Benefits for Disabled Veterans in Virginia

Tax Exemptions and Financial Assistance

Do Disabled Veterans Pay Property Taxes in Virginia?

Virginia exempts a veteran rated 100% service-connected, permanent and total from real property tax on a home they own and occupy as a principal place of residence, under Va. Code § 58.1-3219.5. A veteran paid at the total rate on the basis of individual unemployability also qualifies for the Virginia real property tax exemption.

No cap applies to the value of the home. The exemption reaches jointly owned property of married couples, manufactured homes, and outbuildings used to house vehicles or household goods for non-business purposes. An unremarried surviving spouse keeps the exemption, even if the widow(er) moves to a different principal residence.

Localities must also exempt the land under the home, up to one acre. Where a locality already exempts or defers tax on more than one acre through its elderly and disabled relief program, it has to extend that same acreage to disabled veterans.

Apply through the Commissioner of the Revenue in your county, city or town, or whichever officer the local governing body designates, with VA documentation of the rating. Once granted, you refile only if your principal residence changes.

An extended stay in a hospital, nursing home or other care facility does not end the exemption, provided the home is not leased to or used by others for payment. And if a local assessing officer denies the application, Va. Code § 58.1-3219.7 allows an appeal to the Commissioner of the Department of Veterans Services on questions of eligibility, with a further appeal to circuit court.

Property Tax Relief for Surviving Spouses of Members Who Died in the Line of Duty

Under Va. Code § 58.1-3219.9, the surviving spouse of a service member who died in the line of duty pays no real property tax on a principal residence. The death has to carry a Line of Duty determination from the Department of Defense, and the statute includes a death that resulted from suicide.

The line-of-duty survivor exemption is capped. A home assessed at or below the locality’s average assessed value of a single-family home is fully exempt, and only the value above that average stays taxable. The exemption applies to tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2015, it ends on remarriage, and allows the spouse to move to a different principal residence.

Virginia Vehicle Tax Exemption for Disabled Veterans

Under Va. Code § 58.1-3668, one motor vehicle owned and used primarily by or for a veteran of the U.S. Armed Forces or the Virginia National Guard rated 100% service-connected permanent and total is exempt from local personal property tax. The vehicle has to be a passenger car or a pickup or panel truck registered for personal use. On a married couple’s vehicle, either spouse’s rating qualifies it. The exemption applies from the date the vehicle is acquired or January 1, 2021, whichever is later. Localities set their own application procedures, but the exemption itself is mandatory rather than a local option.

Unlike the real property exemption, the vehicle tax exemption does not pass to a surviving spouse. It expires on the date of the veteran’s death. Details available here.

Military Retirement Pay Tax Exemption

Virginia phased in a military benefits subtraction that applies to military retirement income, Survivor Benefit Plan annuity payments to a surviving spouse, and other military benefits paid to a surviving spouse. The benefit has to be included as income on your federal return to qualify, so payments that are already untaxed federally, Dependency and Indemnity Compensation among them, cannot be subtracted again.

Under Va. Code § 58.1-322.02, the maximum subtraction is $40,000 for tax year 2025 and after. There is no age test, a veteran of any age can claim it. A recipient of the Congressional Medal of Honor may subtract military retirement income with no cap. See the Virginia Tax military benefits guidance.

Housing Assistance

Granting Freedom Home Modification Grants

Virginia Housing’s Granting Freedom goes to a veteran or service member who sustained a line-of-duty injury that resulted in a service-connected disability, where household income is at or below 80% of the area median income under HUD guidelines.

This accessibility grant pays for the work that makes a home usable: widening doorways, adding ramps and chairlifts, installing grab bars, remote entry devices, and modifying bathrooms and kitchens, along with other modifications the VA recommends. It also applies to rental units.

VA Loans and Closing Cost Assistance through Virginia Housing

Virginia Housing offers a VA-guaranteed loan, and some veterans who qualify could receive 100% financing. A bond VA or Rural Housing Service loan from Virginia Housing also opens the door to the Closing Cost Assistance Grant, worth up to 2% of the purchase price. The agency offers onsite military homebuyer education classes covering credit, lenders and real estate agents. See the Virginia Housing military and veteran programs.

Transportation Benefits

Do Veterans Pay Sales Tax on Vehicles in Virginia?

A veteran the VA has rated 100% service-connected, permanent and total is exempt from Virginia’s motor vehicle Sales and Use Tax on one vehicle. The vehicle does not need to be adapted or modified. The veteran or their spouse has to buy the vehicle and appear on the title. Claim it with form SUT3, the Purchaser’s Statement of Exemption, plus a VA Benefit Summary letter. Add form SUT2, the Application for Refund of Sales and Use Tax, if the tax has already been paid.

Passenger vehicles such as sedans and SUVs qualify, as do pickups at 10,000 pounds gross weight or under. Motorcycles, trailers, mopeds, autocycles, RVs, motorhomes, ATVs and pickups over 10,000 pounds do not. You may use the exemption again on a replacement vehicle, but the exempted vehicle has to be sold or traded first, since the exemption cannot apply to two vehicles at once. More info from the DMV.

Do Veterans Get Free Car Registration in Virginia?

Virginia waives the annual registration fee on one vehicle owned and used personally by a disabled veteran, as Va. Code § 46.2-739 defines that group, and extends the same waiver to their unremarried surviving spouse. The waiver goes to a veteran who:

• Has lost, or lost the use of, a leg, arm or hand
• Is blind
• Is permanently and totally disabled as certified by the VA

Since 2026, the fee waiver applies regardless of whether the vehicle displays Disabled Veteran plates or the DMV’s standard passenger plate, so a veteran who prefers not to display special plates no longer gives up the waiver.

How to Get Disabled Veteran Plates in Virginia

Any veteran the VA has certified with a service-connected disability may buy Disabled Veteran plates, with no percentage threshold. DMV charges $10 a year for the special plates on top of the usual registration, personalization and emissions fees. One set is free to a veteran who has lost or lost the use of a leg, arm or hand, is blind, or is permanently and totally disabled, and that free set may be Disabled Veteran or standard passenger plates.

The license plates transfer on the veteran’s death to an unremarried surviving spouse, who may also receive one free set. Apply online or at a DMV customer service center with your VA documentation. Apply for disabled veteran plates here.

Do Disabled Veteran Plates Allow Parking in Accessible Spaces?

Ordinary Disabled Veteran plates don’t offer parking privileges, but there is a separate plate provided to veterans whose disability limits or impairs walking: DV disabled parking plates. That application needs certification from a licensed physician, podiatrist, chiropractor, advanced practice registered nurse or physician assistant. Apply for a disabled parking plate here.

Do Disabled Veterans Pay Tolls in Virginia?

Under Va. Code § 33.2-613, disabled veterans pay tolls in Virginia on the same terms as any other driver, and only get a toll exemption if they have a specific upper-limb disability. A veteran rated 100% who can reach a coin basket does not qualify for an exemption. All the following conditions must be met to be exempt from tolls:

• A licensed physician or the VA’s Adjudication Office must certify that the driver has a severe physical disability, with permanent upper limb mobility or dexterity impairment that substantially impairs the ability to deposit coins in toll baskets
• The vehicle must be specially equipped so that a person with a disability can operate it
• The Virginia Department of Transportation must have issued a window sticker, and that sticker must be displayed

Education Benefits

Do Disabled Veterans’ Dependents Get Free College in Virginia?

The Virginia Military Survivors and Dependents Education Program, VMSDEP, waives tuition and all mandatory fees at Virginia public colleges and universities for the spouse or child of a veteran the VA has rated totally and permanently disabled or at least 90% permanently disabled as a result of military service. Benefits last for up to eight semesters, the equivalent of four academic years.

The Two Tiers of VMSDEP

1. Tier 1 is for the spouse or biological or adopted child of a veteran rated totally and permanently disabled or at least 90% permanently disabled due to military service. It provides the tuition and mandatory fees waiver. Stepchildren are not eligible.
2. Tier 2 covers families of a service member who served in military combat and was killed in action, went missing in action, was taken prisoner of war, or was rated totally and permanently disabled or at least 90% permanently disabled. Tier 2 provides the waiver and the VMSDEP stipend (which is set annually and varies with the student’s enrollment status, how many students are participating and the funding available). It also applies to a stepchild whom a deceased qualifying member claimed on a tax return or in DEERS while serving on active duty.

Military combat is broadly defined as a military operation against terrorism, a peacekeeping mission, a terrorist act, or any armed conflict.

A veteran’s child must be between 16 and 29 to qualify (if extenuating circumstances kept a dependent from using the benefit before turning 30, the Commissioner of Veterans Services may still certify them).

VMSDEP requires proof that the qualifying veteran was domiciled in Virginia. If Virginia is not the Home of Record Upon Entry on the veteran’s DD Form 214, NGB Form 22 or equivalent, you need one document per year showing the veteran’s presence in Virginia for the five years before the dependent’s college admission application. Tax records, voter registration, a lease or mortgage statement, pay stubs and utility bills all count.

Employment Benefits

Virginia State Employment Veterans Hiring Preference

Under Va. Code § 2.2-2903, when a competitive examination is used in state employment hiring, an eligible veteran’s grade or rating is increased by five percent, rising to ten percent for a veteran with a VA service-connected disability rating.

If no examination is used, the veteran is given preference during the selection process, with additional consideration for a disability rating. Members of the National Guard receive comparable five-point additions on numerical assessments.

The hiring preference also extends to surviving spouses and children under 27 of veterans killed in the line of duty. More info here.

Virginia Values Veterans and Transition Assistance

The Virginia Values Veterans program, known as V3, trains and certifies businesses to attract, hire, train and retain veterans, so it is worth asking a prospective employer whether they hold V3 certification. The Virginia Transition Assistance Program, VTAP, works with service members leaving the military. Both programs cover military spouses as well as veterans.

Credit for Military Training toward Professional Licensing

Under Va. Code § 54.1-118, Virginia’s regulatory boards must accept the military training, education and experience of a service member honorably discharged from active service if it is substantially equivalent to the board’s licensing requirements. The board then credits that portion toward those requirements, and may ask for documentation.

Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Business Designation

A veteran who owns a small business can obtain a Service-Disabled Veteran-owned designation in Virginia’s SWaM vendor database, for free. See the SDV designation requirements.

Recreation Benefits

Do Disabled Veterans Get Free Access to Virginia State Parks?

Virginia issues two free state park passports to disabled veterans, and the one you qualify for depends on your rating. The Veteran Disability Passport requires a 100% service-connected disability rating and grants:

• Vehicle parking, plus admission for the pass holder and anyone needed to assist them at parks charging per-person admission
• Boat launch and horse trailer parking
• A 50% discount on camping, swimming, shelters, park-operated equipment rentals, and standard yurt stays of two or more nights, with a 25% discount on a one-night standard yurt reservation

The Disability Passport carries no rating threshold and is also free. It grants vehicle parking plus admission for the holder and an assistant, on proof of a Social Security or VA disability benefit verification letter. The Disability Passport leaves out the camping and rental discounts, and a veteran who already holds an accessible license plate or placard does not need it.

A plate or placard applies to parking alone, and trailer and boat launch fees still apply, while the Veteran Disability Passport covers boat launch and horse trailer parking. Apply for either by emailing the application with your disability paperwork to resvs@dcr.virginia.gov. Passes are valid for 12 months from issue, through the end of that month.

Separately, and regardless of rating, Virginia waives state park parking fees for veterans on November 11. For more information, visit the Virginia State Parks Passes page.

Can Disabled Veterans Get Discounts on Fishing and Hunting Licenses in Virginia?

Virginia resident veterans qualify for a lifetime license to hunt and freshwater fish, and the price depends on the rating. Totally and permanently disabled veterans get a free hunting and fishing license. Apply here for a disabled veteran’s license.

Prices for Disabled Veteran Licenses

• Rated totally and permanently disabled: no cost
• Rated 70% or more, but less than totally and permanently disabled: $50
• Rated 50% or more, but less than 70%: $75
• Rated 30% or more, but less than 50%: $100

The license is valid for life, nontransferable, and good on any property in the Commonwealth. It does not cover waters stocked with trout by the Department or another public body, so a trout license is still needed there. Big game, archery, muzzleloader and saltwater privileges are handled separately. Nonresident veterans rated 70% or more can buy nonresident basic hunting and fishing licenses at half the standard fee.

Healthcare Benefits

Virginia veterans receive federal care through VA medical centers and community-based outpatient clinics, and long-term skilled nursing care through four care centers the Commonwealth operates itself. See the Virginia Department of Veterans Services Medical Care page.

VA Medical Centers in Virginia

• Richmond VA Medical Center: 1201 Broad Rock Boulevard, Richmond, VA 23249. Long known as the Hunter Holmes McGuire VA Medical Center, it is listed by the VA under the Richmond name.
• Hampton VA Medical Center: 100 Emancipation Drive, Hampton, VA 23667
• Salem VA Medical Center: 1970 Roanoke Boulevard, Salem, VA 24153

Each of these systems also maintains community-based outpatient clinics across its region. To find the clinic nearest you, or a Vet Center, use the VA facility locator.

Virginia Veterans Care Centers

The Commonwealth operates four veterans care centers offering long-term skilled nursing, dementia and memory care, and short-term rehabilitation. Admission requires an honorable discharge from the U.S. Armed Forces, Virginia residency at the time of admission or entry into active duty from Virginia, meeting the medical requirements for nursing home care within the scope of care the center provides, and a payor source. Entering service from Virginia satisfies the residency test even if the veteran lives elsewhere now.

Veterans who enlisted after September 7, 1980, or entered active duty after October 16, 1981, must have served 24 continuous months or the full period for which they were called up. Reserve and National Guard members must have been called to active duty by federal order and completed that full period; active-duty status for training purposes alone does not qualify. Find out more about Virginia care centers.

• Davis & McDaniel Veterans Care Center, Roanoke: 4550 Shenandoah Ave NW, Roanoke, VA 24017 | Phone: (540) 982-2860. A 204-bed facility that opened in 1992, formerly the Virginia Veterans Care Center.
• Sitter & Barfoot Veterans Care Center, Richmond: 1601 Broad Rock Blvd., Richmond, VA 23224 | Admissions: (804) 371-8433. The center has 200 single-occupancy rooms including a 40-bed secure dementia and memory care unit, on the Richmond VA Medical Center campus.
• Puller Veterans Care Center, Fauquier County: 6951 Vint Hill Pkwy, Warrenton, VA 20187 | Phone: (540) 680-5200. A 128-bed all-private-room center built on the former Vint Hill Farms Station.
• Jones & Cabacoy Veterans Care Center, Virginia Beach: 2641 Nimmo Pkwy, Virginia Beach, VA 23456 | Phone: (757) 263-3100.

Under 38 U.S.C. § 1745, the VA pays a state home for a veteran’s nursing home care when that care is for a service-connected disability, or when the veteran has a service-connected disability rated at 70% or more and needs such care. That payment counts as payment in full to the home. Centers also accept Medicare, Medicaid and private insurance.

Burial and Survivor Benefits

Virginia operates three state veterans cemeteries of its own. All three accept in-ground burial of casketed remains, in-ground inurnment of cremated remains, and above-ground inurnment in a columbarium. Information on any of them is available on 855-482-8387.

• Virginia Veterans Cemetery: 10300 Pridesville Road, Amelia Court House, VA 23002
• Albert G. Horton, Jr. Memorial Veterans Cemetery: 5310 Milners Road, Suffolk, VA 23434
• Southwest Virginia Veterans Cemetery: 5550 Bagging Plant Rd, Dublin, VA 24084

Who Qualifies for Burial in a Virginia State Cemetery

Veterans qualify if they meet the service criteria and were discharged under conditions other than dishonorable. Also eligible are the veteran’s legal spouse and unmarried children under 21. An unmarried adult child may also be interred if they became permanently incapable of self-support because of a physical or mental disability before the age of 21. See the full cemetery eligibility and operating requirements.

Free services provided by Virginia’s state veterans cemeteries

• One grave or cremation site. Sites cannot be reserved in advance; the caretaker manager assigns the next available site on the morning of the burial.
• Opening and closing of the grave site
• A granite or marble memorial headstone appropriate to the burial garden section or columbarium used
• A pre-placed double-depth concrete crypt or other suitable outer burial receptacle, which is required for in-ground casketed burials
• Use of the committal shelter or chapel, where all funeral services are held, and perpetual care of the grave site

The VA supplies a United States flag to drape the casket or accompany the urn, and the Department of Defense provides military funeral honors including the folding and presentation of that flag and the playing of taps. Funeral homes usually arrange both. Families remain responsible for the funeral home’s own charges, the casket or urn, preparation of the body, and transportation.

National Cemetery Resources

• Culpeper National Cemetery: 305 U.S. Avenue, Culpeper, VA 22701. Open for new casket burials and for cremated remains, in the ground or in the columbarium. A separate annex nearby is also open.
• Quantico National Cemetery: 18424 Joplin Road, Triangle, VA 22172. Space available for both casketed and cremated remains.
• Danville National Cemetery: 721 Lee Street, Danville, VA 24541. Space for cremated remains; casketed burial only into an existing family gravesite.

Virginia’s other national cemeteries, among them Alexandria, Ball’s Bluff, City Point, Cold Harbor, Fort Harrison, Glendale, Hampton, Richmond, Seven Pines, Staunton and Winchester, are closed to new interments, though most still accept a subsequent interment in an existing family gravesite. Arlington National Cemetery is administered by the Army through the Office of Army Cemeteries.

Burial in a VA national cemetery costs the family nothing: the gravesite, opening and closing the grave, a government headstone or marker, perpetual care, a burial flag and a Presidential Memorial Certificate are all provided.

Survivor Benefits

Surviving spouses, children and dependent parents may qualify for several federal benefits: Dependency and Indemnity Compensation, Survivors’ Pension, accrued benefits owed to the veteran at death, and Survivors’ and Dependents’ Educational Assistance under Chapter 35. Find out more about these and other VA benefits survivors are entitled to receive.

Some state benefits pass from the veteran to the unremarried surviving spouse: the property tax exemption, the Disabled Veteran plates and the registration fee waiver. The military benefits income subtraction expressly includes Survivor Benefit Plan payments. The vehicle personal property tax exemption, however, ends at the veteran’s death and is not available to the spouse.

Federal Benefits Available to Virginia Veterans

Besides state-specific benefits, disabled veterans also get various federal VA disability benefits. Whether you qualify for some of these federal benefits depends on your disability rating percentage. Federal VA benefits include:

• Monthly tax-free compensation based on your VA disability rating (calculate it here)
• VA healthcare access, including mental health care
• Housing assistance and home loan programs
• Veteran Readiness and Employment (VR&E) services and federal hiring preference
• GI Bill education benefits
• Aid & Attendance for assisted living
• Survivor benefits for spouses and dependents

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

• 50% VA disability benefits
• 60% VA disability benefits
• 70% VA disability benefits
• 80% VA disability benefits
• 90% VA disability benefits

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 Virginia 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
• Continued property tax exemption
• Access to Virginia state resources

Benefits for Toxic Exposure

Virginia’s military installations, and its Navy sites especially, carry decades of documented contamination. Site records list trichloroethylene and other industrial solvents, PFAS, PCBs, heavy metals, petroleum and buried ordnance waste.

Virginia Military Bases with Known Toxins

• Joint Base Langley-Eustis (Hampton and Newport News)
• Naval Station Norfolk (Norfolk)
• Norfolk Naval Shipyard (Portsmouth)
• Naval Weapons Station Yorktown
• Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren (King George County)
• Naval Air Station Oceana (Virginia Beach)
• Fort Belvoir (Fairfax County)
• Fort Lee
• Marine Corps Base Quantico
• Defense Supply Center Richmond (Chesterfield County)
• Naval Amphibious Base Little Creek (Virginia Beach)
• St. Juliens Creek Annex (Chesapeake)
• Cheatham Annex (Williamsburg)

If you served at a base in a different state, check its history of toxic contamination and potential health effects using the Military Base Toxic Exposure Map or get in touch with us for a free evaluation of your claim.

Getting VA Disability in Virginia

Filing a VA disability claim can be overwhelming. Virginia offers local and national resources to support your application, including veteran service organizations, state-supported benefits offices and experienced attorneys.

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.

Virginia State Legal Aid and Resources

The Roanoke VA Regional Benefit Office at 210 Franklin Rd, SW, Roanoke administers VA benefits for veterans, service members and their families throughout Virginia, and is open weekdays from 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Services include:

• Disability compensation claims
• Education benefits (GI Bill)
• Home loan assistance
• Veteran Readiness & Employment (VR&E) services
• Life insurance and pension benefits
• Support for homeless veterans

Find your nearest VDVS office here.

Attorneys Specialized in VA Disability Law

At Hill & Ponton, we proudly serve Virginia veterans. If you’ve been denied or underrated, our VA-accredited appeal attorneys can help, and we only get paid if we win your case. Contact us today for a free evaluation of your case.