Kansas VA Disability Benefits & Resources for Veterans

Kansas serves veterans through the Kansas Office of Veterans Services (KOVS), formerly the Kansas Commission on Veterans’ Affairs Office. Kansas does not exempt disabled veterans from property tax outright; its biggest recent change is a sales tax exemption for 100% P&T and TDIU veterans that began July 1, 2026, alongside property tax refunds and a free permanent hunting and fishing license for veterans rated 30% or higher.

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

Key benefits at a glance

Property tax exemption

Kansas gives disabled veterans property tax refunds, not an exemption. You pay your property tax to the county as usual, then file a refund claim with the Kansas Department of Revenue (KDOR). To count as a “disabled veteran” for these programs, you must be a Kansas resident with an honorable discharge (or general under honorable conditions) and a VA service-connected rating of 50% or higher. You can file only one of the three homestead claims (K-40H, K-40PT or K-40SVR) per household. KDOR’s free WebFile service works out which one pays more.

• Homestead refund (K-40H): for Kansas homeowners who were residents all of 2025 and had household income of $43,389 or less. The refund is a percentage of your general property tax, scaled by income, up to $700.
• Property Tax Relief for Seniors and Disabled Veterans (K-40SVR): household income of $58,041 or less for 2025, and a home appraised at no more than $350,000 in the base year. The refund equals the increase in your homestead property tax over your base-year amount, so it works like a tax freeze. For anyone whose base year would be earlier than 2021, the base year is 2021.
• Surviving spouses of a disabled veteran can claim either refund until they remarry.
• Documents: attach your VA disability letter showing the percentage and the date your disability began. Do not send property tax statements to KDOR, but keep them.
• Deadline: claims for 2025 were due by April 15, 2026. Claims for 2026 can be filed from January 1 through April 15, 2027. KDOR may accept a late claim for good cause for up to four years.

A 2025 bill to add a disabled veteran property tax credit (HB 2005, the “Veterans’ Valor Property Tax Relief Act”) died in committee, so the refund programs above are still the only property tax relief for Kansas veterans.

State income tax

Kansas does not tax military retirement pay. You subtract it on Schedule S, line A14, along with other federal retirement benefits. VA disability compensation is not part of federal adjusted gross income (IRS Publication 525), so it never reaches your Kansas return.

Starting with tax year 2025, a Kansas veteran whose VA rating is a permanent 100% can claim an extra $2,320 personal exemption on Form K-40.

Disabled veteran sales tax exemption

Under K.S.A. 79-3606h, starting July 1, 2026, qualifying veterans can buy most personal goods and services without paying Kansas sales tax, up to $24,000 of purchases per calendar year.

• Who qualifies: Kansas residents with an honorable discharge (or general under honorable conditions) who are rated 100% permanent and total, or paid at the total rate through TDIU.
• Surviving spouses: eligible only if the veteran died on or after July 1, 2026. They stay eligible until they remarry.
• Not covered: motor vehicles, alcohol, tobacco, e-cigarettes and anything bought for a business.
• How to apply: apply online through KDOR, or mail paper Form K-97. Include your DD-214 (Member Copy 4) and a VA award letter or benefit summary letter. Once approved, KDOR mails you a Disabled Veteran Sales Tax Exemption Certificate Card to show retailers.

Vehicle registration and license plates

Kansas residents with a service-connected rating of at least 50%, or VA compensation for loss or loss of use of a hand or foot or for qualifying vision loss, can get a disabled veteran plate for a car, motorcycle or truck of 20,000 lbs. or less (K.S.A. 8-161). The first plate has no registration fee when issued or renewed. Vehicle property tax is still due. Extra disabled veteran plates cost the standard registration fee.

Since July 1, 2022, there are two versions of the plate. One shows the wheelchair symbol, which requires a medical professional’s signature and gives disabled parking privileges. The other has no symbol. Complete Form TR-103, signed by you and the VA regional office, and take it with proof of insurance to your county treasurer’s motor vehicle office.

Hunting and fishing licenses

K.S.A. 32-934 gives Kansas residents a free permanent hunting and fishing license if they have an honorable or general discharge and a service-connected rating of 30% or higher. Apply through the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks’ GoOutdoorsKS system with your VA rating letter. If you were born on or after July 1, 1957, you also need your hunter education card to hunt. Big-game permits and stamps aren’t covered by the statute, so check the current KDWP regulations before your season.

Education benefits

The Kansas Hero’s Scholarship Act (K.S.A. 75-4364) waives tuition and required fees at Kansas community colleges, state universities, Washburn University and technical colleges for:

• dependents and spouses of Kansas residents who died in military service,
• dependents and spouses of Kansas residents whose service-connected injury or disability ended their military service,
• dependents and spouses of Kansas residents rated 80% or higher by VA, and
• former prisoners of war.

The waiver covers up to 10 semesters of undergraduate study. Funding is capped each year by the Kansas Board of Regents, and a spouse must not have remarried.

State veterans homes

KOVS runs two state veterans homes:

• Kansas Soldiers’ Home — Fort Dodge, about five miles east of Dodge City
• Kansas Veterans’ Home — Winfield

Employment preference

Kansas does not use preference points. Under K.S.A. 73-201, a veteran who is competent to do the job is preferred for initial hiring and for a first promotion in state, county and city government. Veterans who apply and aren’t hired must be notified within 30 days, including any appeal rights. The preference also covers spouses of veterans rated 100% permanent and total and surviving spouses of service members who died in the line of duty. Retirees at pay grade O-4 or above are excluded unless they retired because of combat wounds or have a service-connected rating of at least 10%.

How to apply for Kansas veteran benefits

1. Download your VA benefit summary letter from VA.gov. It shows your rating percentage, your P&T status, and the date your disability began, which KDOR, the county treasurer and KDWP all ask for.
2. For property tax relief, file K-40H or K-40SVR with the Kansas Department of Revenue between January 1 and April 15 for the prior year’s taxes. WebFile picks the program that pays more.
3. If you are 100% P&T or TDIU, apply for the sales tax exemption card online at KDOR or with Form K-97.
4. Take Form TR-103 to your county treasurer’s motor vehicle office for a disabled veteran plate.
5. Request the free permanent license through GoOutdoorsKS if you are rated 30% or higher.
6. For free help with any of these, call the Kansas Office of Veterans Services at (785) 296-3976 or find a local KOVS field office.

VA offices and medical centers in Kansas

The Wichita VA Regional Benefit Office is at 9111 E. Douglas Ave., Suite 200, Wichita, KS 67207.

VA medical centers in Kansas:

• Robert J. Dole VA Medical Center — Wichita
• Colmery-O’Neil VA Medical Center — Topeka
• Dwight D. Eisenhower VA Medical Center — Leavenworth

To find outpatient clinics, use the VA facility locator.

Filing a federal VA disability claim from Kansas

VA disability claims follow the same federal process in every state. See how to file a claim, check your claim status, and review the 2026 compensation rates. KOVS Veterans Service Representatives can help you file at no cost. If you are in crisis, call 988 and press 1.