Iowa VA Disability Benefits & Resources for Veterans

The Iowa Department of Veterans Affairs (IDVA) runs the Iowa Veterans Home in Marshalltown, the Iowa Veterans Cemetery near Van Meter, and the Iowa Veterans Trust Fund. Most day-to-day help comes from County Veterans Services offices in all 99 counties. Iowa’s standout benefit is its Disabled Veteran Homestead Tax Credit, which pays the whole property tax bill for veterans with a permanent 100% rating, including P&T individual unemployability paid at the 100% rate.

State benefit details verified against official state sources on September 27, 2026.

Key benefits at a glance

Property tax exemption

Disabled Veteran Homestead Tax Credit (Iowa Code chapter 425). This credit pays the entire tax levied on your homestead. It is for:

• Veterans with a permanent service-connected rating of 100%.
• Veterans rated permanently and totally disabled through individual unemployability and paid at the 100% rate.
• Veterans who acquired the home with a VA specially adapted housing grant.
• Former National Guard members who meet the state’s service rules and one of the rating requirements above.
• Surviving spouses and children receiving DIC. Their eligibility ends when DIC ends.

If the veteran dies, the credit continues to the estate or to the surviving spouse and children for as long as the spouse stays unmarried. It moves with you if you buy a different homestead.

How to file: send form 54-049 and the homestead exemption form 54-028 to your city or county assessor by July 1. Late applications count toward the next assessment year. Documents must be dated within the past 12 months. There is no income limit and no yearly reapplication, but you must tell the assessor if you stop qualifying. Under 2026 Iowa Acts, SF 2472, applications filed on or after July 1, 2026 cover no more than one-half acre and exclude outbuildings. The limit does not apply to anyone who applied earlier.

Military service tax exemption (Iowa Code 426A.11). Honorably discharged veterans get up to $4,000 of taxable value exempted, starting with the 2023 assessment year. In general you need 18 months of active duty, or a shorter period if you were discharged for a service-related injury. File with your assessor, using form 54-146 from the Iowa Department of Revenue. Your discharge papers must be recorded with the county recorder for this exemption. Once you take the disabled veteran credit, you can’t use this exemption or any other veterans’ property tax exemption.

State income tax

Iowa excludes military retirement pay and military survivor benefits (10 U.S.C. 1447) from state income tax at any age, to the extent they are in federal adjusted gross income. The exclusion applies to residents and nonresidents alike. Military retirement pay is also left out when Iowa decides whether you have to file at all. VA disability compensation is not in federal AGI, so Iowa does not tax it.

Vehicle registration and license plates

• Veteran plate: for honorably discharged veterans (Guard and Reserve members need 90 days of non-training active duty or 20 years of service). The first set of numbered plates is free. Additional sets cost $25, and there is a $5 annual validation fee that goes to the Veterans License Fee Fund. Mail the Special Plate Application to Iowa DOT.
• VA-provided vehicles: Iowa residents who are seriously disabled veterans and received a vehicle from the VA automobile program pay no registration fee on it. They also get one set of regular or military plates free.

Hunting and fishing licenses

Under Iowa Code 483A.24, Iowa residents who served on federal active duty and have a service-connected disability rating, or who were prisoners of war, can buy a lifetime fishing license or a lifetime hunting and fishing combination license. IDVA lists the fee as $7. Apply through the Iowa DNR’s Go Outdoors Iowa system. IDVA helps verify eligibility.

Education benefits

• Children of Fallen Iowa Service Members (Branstad-Reynolds) Scholarship: covers tuition, books, fees, housing and other school costs at Iowa colleges. It is for children of Iowa service members who died in active military status (active duty, Guard or Reserve) after September 11, 2001. The death does not have to be combat-related. Apply to IDVA by December 31 each year. Federal benefits such as the Fry Scholarship don’t affect eligibility.
• GI Bill approvals: the Iowa Department of Education is the State Approving Agency for GI Bill programs in the state.

Iowa’s former War Orphans Educational Aid program was repealed in 2012.

State veterans homes

The Iowa Veterans Home is at 1301 Summit St., Marshalltown. It opened in 1887 as the Iowa Soldiers Home and provides long-term nursing and domiciliary care to honorably discharged veterans and their spouses or widows. With 400+ residents, it is the largest long-term care facility in Iowa.

Employment preference

Iowa Code 35C.1 gives veterans preference over applicants with no greater qualifications in state, county, city and school district jobs. For city civil service jobs, and local jobs filled by point-rated exams, Iowa Code 400.10 adds 5 points to a passing score. A veteran with a service-connected disability, or one receiving VA compensation or pension, gets 5 more points. Purple Heart recipients count as having a service-connected disability.

How to apply for Iowa veteran benefits

1. Download a VA benefit summary letter from VA.gov that shows your rating and whether it is permanent and total. Iowa assessors want documents dated within the last 12 months.
2. For the homestead credit, file forms 54-049 and 54-028 with your city or county assessor by July 1.
3. For the military service exemption, record your DD-214 with the county recorder and file form 54-146 with your assessor.
4. For the lifetime license, apply through Go Outdoors Iowa. For veteran plates, mail the Iowa DOT Special Plate Application with your DD-214.
5. Contact your County Veterans Services office (every county has one) or the IDVA Iowa Veterans Benefits office at Camp Dodge, 515-252-4698, for free help with applications and VA claims.

VA offices and medical centers in Iowa

The Des Moines VA Regional Benefit Office is at 210 Walnut Street, Des Moines, IA 50309.

VA medical centers in Iowa:

• Des Moines VA Medical Center (VA Central Iowa Health Care System) — Des Moines
• Iowa City VA Medical Center (VA Iowa City Health Care System) — Iowa City

The VA site in Knoxville is listed as an outpatient clinic, not a medical center. Western Iowa is also served by the Omaha and Sioux Falls VA systems. You can find outpatient clinics with the VA facility locator.

Filing a federal VA disability claim from Iowa

The federal claim process works the same in every state. Start with how to file, follow your case with check claim status, and compare the 2026 compensation rates. Iowa’s County Veterans Services officers and IDVA’s benefits office in the Des Moines federal building help with claims at no cost. If you are in crisis, call 988 and press 1 to reach the Veterans Crisis Line.