Montana VA Disability Benefits & Resources for Veterans

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

Overview

Montana’s disabled veteran benefits are income-tested, which sets them apart from most states. The property tax program requires a 100% rating and then scales the reduction to household income, and the military retirement break is a time-limited 50% exemption rather than a full exclusion. The Montana Veterans Affairs Division (MVAD) provides free Veteran Service Officers statewide, and the Department of Public Health and Human Services (DPHHS) runs three state veterans homes.

Key benefits at a glance

Property tax relief

The Montana Disabled Veteran (MDV) Assistance Program reduces the property tax rate on your primary residence. To qualify for tax year 2027 you must own the home (or be buying it on contract), live there at least seven months a year, have a VA letter showing a 100% service-connected rating, and have 2025 federal adjusted gross income below the limit for your filing status.

An unmarried surviving spouse needs a VA letter showing the veteran died on active duty, died from a service-connected disability, or was rated 100% at death. On agricultural or forest land, the benefit covers the home and a one-acre homesite. Limits are adjusted for inflation every year.

Deadline: apply online or on the paper MDV form by April 15. Late applications roll to the next year. Once approved, your application stays active as long as you own and live in the home, but you must meet the income test every year.

State income tax

According to Montana DOR, military retirement is generally taxable in Montana. Since tax year 2024, the Working Military Retirement Exemption lets eligible residents exempt up to 50% of military retirement income paid by DFAS, figured against their Montana wage, business or farm income. It lasts five consecutive years, counted from retirement or from tax year 2024. SBP beneficiaries can exempt up to 50% of survivor benefits.

To be eligible you must have become a Montana resident after June 30, 2023, or have lived in Montana before retirement pay began and stayed. Moving away ends eligibility permanently. VA disability compensation is excluded from federal gross income (IRS Publication 525), so Montana doesn’t tax it.

Vehicle registration and plates

The Motor Vehicle Division offers reduced light-vehicle registration fees to veterans with a VA letter showing they are rated 100% or paid at the 100% rate for a service-connected disability, and to Purple Heart recipients rated 50% or more. Take the VA letter to your county treasurer’s office. The veteran designation on a Montana driver’s license is not accepted as proof for veteran plates or fee reductions, so bring the VA letter or DD-214 every time. MVAD’s Patriot plate costs $20 initially and $15 a year to renew, and all of that money funds MVAD programs (MVAD).

Hunting and fishing

Montana doesn’t give free licenses based on a disability rating. What FWP and MVAD list:

• Combat Disabled license: veterans with certain combat-connected injuries can get half-price deer and antelope licenses. Up to 50 are issued a year, by application.
• Purple Heart recipients (resident or nonresident) can fish and hunt upland game birds with only a Conservation License.
• Legion of Valor members can fish with a Conservation License from an FWP office.
• VA hospital patients can get free fishing permits on site.
• Any resident who qualifies for FWP’s Resident with a Disability conservation license pays $8 and gets half-price general deer, general elk, fishing and upland bird licenses.

Call FWP licensing at 406-444-2950 with questions.

Education benefits

The Montana University System offers:

• Honorably Discharged Veteran Waiver: covers remaining in-state tuition, after all other aid, for Montana residents with an Honorable discharge (General under honorable conditions doesn’t qualify) whose VA education benefits under Title 38 or 10 have expired or been used up. Apply by the third week of the first semester.
• War Orphans Waiver: for students 25 or younger whose parent entered service as a Montana resident and was killed in action or died of combat-related injury, disease or disability during World War II, Korea, Vietnam, Iraq or Afghanistan.

MVAD also awards a $1,000 scholarship to veterans who received the Purple Heart or a higher medal.

State veterans homes

Montana has three state veterans homes operated by DPHHS, all providing skilled nursing care:

• Montana Veterans Home, Columbia Falls
• Eastern Montana Veterans Home, Glendive
• Southwest Montana Veterans Home, Butte

Employment preference

Under 39-29-102, MCA, when a Montana public employer uses a scored procedure for an initial hire, it adds 5 percentage points for a veteran and 10 percentage points for a disabled veteran or eligible relative. When no scored procedure is used, preference goes to a disabled veteran, eligible relative or veteran, in that order, over non-preferred applicants with substantially equal qualifications (State HR policy).

How to apply in Montana

1. Talk to an MVAD Veteran Service Officer (406-324-3742, [email protected]). They represent you on VA claims for free.
2. MDV property tax: apply to DOR online or on paper by April 15, with your VA 100% letter and income documents.
3. Retirement exemption: claim it on your Montana income tax return.
4. Tuition waiver: apply through your MUS campus by the third week of the semester.
5. Combat Disabled license: submit the annual FWP application.

VA regional office and medical centers

The Fort Harrison VA Regional Benefit Office is at 3633 Veterans Drive, Fort Harrison, MT 59636, next to the Fort Harrison VA Medical Center near Helena. VA Montana Health Care System runs clinics across the state, including Billings, Browning, Cut Bank, Glasgow, Glendive, Great Falls, Hamilton, Helena, Kalispell, Lewistown, Miles City (with a Community Living Center) and Plentywood.

Filing a federal VA claim

VA disability claims are handled the same way in every state: see how to file a VA claim, check your claim status, and current compensation rates. In Montana, a 100% rating is the gateway to the MDV property tax program, and MVAD VSOs can file for you at no cost.

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