war status.

Forty percent, on the VA route in. A veterans allotment for a forty percent or more disability deemed a service-connected injury. Three other routes need no VA rating at all, so this figure cannot hide the entry.

Five plates come free of annual registration fees, and since 2024 a disabled veteran can take an ordinary county plate instead and keep the exemption. The eligibility test is loss of use or special monthly compensation, not a rating percentage.

Loss of use, a total allotment, or a K Award. A statutory benefit for loss or loss of use of one or more extremities, a veteran’s allotment for a total service-connected disability, or a VA K Award. No combined rating percentage appears in the subdivision, so a rating filter cannot decide it.

A veteran holding a public position cannot be removed except for incompetency or misconduct, after notice, stated charges and a hearing, with the burden of proof on the employer. It is the least-known veterans benefit in the state.

Holding a public position and within a preference class. The protection runs to a person holding a public position by appointment or employment who belongs to a class granted preference under chapter 3-3: a veteran under 33A-2-1, the unmarried spouse of a veteran who died in service or from a service-connected cause, or the spouse of a disabled veteran under 3-3-8.

A veteran, an active duty member, and the spouse or child of either are classified as resident students with no twelve-month waiting period. Anyone living in the state on Chapter 30, 31 or 33 benefits gets the same treatment on arrival, and federal law adds Chapter 35 users and, from August 1, 2026, Chapter 1606 users.

Veteran, active duty member, or the spouse or child of either. A veteran under 33A-2-1 or 33A-2-2, an active duty member, the spouse or child of a veteran who has established residency in the state, and the spouse or child of an active duty member.

A state employee activated into Title 10 or Title 32 service other than for training is paid the difference between state salary and military pay and allowances, at least quarterly, for as long as the activation lasts.

An employee of the State of South Dakota. The section names state employees. Counties, municipalities and school districts are not covered, unlike in the veterans preference chapter.

Burial at no cost for an eligible veteran at Sioux Falls, with a spouse or dependent fee capped by statute at the federal plot allowance and currently $1,002. The state is expanding it under a 2025 appropriation.

Federal eligibility rules decide, verified from the discharge. Eligibility is established from a discharge document or DD-214, and a committal date is provisional until the cemetery verifies service and character of discharge.

Tuition without cost at a Regents institution or a technical college where a South Dakota National Guard member died or became totally and permanently disabled on duty. The child is capped at twenty-five; the spouse has no age limit.

Death or total permanent disability from Guard duty. The member must have died or sustained a total disability, permanent in nature, resulting from duty as a member of the South Dakota National Guard. The test is not stated as a VA rating.

Eight semesters free of tuition and mandatory fees for a child or spouse of a South Dakota prisoner of war or person missing in action. It is the only South Dakota education benefit that covers mandatory fees.

A POW or MIA determination by the secretary of defense. The parent or spouse must have been declared a prisoner of war or a person missing in action as established by the secretary of defense after January 1, 1940, and must have been a South Dakota resident at entry into service or have an official South Dakota residence.

A veteran designation is added to a driver licence, permit or nondriver identification card on request, free, with a list of accepted proofs. The ordinary licence and the commercial licence use different definitions of veteran.

Honorably discharged, and the two licences ask differently. The ordinary licence section asks for an honorably discharged veteran who served in the armed forces. The commercial licence section points at 33A-1-1 and so at the broad definition in 33A-2-1, which covers a full reserve or Guard obligation with no deployment.

A cash bonus of up to $500 per qualifying period, still open with no closing date, for a veteran who was a South Dakota resident for six months before entering service. Two separate bonuses are possible.

Six months a resident before entering service. Legal residence in South Dakota for not less than six months immediately preceding entry into the armed forces. Being stationed in the state at an assigned military station does not by itself establish residency for this purpose.

A veteran gets preference for appointment, employment and promotion at every level of government in the state, an interview as of right if minimally qualified, and mandamus to enforce it. There are no points and no numerical formula.

A veteran under 33A-2-1 and a United States citizen. The chapter runs on the broad definition in 33A-2-1, so a Guard or reserve member who served the full obligation qualifies. Citizenship is an express requirement.

A resident who dies without legal dependents and without a will leaves the whole estate to the home as sole heir. With a will, the home still has a preferred claim for full maintenance back to admission, and can claim again against a surviving spouse.

No dependents and no will means the home is sole heir. Section 33A-4-16 distributes the property of a resident who dies without legal dependents to the State Veterans Home as sole heir. A will displaces that result, subject to the preferred claim.

The widest definition in this catalog. Serving the full obligation for reserve or National Guard service is enough, with no minimum days and no deployment. A second definition, wartime veteran, is what most of the education benefits actually run on.

Full obligation served, in any component. Active duty, reserve or National Guard service carried to the end of the obligation, or an early discharge for a medical condition, hardship, reduction in force, or at the convenience of the military. No minimum days and no deployment requirement.

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.