West Virginia VA Disability Benefits & Resources for Veterans

West Virginia helps veterans with the highest ratings in two main ways. A tax credit refunds the homestead property tax paid by veterans rated 90–100% permanently and totally disabled. Veterans rated 100% P&T also get a registration fee exemption that goes with fee-free “DV” plates and a free hunting and fishing license. The West Virginia Department of Veterans Assistance (WVDVA) runs 15 benefits offices, a veterans home in Barboursville, and a nursing facility in Clarksburg.

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

Key West Virginia Benefits at a Glance

Property Tax

Disabled Veteran Real Property Tax Credit

This credit was created by the Legislature in 2023 and could first be claimed on 2024 returns. It is for honorably discharged veterans the VA rates 90–100% permanently and totally disabled who own and live in their residential homestead. That includes a house, or a mobile, manufactured, or modular home, which the owner has lived in for at least six months. The credit equals the real property tax you actually paid. If you own several properties, it applies only to your primary home.

How to claim:

1. Pay your property taxes on time: the first half before October 1 and the second half before April 1. Late payments don’t count.
2. File a West Virginia personal income tax return (IT-140) with Form DV-1. Enter the total from Part II of the DV-1 on IT-140 line 21(B).
3. Attach your property tax receipts and your VA disability rating letter.

You can’t combine this credit with the Senior Citizen Tax Credit or the Homestead Excess Property Tax Credit. An unremarried surviving spouse can keep claiming it if the veteran claimed it before and the home hasn’t been sold or reclassified. For questions, call the Tax Division at (304) 558-3333 or (800) 982-8297.

Homestead Exemption

The first $20,000 of assessed value is exempt for an owner-occupied home if the owner is 65 or older or certified permanently and totally disabled. The owner must also have lived in West Virginia for the two calendar years before the tax year. A VA certification of total and permanent disability is accepted. A service member who kept West Virginia residency on active duty and comes home after retirement, or after an earlier discharge for a permanent and total disability, meets the residency requirement.

Deadline: file with your county assessor on or before December 1 after the July 1 assessment date. If you miss it, you lose the exemption for the next tax year. Disabled claimants file once and don’t need to refile unless they move.

Income Tax

Since tax year 2019, all military retirement income has been exempt from West Virginia income tax. That covers the regular Armed Forces, Reserves, National Guard, and the Public Health Service and NOAA Commissioned Corps, and you claim it as a decreasing modification to federal AGI. VA disability compensation isn’t part of federal AGI, so the state doesn’t tax it either.

Vehicles, Hunting, and Fishing

• Disabled Veteran license plate (DMV-48-D): plates start with “DV.” You qualify with a 100% total and permanent service-connected rating, or if you received a VA automobile grant. Under W. Va. Code 17A-10-8, one noncommercial vehicle is exempt from registration fees. A WVDVA officer must certify the application before you submit it to DMV. Personalizing the plate costs $15 a year.
• Veteran plates: other honorably discharged veterans can get veteran plates for a one-time $10 fee on top of regular registration. Special plates are also available for former POWs, Purple Heart recipients, and Pearl Harbor survivors.
• Hunting, trapping, and fishing: under W. Va. Code 20-2-28, resident veterans with a total permanent service-connected disability hunt, trap, and fish without a license. So do resident disabled veterans who qualify for the vehicle registration fee exemption. WVDVA says former POWs also qualify. The application is on the Division of Natural Resources website. Residents on active duty can hunt and fish without a license while on leave by carrying their leave papers.
• State parks: veterans and active-duty members get 10% off standard lodge rooms, cabins, and campsites at West Virginia State Parks all year.

Education

• War Orphan Education Program (WVDVA): a surviving spouse or surviving child under 26 pays no tuition or fees at West Virginia public colleges beyond what DEA (Chapter 35) or the Fry Scholarship covers. Tuition is fully waived once those federal benefits run out. The program also pays up to $1,000 per semester, capped at $2,000 per year, for other expenses.
• Veterans Re-education Assistance: up to $500 per semester for veterans enrolled in a certified postsecondary program.
• Yellow Ribbon: every public college takes part in the VA Yellow Ribbon Program (W. Va. Code 18B-10-7c).
• In-state tuition: nonresident GI Bill users who enroll within three years of discharge pay in-state rates.
• Medal of Honor and Purple Heart: West Virginia residents with either award get tuition and mandatory fees waived at public colleges.

Veterans Homes and Cemetery

• West Virginia Veterans Home, Barboursville: a veterans-only domiciliary
• State Veterans Nursing Facility, Clarksburg
• Charles Calvin Rogers State Veterans Nursing Facility, Beckley: a planned 120-bed nursing home. WVDVA broke ground in October 2023, so ask WVDVA whether it’s accepting residents yet.
• Donel C. Kinnard Memorial State Veterans Cemetery

Employment Preference

The West Virginia Division of Personnel adds 5 points to a passing exam score for veterans who submit their DD-214. Veterans with a service-connected disability, shown by a VA letter dated within the last six months, get another 5 points, up to 10 total. Purple Heart recipients can also get an extra 5 points, up to the same 10-point maximum.

VA Regional Office and Medical Centers

Huntington VA Regional Benefit Office: 640 4th Avenue, Huntington, WV 25701, at the corner of 4th Avenue and 7th Street. Walk-ins are accepted, but appointments through VERA are preferred. Veterans can also connect virtually with the office from participating WVDVA offices.

• Hershel “Woody” Williams VA Medical Center, Huntington
• Louis A. Johnson Veterans’ Administration Medical Center, Clarksburg
• Beckley VA Medical Center, Beckley
• Martinsburg VA Medical Center, Martinsburg

Filing a Federal VA Claim

The federal claims process is the same in every state. See How to File a VA Claim, Check Your Claim Status, and 2026 VA Disability Rates. For free help in West Virginia, WVDVA’s accredited Veterans Service Officers work out of 15 benefits offices. Contact WVDVA at 304-558-3661.

Crisis Support

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