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Hawaii is home to an estimated 105,848 veterans, and about 36% of them receive VA disability compensation, according to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. The state and its four counties add a layer of benefits on top of the federal ones, including:

  • County property tax relief, from a full exemption in Honolulu and Hawaii County to a flat $150 bill on Maui
  • A $46 state vehicle registration fee exemption at a 100% rating
  • Resident tuition rates at University of Hawaii campuses for veterans using GI Bill benefits
  • Skilled nursing care at two state veterans homes

Hill & Ponton explains the state and county benefits available to disabled veterans in Hawaii (and the disability ratings required for each), and shows how to combine them with federal VA benefits.

Tax Exemptions and Housing Benefits

Do Disabled Veterans Pay Property Taxes in Hawaii?

Property tax in Hawaii is run entirely by the counties, not the state, and each county writes its own veteran rule. The rating disabled veterans need, the amount they save, and the day they have to file all change depending on which island they live on. Every county ties the benefit to a disability caused by injuries received while on active duty.

  • Honolulu: a totally disabled veteran’s home is exempt from real property tax apart from special assessments and the city’s $300 annual minimum tax.
  • Hawaii County: the home is exempt apart from half the minimum tax, which works out to $100 where the standard $200 minimum applies. This is the only county whose code expressly covers veterans rated 100% through unemployability (TDIU) as well as schedular 100%.
  • Kauai: two tiers. A veteran rated 80% or higher has the home exempted from all property tax except the $150 minimum. A veteran rated below 80% gets up to $50,000 of taxable value exempted on real property they own, on top of the regular home exemption.
  • Maui: a veteran rated 70% or higher counts as severely disabled and is charged a flat $150 a year on the home instead of the normal assessment.

In Honolulu, Hawaii County and Kauai the relief carries over to the veteran’s unmarried widow or widower, who has to keep owning and living in the home as a principal residence. Honolulu will even accept a claim from a surviving spouse when the veteran never filed, so long as the family can show the veteran would have qualified at death.

In Maui, the surviving spouse rate applies when the veteran died on duty of a service-connected injury, but widows and widowers should check eligibility with the Real Property Assessment Division.

In Honolulu, veterans file Form BFS-RP-E-8-10.5 with the Real Property Assessment Division, and Form E-8-10.5A to continue the exemption in later years. The current form asks for official identification and VA certification of the total service-connected disability, plus a marriage certificate and death certificate where a surviving spouse is claiming. Older guidance still mentions a physician’s certificate, so bring the VA rating decision.

Filing deadlines differ by county. Honolulu and Hawaii County work on a June 30 deadline for the first-half payment or December 31 for the second half. Kauai’s deadline is September 30, on Forms P-6 and P-3. Maui’s is December 31, on Form DFT-475, and it applies to the following assessment year.

Does Hawaii Tax Military Retirement or VA Disability Pay?

Hawaii excludes pensions paid for past services from state income tax, which covers military retired pay, and VA disability compensation never enters the Hawaii tax base because the state return starts from federal adjusted gross income. Pay for Reserve and National Guard duty is partly excluded, capped at the equivalent of 48 drills and 15 days of annual duty at an E-5 pay grade.

There is no disabled veteran exemption from Hawaii’s General Excise Tax. What exists instead is disability-based and open to anyone who qualifies: a blind, deaf, or totally disabled person running a business pays GET capped at one-half of one percent of receipts, and the first $2,000 of that gross income each year is exempt. A totally disabled person can also claim a $7,000 state income tax exemption in place of the standard personal exemption, using Form N-172 with a physician’s certification.

Housing Benefits

Housing Help for Disabled Veterans in Hawaii

Hawaii’s own housing benefit for veterans is an admissions preference. Under the state public housing rules, veterans with service-connected disabilities rank third in the placement order for state family public housing, behind only the elderly and the displaced. Families of veterans whose death was service-connected come fourth and all other veterans fifth, ahead of the general applicant pool.

The Hawaii Public Housing Authority also administers HUD-VASH vouchers, which pair a rental subsidy with VA case management for veterans who are homeless or close to it. Federally, veterans in Hawaii use the same VA home loan and Specially Adapted Housing and Special Home Adaptation grants available in every state.

Can Veterans Rent Military Housing in Hawaii?

Island Palm Communities, the Army partner at Schofield Barracks, Wheeler Army Airfield and Fort Shafter, assigns homes through an eight-category priority list. Military retirees and their spouses or widowed spouses rank sixth, behind every active duty category. A veteran who separated without retiring is not in any of the military or federal categories and falls into the general public group at the bottom.

Navy housing on Oahu and at Pacific Missile Range Facility on Kauai is run by Ohana Military Communities Navy, which is currently taking applications from active duty military only. Marine Corps Base Hawaii housing is Ohana Military Communities MCBH, and Air Force housing at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam is Hickam Communities. Availability changes constantly, so contact the installation housing office directly.

Transportation Benefits

Do Veterans Get Free Car Registration in Hawaii?

A veteran who lives in Hawaii, was discharged other than dishonorably, and is rated by the VA at 100% service-connected is only exempt from the $46 state registration fee on one non-commercial vehicle. The rest of the bill still stands. On a $246 registration, the $46 comes off and the veteran pays $200. County weight tax, state weight tax, and plate fees are all still owed.

The exemption letter has to be requested again every year, has to reflect a current 100% rating, and will not be issued unless the vehicle already has a valid registration and safety check. Send a copy of your driver’s license, current vehicle registration, and current VA 100% disability letter to the Office of Veterans’ Services by fax at 808-433-0385 or email at ovs@hawaii.gov. OVS mails back an original letter plus a copy, and the DMV will only accept the original.

On Oahu, veterans aged 65 and older who were not dishonorably discharged are also exempt from the City and County of Honolulu’s $20 annual vehicle registration fee on one non-commercial vehicle. The exemption took effect July 1, 2026 under Ordinance 25-45. It covers the $20 city fee only, not state registration, weight taxes, or plate fees. Apply in person at a satellite city hall using Form CS-L(MVR)50B with proof of veteran status, age, and vehicle ownership.

Do Veterans Pay Sales Tax on Vehicles in Hawaii?

A passenger car that the federal government furnished to a veteran because of a service disability, certified as such by the VA, is exempt from the county vehicle weight tax, the state vehicle weight tax, and the $46 state registration fee. It does not apply to a commercial vehicle or to more than one vehicle. This is not a general tax exemption: Hawaii’s General Excise Tax and use tax contain no veteran exemption, so a dealer’s GET is passed through on a veteran’s purchase like anyone else’s.

Veteran License Plates in Hawaii

Hawaii does not issue a disabled veteran license plate. State law authorizes military plates only for Purple Heart recipients, whose plates read COMBAT WOUNDED, along with veterans, Pearl Harbor survivors, former prisoners of war, combat veterans, veterans of the Vietnam, Korean, World War II, Persian Gulf, Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts, and Gold Star families. A service-connected disability rating is not by itself a basis for a plate. These plates cost the same as a regular plate, and they are available for motorcycles and motor scooters as well as passenger cars.

Military plates cannot be transferred to anyone else and must be surrendered before the vehicle is sold, though a survivor may ask to keep the front plate as a memorial. Hawaii has no statewide DMV, so plates are issued by each county’s vehicle registration office: the Department of Customer Services on Oahu, and the Department of Finance on Hawaii Island, Maui and Kauai.

Disabled Parking and Reduced Fare Transit

Hawaii’s disability parking placards come from the Disability and Communication Access Board, and a VA rating doesn’t automatically qualify a veteran for disabled parking. A physician, physician assistant, or advanced practice registered nurse has to certify that the applicant cannot walk 200 feet without stopping to rest or needs a mobility aid.

The long-term blue placard is free, first issue and renewal alike, and lasts six years; a temporary red placard costs $12. Apply on Form PA-3.

Reduced Fare Transit in Oahu

In Oahu, a veteran with a single disability rated 40% or higher qualifies for the City’s Disability Reduced Fare HOLO Card on TheBus by presenting the original VA letter, with no doctor’s form required. Apply in person at the Transit Pass Office at Kalihi Transit Center; the card carries a photo and lasts four years. Veterans 65 and older can take the Senior HOLO card instead.

Were you underrated by the VA? Get a free case evaluation here. 

Education Benefits

Do Veterans Pay College Tuition in Hawaii?

Hawaii has no state-funded tuition waiver for disabled veterans themselves. What veterans get instead is the resident tuition rate, which federal law requires public institutions to charge veterans and dependents using VA education benefits. At the University of Hawaii, that covers veterans using the Post-9/11 GI Bill, Montgomery GI Bill Active Duty, or Veteran Readiness and Employment, who served at least 90 days of active duty since September 10, 2001 and live in Hawaii when they start school.

Covered status continues as long as enrollment stays continuous, with no separate deadline tied to the discharge date, though it is lost if a student leaves school and later re-enrolls. The University of Hawaii extends the same in-state rate to spouses and children using transferred entitlement or the Fry Scholarship, to Chapter 35 users, to Title 10 active duty members and their dependents, and to Hawaii-based Guard and Reserve members.

Members of the Hawaii National Guard may apply for the State Tuition Assistance Program. STAP reimburses 100% of tuition for courses counting toward a first undergraduate degree and 50% for a first master’s degree at any University of Hawaii campus, community colleges included. It pays as a reimbursement after the course is finished and is limited by available funding. Applicants must be E1 to E9, W1 to W5, or O1 to O3, a Hawaii resident, enrolled in the UH system, and finished with Advanced Individual Training. Applications are due within 30 days of the start of classes.

Hawaii has no state tuition waiver or scholarship for the dependents or surviving family of disabled veterans. Education support for Hawaii dependents comes from federal Chapter 35 benefits and from UH charging those students the in-state rate.

Employment Benefits

Hawaii Veterans Hiring Preference

Hawaii adds preference points to a veteran’s passing examination score in open-competitive civil service recruitments. The City and County of Honolulu and the counties of Hawaii, Maui and Kauai each run their own version. Preference points do not apply to promotional or internal recruitments, and under Honolulu’s civil service rules the points decide whether a veteran is certified alongside other eligible candidates rather than changing the ranking itself.

10 points are given to veterans with a present service-connected disability, or who receive compensation, disability retirement pay, or a pension from the military or the VA. Purple Heart recipients count as disabled veterans and no minimum rating is stated.

The same 10 points go to the unmarried surviving spouse of certain deceased veterans, to the spouse of a veteran who cannot work because of a service-connected disability, and to the mother of a veteran who died in service or is permanently and totally disabled.

5 points are given to honorably separated veterans who served on active duty during December 7, 1941 to July 1, 1955; for more than 180 consecutive days any part of which fell after January 31, 1955 and before October 15, 1976; during the Gulf War from August 2, 1990 to January 2, 1992; or in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign medal was authorized, including El Salvador, Grenada, Haiti, Lebanon, Panama, Somalia, Southwest Asia, Bosnia and the Global War on Terrorism. An honorable discharge on its own does not earn the 5 points.

To claim the 10-point preference, submit an official letter from the VA or the armed services confirming the disability, dated within the past 12 months for state jobs. Maui County requires a letter dated within the past 6 months, and asks spouses and widows for evidence of marriage and, where it applies, the veteran’s death certificate. The 5-point preference is claimed with a DD-214.

Priority of Service in Job Searching and Training

For help with job searching, training, and placement, the Hawaii Department of Labor’s Workforce Development Division runs American Job Centers staffed by Disabled Veterans Outreach Program specialists and Local Veterans Employment Representatives. Veterans and eligible spouses receive priority of service over non-veterans for employment, training, and placement.

Professional Licensing and Business Preferences

Every Hawaii licensing board has to count relevant military education, training, or service toward a license’s qualification requirements where it is substantially equivalent to the state standard. Military spouses get more: a licensing authority must move an endorsement or reciprocity application along quickly, may accept a competency showing in place of a minimum-experience requirement, will license on a signed affidavit where the out-of-state license is equivalent, and must issue a temporary license so the spouse can work while finishing Hawaii’s requirements.

Hawaii has no veteran-owned business preference in state procurement. It does participate in the federal Veterans Small Business Enhancement Act, which gives veteran-owned small businesses access to federal surplus property through the State Procurement Office.

Recreation Benefits

Do Disabled Veterans Get Free State Park Access in Hawaii?

Every Hawaii resident enters all state parks free with a valid state ID, so there is no separate veteran rate to claim. Non-residents pay day-use fees at the handful of parks that charge them. According to the Division of State Parks, lodging and camping fees depend on residency rather than disability.

The federal America the Beautiful Access Pass, free for life to anyone with a permanent disability, is honored at Hawaii’s two national parks, Haleakala and Hawaii Volcanoes. It does not cover Hawaii state parks, which run on a separate county and state fee system with no equivalent pass.

Hunting and Fishing Licenses

Hawaii offers no disabled veteran discount on hunting or fishing licenses. A resident hunting license costs $20 and a non-resident license $105, and the only reduced tier is age-based at $10 for seniors. The Division of Forestry and Wildlife runs a disabled hunting program that issues a vehicle-use permit and a crossbow permit for hunters with qualifying disabilities.

No fishing license is needed for resident shore and ocean recreational fishing. A freshwater license is required from age nine and costs $5 for residents and military aged 16 to 64, $3 for ages nine to 15, and nothing at 65 and over. Non-residents need a marine license, though active duty members and their families are exempt from it. None carry a disability discount.

Adaptive sports for Hawaii veterans come through the VA and nonprofit partners rather than the state. The VA Pacific Islands Health Care System has run an adaptive cycling program on Oahu with Adaptive Adventures, and Hawaii AMVETS operates an adaptive sports program in coordination with the VA.

Healthcare Benefits

VA healthcare in Hawaii runs through the VA Pacific Islands Health Care System, whose territory reaches past Hawaii to Guam, American Samoa and Saipan. The VA puts the eligible veteran population across that whole region at roughly 50,000 and the system treats about 36,000 veterans a year.

The main medical facility is the Spark M. Matsunaga VA Medical Center at 459 Patterson Road, Honolulu, HI 96819, supported by community-based outpatient clinics on Oahu, Hawaii Island, Kauai, Maui, Molokai and Lanai.

Community-Based Outpatient Clinics

  • Daniel Kahikina Akaka VA Clinic: 91-1051 Franklin D. Roosevelt Avenue, Kapolei, HI 96707 
  • Hilo VA Clinic: 45 Mohouli Street, Hilo, HI 96720 
  • Kailua-Kona VA Clinic: 73-5618 Maiau Street, Kamanu Center, Suite C200, Kailua-Kona, HI 96740 
  • Lihue VA Clinic: 4485 Pahe’e Street, Suite 150, Lihue, HI 96766 
  • Maui VA Clinic: 203 Ho’ohana Street, Suite 303, Kahului, HI 96732 
  • Windward VA Clinic: 46-001 Kamehameha Highway, Castle Professional Center, Suite 301, Kaneohe, HI 96744 
  • Molokai VA Clinic: 604 Mauna Loa Highway, Kaunakakai, HI 96748 
  • Lanai VA Clinic: 628-B Seventh Street, Lanai City, HI 96763 

Vet Centers in Hawaii

Separately from the medical centers and clinics, Vet Centers provide free, confidential counseling and readjustment services for combat veterans, survivors of military sexual trauma, and their families. All route through the Vet Center call center at 877-927-8387, staffed around the clock.

  • Honolulu Vet Center: 1680 Kapiolani Boulevard, Suite F-3, Honolulu, HI 96814
  • Hilo Vet Center: 70 Lanihuli Street, Suite 102, Hilo, HI 96720
  • Kona Vet Center: 73-4976 Kamanu Street, Suite 207, Kailua-Kona, HI 96740
  • Maui Vet Center: 157 Ma’a Street, Kahului, HI 96732

Homeless Veterans Programs

The Pacific Islands system runs Health Care for Homeless Veterans outreach and residential treatment, Grant and Per Diem transitional housing, HUD-VASH vouchers, Veterans Justice Outreach, and Supportive Services for Veteran Families delivered through local grantees.

Veterans can walk in at the mental health reception desk on the first floor of the Ambulatory Care Center at the Honolulu campus on weekdays, or call the National Call Center for Homeless Veterans free at 1-877-424-3838, any hour of the day.

Hawaii Veterans Homes

Hawaii operates two state veterans homes, one in Hilo and one in Kapolei, providing skilled nursing, rehabilitation, and long-term care for eligible veterans.

The Yukio Okutsu State Veterans Home at 1180 Waianuenue Avenue, Hilo, HI 96720, phone 808-961-1500, is a 95-bed skilled nursing facility. It has been operated directly by the East Hawaii Region of the Hawaii Health Systems Corporation since January 1, 2021.

The Daniel Kahikina Akaka State Veterans Home at 91-1204 Kealanani Avenue, Kapolei, HI 96707, phone 808-751-3270, opened in March 2025 and is the larger of the two at 120 beds. It is operated by Ohana Pacific Health under the Hawaii Health Systems Corporation.

The Kapolei home provides skilled nursing, memory care, hospice, long-term care, and on-site physical, occupational and speech therapy. To be admitted a veteran needs a DD-214, a discharge for reasons other than dishonorable, Hawaii residency, and a physician’s certification that they need long-term care. Cost turns on the rating: a veteran with a combined 70% or higher service-connected disability has the cost of care covered by the VA, while a veteran below 70% pays privately unless they qualify for long-term care Medicaid.

Burial and Survivor Benefits

Hawaii runs eight state veterans cemeteries across six islands. The National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu, better known as Punchbowl, is Hawaii’s only VA national cemetery, and space there is very limited: it can still accept cremated remains in the columbarium, but casket burial is generally possible only in a gravesite where a family member is already interred.

Burial in a Hawaii State Veterans Cemetery is open to veterans, their spouses, and eligible dependent children. The state provides the gravesite, and families arrange and pay for funeral home services themselves. Contact the Office of Veterans’ Services or the individual cemetery to confirm eligibility and current arrangements.

Hawaii State Veterans Cemeteries

  • Hawaii State Veterans Cemetery: 45-349 Kamehameha Highway, Kaneohe, HI 96744 | Phone: 808-369-3575
  • East Hawaii Veterans Cemetery No. II: 110 Laimana Avenue, Hilo, HI 96720
  • East Hawaii Veterans Cemetery No. I: 150 Kapiolani Street, Hilo, HI 96720 (closed to new burials)
  • West Hawaii Veterans Cemetery: 72-3245 Queen Kaahumanu Highway, Kailua-Kona, HI 96740
  • Kauai Veterans Cemetery: 4331 Lele Road, Hanapepe, HI 96716 | Phone: 808-369-3535
  • Maui Veterans Cemetery: 3361 Baldwin Avenue, Makawao, HI 96768 | Phone: 808-876-4534
  • Molokai Veterans Cemetery: 2725 Lihi Pali Avenue, Hoolehua, HI 96748 | Phone: 808-553-3222
  • Lanai Veterans Cemetery: Laniola Road, Lanai City, HI 96763 | Phone: 808-565-7086

Survivor Benefits

Surviving spouses and dependents of Hawaii veterans may also qualify for death and burial benefits, Dependency and Indemnity Compensation, accrued benefits, and federal programs like Chapter 35 Survivors’ and Dependents’ Educational Assistance, which funds schooling for spouses and children.

Federal Benefits Available to Hawaii Veterans

  • Monthly tax-free compensation payments based on disability rating (calculate it here) 
  • Medical care, including mental health services and counseling 
  • Special compensation, Aid & Attendance and other financial benefits 
  • Home loans and housing benefits 
  • Vocational rehabilitation and employment services 
  • Education benefits through the GI Bill 
  • Survivor benefits 
  • Federal hiring preference 

Eligibility for some of these benefits depends on the disability rating percentage. Use the links below to see what federal benefits Hawaii veterans can get with a rating of 50%, 60%, 70%, 80%, etc. 

100% Disabled Veteran Benefits

Veterans with a 100% disability rating receive the highest level of federal VA benefits, including: 

  • Full monthly VA compensation
  • Full VA healthcare coverage
  • Dental care
  • Adaptive equipment grants

See all federal benefits for a 100% disabled Hawaii veteran → 

100% Disabled Veteran Benefits for Spouse and Dependents

Spouses and family members of 100% disabled veterans may also be able to get several benefits:

  • CHAMPVA healthcare  
  • DIC eligibility  
  • Education benefits  
  • Survivors’ Pension for eligible low-income surviving spouses and children
  • Access to Hawaii state resources  

Benefits for Toxic Exposure

Veterans who served at a military base in Hawaii and later developed a related condition may qualify for VA compensation. Contamination documented at Hawaii installations includes jet fuel in a drinking water system, PFAS from firefighting foam, chlorinated solvents, PCBs, heavy metals, pesticides, and unexploded ordnance. Sites in Hawaii with a government environmental record include:

Hawaii Military Bases with Known Toxins

  • Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam (Honolulu, HI): on the EPA national priorities list since 1992 and still active. Documented contaminants include lead, arsenic, mercury and chromium, PCBs, dioxin, petroleum hydrocarbons, and chlorinated solvents such as TCE and PCE, with a PFAS investigation opened in 2023.
  • Schofield Barracks (Wahiawa, HI): TCE and carbon tetrachloride were found in drinking water wells serving about 25,000 people in 1985. The site was placed on the national priorities list in 1991 and removed in 2000 after cleanup.
  • Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility (Halawa, HI): jet fuel released in 2021 contaminated the drinking water system serving Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, affecting roughly 93,000 people. Defueling finished in 2024 and closure work continues under EPA and state oversight.
  • Barbers Point Naval Air Station, now Kalaeloa (Kapolei, HI): PFAS from about 25 years of firefighting foam training, plus PCB contamination from transformers. Tracked by the EPA as a federal facility cleanup site.
  • Kahoolawe: decades of live-fire and bombing training left unexploded ordnance across the island. A congressionally funded cleanup ran from 1997 to 2004 and cleared roughly 75% of the surface, with deeper ordnance still present.
  • Waikane Valley (Kaneohe, HI): a Marine Corps training area retained by the government because of unexploded ordnance, with traces of TNT, copper and antimony documented under the munitions response program.

If you served at a base in a different state, you can check its history of toxic contamination and potential health effects using the Military Base Toxic Exposure Map.

Getting VA Disability in Hawaii

Several local and national resources are available to help guide applicants through the VA disability claims process in Hawaii. These resources include state-sponsored VA services, local organizations, and qualified attorneys who specialize in veterans law. 

Free Guide to Claiming and Winning Benefits

Attorney Matthew Hill has written THE book on how to get VA disability compensation and benefits. And it’s yours free of charge.

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Legal Resources for Disabled Veterans

  • Hawaii Office of Veterans’ Services (OVS): Free assistance with VA claims, appeals, hearings, and benefits navigation. VSOs are stationed at the Honolulu VA Regional Office. Phone: 808-433-0420 
  • Honolulu VA Regional Benefit Office: 459 Patterson Road, E-Wing, Honolulu, HI 96819 | Phone: 833-577-8387 
  • Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Department of Hawaii: VFW service officers assist with claim preparation and representation at VA hearings. Phone: 808-433-0494 

Attorneys Specialized in VA Disability Law

Our VA-accredited lawyers proudly represent Hawaii veterans who were denied or underrated by the VA, with no upfront costs. Contact us for a free evaluation – even if we don’t take your case, we’ll point you in the right direction!