Virginia VA Disability Benefits & Resources for Veterans

Virginia’s constitution requires localities to exempt the home of a 100% permanent and total (P&T) disabled veteran from real estate tax, and a 2020 amendment added one vehicle. The state also lets veterans subtract up to $40,000 of military retirement pay from state income, and VMSDEP waives public-college tuition for spouses and children of veterans rated 90% or higher.

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

Key Virginia Benefits at a Glance

Real Estate Tax Exemption for 100% P&T Veterans

Article X, Section 6-A of the Virginia Constitution and Code of Virginia § 58.1-3219.5 set out this exemption:

• Who qualifies: Veterans rated by VA as 100% service-connected, permanent and total who live in the home as their principal residence. The Department of Veterans Services (DVS) says veterans rated below 100% who are paid at 100% through individual unemployability also qualify if the rating is permanent and total.
• What’s exempt: The home and up to one acre of land. If your locality exempts more acreage for other relief programs, you get the same acreage. Garages and sheds on that land used for vehicles or household goods are also exempt. A manufactured home is exempt even if you don’t own the land under it.
• Surviving spouses: Keep the exemption as long as they don’t remarry and can move without losing it.
• Timing: The exemption starts on the date of your rating or the date you buy the home. You can apply before closing, and the locality has 20 business days to tell you how much the exemption will be.

How to apply: File the locality’s affidavit or written statement with your local Commissioner of the Revenue. Include VA documentation of your 100% P&T rating. You file again only if your principal residence changes. If the Commissioner denies your application on eligibility grounds, you can appeal to the Commissioner of DVS under § 58.1-3219.7.

Line-of-duty surviving spouses: A separate exemption covers the surviving spouse of a service member who died in the line of duty, including by suicide, with a Department of Defense line-of-duty determination. Voters approved expanding it from the older killed-in-action standard, effective January 1, 2025. The exemption fully covers homes valued up to the locality’s average single-family assessment. Above that amount, only the excess is taxed. It ends if the spouse remarries.

Virginia Income Taxes

• Military Benefits Subtraction: Starting with tax year 2025, you can subtract up to $40,000 of military retirement income, Survivor Benefit Plan payments, and other military benefits paid to surviving spouses (Code of Virginia § 58.1-322.02). There’s no age requirement. Each spouse can subtract up to the maximum on their own benefits. TSP distributions don’t count. Medal of Honor recipients can subtract all of their military retirement income.
• VA disability compensation: DVS says VA disability compensation isn’t subject to federal or state income tax.

Vehicles, Licenses, and Hunting and Fishing

• Vehicle personal property tax: Since January 1, 2021, one car or pickup owned and used primarily by or for a 100% service-connected P&T veteran is exempt from local personal property tax. Either spouse can be the qualifying veteran. The exemption ends when the veteran dies and does not pass to a surviving spouse. Apply to your Commissioner of the Revenue. Localities can also offer a reduced rate on one vehicle for veterans who lost a limb or the use of one, are blind, or are P&T (§ 58.1-3506). Ask your Commissioner of the Revenue whether yours does.
• DV license plates: Veterans with any VA-certified service-connected disability can get red, white, and blue “DV” plates. An unremarried surviving spouse can take over the plates. Standard DV plates don’t allow parking in accessible spaces. A separate DV disabled-parking plate requires medical certification.
• Registration fee waiver: One personal vehicle is exempt from the annual registration fee for a “disabled veteran” as defined in § 46.2-100, meaning a veteran who is P&T, blind, or has lost a leg, arm, or hand or the use of one. The same applies to their unremarried surviving spouse.
• Veteran Indicator: The DMV adds a veteran indicator to driver’s licenses and IDs, and many retailers offer discounts to cardholders.
• Hunting and fishing: The Department of Wildlife Resources issues a Service-Connected Totally and Permanently Disabled Veteran Resident Lifetime License to hunt or freshwater fish at no fee. The matching lifetime trapping license costs $15. Nonresident P&T veterans can buy a special annual hunting license.

Education: VMSDEP

The Virginia Military Survivors and Dependents Education Program covers spouses and children of veterans rated permanently and totally disabled or at least 90% permanently disabled from military service. It also covers survivors and dependents of service members killed, missing in action, taken prisoner, or disabled at those levels because of combat. The qualifying veteran must meet Virginia’s domicile requirement.

• Benefit: All tuition and mandatory fees waived for up to eight semesters at a Virginia public college or university. Students may also get a stipend each semester, with the amount set each year by SCHEV.
• How to apply: DVS certifies eligibility. You’ll need proof of service (DD214, DD256, or NGB-22), VA rating documentation, and proof of relationship. The college applies the waiver.

State Veterans Care Centers

DVS runs four skilled nursing facilities:

• Puller Veterans Care Center, Fauquier County
• Sitter & Barfoot Veterans Care Center, Richmond
• Davis & McDaniel Veterans Care Center, Roanoke
• Jones & Cabacoy Veterans Care Center, Virginia Beach

State Employment Preference

Under Code of Virginia § 2.2-2903, veterans, surviving spouses, and children who pass a written exam for a state job get 5% added to their score. Veterans with a VA disability rating get 10% instead. For jobs without an exam, veterans get preference if they meet all of the job’s knowledge, skill, and ability requirements, and disabled veterans get additional consideration. National Guard members get a separate preference.

VA Regional Office and Medical Centers

Roanoke VA Regional Benefit Office: 210 Franklin Rd SW, Roanoke, VA 24011. The VA benefits hotline is 800-827-1000.

VA medical centers in Virginia:

• Richmond VA Medical Center, Richmond
• Salem VA Medical Center, Salem
• Hampton VA Medical Center, Hampton

Selected VA clinics in Virginia: Charlottesville, Emporia, Fredericksburg, and Henrico County (Richmond system). Danville, Lynchburg (Private First Class Desmond T. Doss VA Clinic), Staunton, Tazewell, and Wytheville (Salem system). Chesapeake, Portsmouth, Virginia Beach, and Langley in Hampton (Hampton system). Northern Virginia veterans are served by the Fort Belvoir VA Clinic (Washington DC VA Medical Center system). The Shenandoah Valley is served by the Harrisonburg and Winchester VA Clinics (Martinsburg system). Far Southwest Virginia is served by the Norton and Vansant VA Clinics (Mountain Home system).

Filing a Federal VA Claim

The federal VA claim process works the same way in every state. See How to File a VA Claim, Check Your Claim Status, and 2026 VA Disability Rates. For free help in Virginia, contact the Virginia Department of Veterans Services, which has more than 38 offices across the Commonwealth.

Crisis Support

Veterans Crisis Line: dial 988 then press 1, or text 838255.