Massachusetts VA Disability Benefits & Resources for Veterans

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

Overview

Massachusetts is one of the few states that sends disabled veterans a direct cash payment: a $2,500 annual annuity for veterans rated 100%, run by the Executive Office of Veterans Services (EOVS). The 2024 HERO Act reshaped several benefits, raising the annuity, letting towns double veteran property tax exemptions, and tying vehicle fee waivers directly to the VA rating. Every city and town also has a local Veterans’ Service Officer (VSO) who administers the means-tested Chapter 115 program.

Key benefits at a glance

Disabled veteran annuity

Under M.G.L. c. 115, §6B and EOVS rules, a Massachusetts resident veteran with a 100% service-connected rating, or compensation at the 100% rate, and a discharge not characterized as dishonorable receives $2,500 a year. The statute also names certain veterans with service-connected blindness or paraplegia. Parents and spouses of service members who died in service can qualify under §6C.

The HERO Act raised the payment from $2,000 and moved it to a single annual check on August 1. Effective July 1, 2025, surviving spouses keep the annuity if they remarry. To be paid in a given cycle, new applications and updates must be received and approved by EOVS by June 30 (EOVS). The application packet includes your VA rating decision and DD-214; email [email protected] or call 617-210-5480 (option 5).

Property tax relief

EOVS lists these Clause 22 exemption tiers, which reduce the tax bill itself (not the assessed value):

• $400: service-connected rating of 10% or more, Purple Heart recipients, Gold Star parents
• $750: Medal of Honor, Distinguished Service Cross, Navy Cross or Air Force Cross; permanent loss of one foot, hand or eye; former POWs
• $1,000: 100% service-connected rating
• $1,250: permanent loss of both feet, hands or eyes
• $1,500: total disability requiring specially adapted housing
• Full exemption: paraplegic veterans and veterans with 100% service-connected blindness, plus unremarried surviving spouses and parents of service members who died on active duty or are missing in action

Surviving spouses qualify at the veteran’s tier. To qualify you must be a legal resident, occupy the home as your domicile on July 1 of the tax year, and either have lived in Massachusetts for six months before entering service or for five consecutive years before applying.

HERO Act change: municipalities can now vote to double these exemptions and index them to inflation. Ask your local assessors which options your community has adopted and apply there.

State income tax

According to the Department of Revenue, U.S. military pensions, including those from the NOAA and Public Health Service commissioned corps, are excluded from Massachusetts gross income for residents and nonresidents. VA disability compensation is excluded from federal gross income (IRS Publication 525) and is not taxed by Massachusetts either.

Vehicle registration and plates

The RMV applies two different tests:

• Fee and excise waivers (HERO Act): a VA rating of 100% or unemployability exempts you from registration fees on all your vehicles, driver’s license transaction fees, and motor vehicle excise on one passenger vehicle or pickup. Title, sales tax, special plate and reinstatement fees still apply.
• Disabled Veteran plates: you need at least a 60% service-connected rating from conditions that affect walking, plus eligibility for permanent disabled parking. DV plate holders pay no sales tax on one passenger vehicle or pickup, and under the HERO Act a qualifying Purple Heart recipient can use a Purple Heart plate instead.

Hunting and fishing licenses

Massachusetts has no license category for disabled veterans. Under M.G.L. c. 131, §11, licenses are free for residents over 70 and for paraplegics, and fishing licenses are free for blind residents. A veteran who fits one of those categories qualifies that way.

Education benefits

Massachusetts public colleges and universities grant a Categorical Tuition Waiver to veterans as defined in M.G.L. c. 4, §7(43), which covers wartime service periods and the Somalia mission, among others. The waiver covers tuition only. Campus fees are not included unless the school chooses to waive them. You must file the FAFSA, take at least three undergraduate credits, and have lived in Massachusetts for a year. Bring your DD-214 to the college’s veterans or financial aid office.

State veterans homes

The Commonwealth operates two long-term care homes: the Massachusetts Veterans Home at Chelsea, home to a new Community Living Center project, and the Massachusetts Veterans Home at Holyoke at 110 Cherry Street, Holyoke.

Employment preference

Massachusetts uses an absolute preference in civil service rather than extra points. Under M.G.L. c. 31, §26, people who pass an exam for original appointment are ranked with disabled veterans first, then veterans, then widows or widowed mothers of veterans killed in action or who died of a wartime service-connected disability, and then everyone else.

How to apply in Massachusetts

1. Start with your local Veterans’ Service Officer. Every city and town has one, and they handle Chapter 115 applications and can help with annuity and property tax paperwork.
2. Annuity: submit the EOVS application with your 100% rating decision before June 30.
3. Property tax: apply to your local board of assessors and ask whether your town has adopted the HERO Act options.
4. Vehicle waivers: bring your VA letter to the RMV. DV plates also require the disabled parking certification.
5. EOVS central office: 617-210-5480, 15 New Chardon Street, Boston.

VA regional office and medical centers

The Boston VA Regional Benefit Office is in the JFK Federal Building, 15 Sudbury Street, Boston, MA 02203. VA medical centers in the state:

• VA Boston Healthcare System: Jamaica Plain, West Roxbury and Brockton medical centers, with clinics in Framingham, Lowell, Plymouth and Quincy
• Edith Nourse Rogers Memorial Veterans’ Hospital (Bedford), with clinics in Gloucester, Haverhill and Lynn
• VA Central Western Massachusetts: Edward P. Boland VA Medical Center in Leeds, with clinics in Fitchburg, Greenfield, Pittsfield, Springfield and Worcester (two)

Cape Cod and the South Coast are served by Providence VA clinics in Hyannis and New Bedford.

Filing a federal VA claim

Disability claims go through the same federal process everywhere: see how to file a VA claim, check your claim status, and current compensation rates. A 100% rating is also what unlocks the state annuity and vehicle waivers, so the date VA grants it matters here.

If you are in crisis, call 988 and press 1 for the Veterans Crisis Line.