Veteran benefits in Jefferson County, Arkansas
- Benefits you can claim here
- 27
- Property tax rate
- 0.62
- effective rate, ACS 2023 five-year
- The homestead and personal property, exempt in full, typical home
- $0
- a year at this county rate
- Veterans in this county
- 4,450
- US Department of Veterans Affairs VetPop2023 county model, as of 9/30/2025
What to do, in Jefferson County
The process is the same across Arkansas for the statewide records. Only the office and the tax rate change.
Find what applies to you
27 benefits reach Jefferson County. Browse them below.
Check whether you qualify
Open any benefit and answer a few questions about that one specifically.
Get your proof
A VA Benefit Summary Letter from VA.gov covers most of them, in about two minutes.
File with Jefferson County
Form DR-501 to the Property Appraiser before March 1. File even without your letter.
How much is a property tax exemption worth in Jefferson County?
The rate shown is the county's effective property tax rate - aggregate taxes actually paid divided by aggregate home value, from the Census ACS 2023 five-year file. Every overlapping levy, credit and cap is already inside it, which makes it the honest basis for sizing an exemption's dollar value.
These are example savings for a typical home in this county, not an estimate of your own bill. Your actual saving depends on your assessed value, your taxing districts, and how this exemption interacts with any others you hold.
| Effective rate | what homeowners here actually paid |
|---|---|
| Basis | ACS 2023 five-year aggregates |
| The homestead and personal property, exempt in full (ACA §26-3-306) | about $0 a year against the county rate |
| Total exemption (ACA §26-3-306) | the entire bill — about $1,550 a year against the county rate on a typical $250,000 value, and more once your other taxing units are added |
| Where to file | Jefferson County County collector |
| Deadline | No annual renewal, every year |
Which document does the Jefferson County County collector accept?
Statute sets the floor; the office picks the paperwork.
Easiest · VA Benefit Summary Letter
Sign in at VA.gov, choose Download VA Letters, then Benefit Summary — Veteran Benefits.
All 27 benefits you can claim in Jefferson County
All 75 Arkansas counties get the same statewide law.
vehicles(8)
Congressional Medal of Honor Plate
A Medal of Honor recipient, certified by letter from the Arkansas Department of Veterans Affairs, receives the Congressional Medal of Honor plate. The department states no fee for the initial plate; an additional plate is $4.00, and a surviving-spouse reissue is $4.00. Personalisation is available.
No fee stated for the first plate; $4.00 for an additional plate or a spouse reissue
No Sales Tax on a Vehicle or Adaptive Equipment Bought with VA Assistance
A disabled veteran who buys a highway-licensed motor vehicle, or adaptive equipment, with VA financial assistance under 38 U.S.C. 1901-1905 pays no Arkansas gross receipts tax on it. Proof is an official VA letter verifying the assisted purchase. On a vehicle this is one of the larger single-transaction savings available in the state.
Gross receipts (sales) tax exempt on the vehicle and its adaptive equipment
Purple Heart Plate — and a Second One for a Dollar
An Arkansas resident awarded the Purple Heart, certified by the Department of Defense, gets the Purple Heart plate at the standard registration fee and a SECOND plate for $1.00. A motorcycle version exists. One plate may be reissued to the surviving spouse at the regular registration fee — with a marriage licence and death certificate where they were not a joint owner.
The plate at the standard registration fee, plus a second plate for $1.00
Ex-Prisoner of War Plate — Up to Two, Free
An Arkansas resident who was a prisoner of war while serving, certified by the Department of Defense, gets up to TWO plates at no cost. One may be reissued to the surviving spouse at the regular registration fee, with a death certificate where they were not a joint owner.
Up to two plates at no cost
No Sales Tax on a Car Every Two Years for a Service-Blinded Veteran
A veteran blind as the result of a service-connected injury pays no sales tax on one new or used passenger automobile or pickup truck, once every two years. A VA certifying statement is what establishes it. Larger trucks and trailers are outside it. This is a separate route from the VA-assisted purchase exemption and does not require the VA to have funded the vehicle.
Sales tax exempt on one car or pickup every two years
Disabled Veteran Plate (100% Non-Service-Connected) — First Plate Free
A veteran certified by the federal VA as 100% non-service-connected disabled receives the white-on-red Disabled Veteran plate at no charge — one additional plate costs $4.00, and one plate can be reissued to the unremarried surviving spouse for $4.00.
First plate free; one additional plate $4.00; surviving-spouse reissue $4.00
Gold Star Family Plate — One Per Person, and Your Name Must Be on the Title
One plate for a spouse, parent, sibling or child of a service member whose death the Department of Defense recognises. It needs the Report of Casualty plus a document proving the relationship, and the applicant must be an owner or co-owner on the vehicle title.
One Gold Star Family plate per eligible applicant
Disabled Parking Placards Are Free — and Have No Veteran Route
Permanent placards are free and run four years; temporary ones are free and run three months. Four kinds of clinician can certify. Nothing on the finance department's placard page turns on a VA rating, and the disabled veteran plate is a separate thing entirely.
Free placards — four years permanent, three months temporary
recreation(2)
A Camping Discount at State Parks for 100% Permanent and Total Disability
Arkansas State Parks discounts standard campsite fees for people who are 100% permanently and totally disabled. A veteran proves it with a VBA award letter dated within the last two years, an Arkansas DV or DAV plate, or an Access Pass. There is no Arkansas residency requirement in the rule — U.S. citizenship is what it asks. The discount is on standard campsites, not cabins or yurts.
A discount on standard campsite fees — not cabins or yurts
Lifetime Licences — $3 at 100%, $52.50 at 70%, and a Retiree Tier at 60
Three routes. At 100% permanent and total, lifetime hunting and fishing together cost $3. At 70% — or 50% with a Purple Heart — $52.50 buys the lifetime combination WITH the trout and duck stamps for life. And separately from disability altogether, a military retiree aged 60 or over buys a lifetime licence on a retirement ID: fishing $10.50, hunting $25, or the combination at $35.50.
$1.50 lifetime fishing + $1.50 lifetime hunting at 100% P&T; $52.50 lifetime combo with stamps at 70%+; retiree lifetime combo $35.50 at 60+
other(3)
Military Retirement Pay Is Fully Exempt from Arkansas Income Tax
All uniformed-services retirement pay has been exempt from Arkansas income tax since tax year 2018, with no rating requirement and no age gate. One trap: if your military exemption comes to $6,000 or more you cannot also claim the general $6,000 employer-plan retirement exemption. Below $6,000, the remainder can be applied against other employer-sponsored retirement income.
100% of uniformed-services retirement pay exempt from Arkansas income tax
A Staffed Women Veterans Post, With a Registry Behind It
The state veterans department runs a women veterans programme under a named coordinator, serving more than nineteen thousand women veterans. It carries a registry, an annual summit, a retreat, a recognition award and a dedicated licence plate.
A named coordinator, a registry, a summit, a retreat and a plate
A Respite Voucher for Caregivers Everything Else Turned Down
A payer-of-last-resort voucher for unpaid family caregivers giving forty hours a week or more of care. Being on a waiting list, or having been refused respite by an existing programme, is a qualification here rather than a bar.
Financial assistance to buy planned respite over roughly a ninety-day award term
housing(2)
Rent and Utilities for the Children of a Veteran Who Has Died or Been Hospitalised
The Veterans' Child Welfare Service pays up to three months of rent or house payments and utilities for the minor children of a veteran who has recently died, been hospitalised or become medically incapacitated, where the family has limited or no income. More is available at the Director's discretion. Counselling and referrals come with it. It is funded from general revenue and subsidised by the American Legion and Auxiliary.
Up to three months of rent or house payments and utilities, with more at the Director's discretion
State Veterans Homes — and Gold Star Parents May Apply
Two state homes, in Fayetteville and North Little Rock. The department names veterans, veterans’ spouses and Gold Star parents as the people who may apply, with an honorable discharge and a medical need for nursing home placement.
Skilled nursing care at a state veterans home, with hospice available
education(3)
A High School Diploma for the War That Interrupted School
An honorably discharged veteran who left high school before graduating and served 18 or more consecutive months of active duty during the Second World War, Korea or Vietnam may be granted a high school diploma by the local school district board. A discharge with a service-connected disability substitutes for the 18-month requirement. The qualifying windows are 16 September 1940 to 31 December 1946, 1 June 1950 to 1 January 1954, and 3 July 1965 to 15 May 1975.
A high school diploma granted by the local school district board
Military Dependents' Scholarship — Tuition, Room AND Board
A spouse or child of an Arkansas veteran who was killed or missing in action, a POW, killed on ordnance delivery, or is 100% totally and permanently disabled from service is educated with in-state tuition, campus room and board, AND fees waived — pursuing a bachelor's degree or certificate.
In-state tuition, campus room and board, and fees waived — bachelor's or certificate
National Guard Tuition Waiver — Tuition and Mandatory Fees, Public Institutions Only
A serving Guard member in good standing who has not already been awarded a bachelor’s degree can have tuition and mandatory institutional fees waived at a state-supported public two-year or four-year institution. Private and out-of-state schools are excluded.
Tuition and mandatory institutional fees waived at a state-supported public institution
business(2)
Federal Surplus Property for a Veteran-Owned Small Business
A veteran-owned small business with a physical presence in this state can buy federal surplus equipment through the state surplus programme at a service charge, typically 10% to 50% of the item’s original value.
Access to federal surplus equipment at a service charge below market value
Free Veteran-Produced Branding, and a Metal Sign for the Gate
Farmer veterans can label their produce as veteran-grown at no cost, and receive a custom-designed metal sign for the property, approved by the state highway department. Certification runs through a national coalition, not through the state.
Veteran-produced labelling at no cost, plus a custom metal property sign
burial(2)
State Veterans Cemeteries — Free for the Veteran, $807 for a Spouse
Two state veterans cemeteries, at North Little Rock and Birdeye. Interment costs an eligible veteran nothing; a spouse or qualified dependent is charged $807, and the department asks for it at pre-registration.
No cost to inter an eligible veteran; $807 for a spouse or qualified dependent
Military Funeral Honours Stipend — Paid to the Honour Guard, Not the Family
The veterans department reimburses veterans service organisation honour guard teams that augment active duty branch teams in delivering military funeral honours. The rate is set in a Memorandum of Agreement and is not published on the department’s page.
Reimbursement to the honour guard organisation; the rate is in the Memorandum of Agreement
licenses & fees(3)
One Free Birth or Death Certificate for a Veteran — the Form Nobody Knows About
The health department publishes a single-page form, VR-40, that lets a veteran or a named relative ask for a free copy of a birth OR a death certificate. The form cites the code section on its face. The ordinary charge is $10 for a first death certificate and $12 for a first birth certificate.
One certificate at no charge — $12 for a first birth copy, $10 for a first death copy otherwise
Automatic Occupational Licensure — the Requirement Is Waived, the Fee Is Not
A serving member, a veteran or a spouse who already holds a licence in good standing elsewhere can be granted a licence here without meeting this state’s own licensure requirements. Agencies publish this under a "fee waiver" heading, and then say the initial licence fee is still payable.
Licensure granted without meeting this state’s own requirements — the initial licence fee is still payable
Veteran Designation on the Licence — Six Documents Open It
A veteran designation is added to a driver licence or identification card on a discharge document showing honorable or general-under-honorable-conditions status. Six different documents are accepted, and the only cost named is the ordinary licence or card fee.
A veteran designation on the licence or identification card, at the ordinary card fee
Filing in Jefferson County
- Office
- Jefferson County Property Appraiser
- Form
- DR-501 for most exemptions; DR-501DV for the combat-related discount; DR-501M for a deployment exemption.
- Deadline
- March 1, every year. Missing it costs the whole tax year — there is no late route back in.
Free help in Jefferson County
Jefferson County has a County Veteran Service Officer, and their help is free. Go to them for anything touching a federal VA disability claim.
Nobody should charge you to claim the benefits on this page. Unaccredited operators charging fees for VA claims are a real and growing problem.
Common questions about Jefferson County veteran benefits
- What can I claim here?
- The Arkansas statewide records apply in every county. We have not researched county-level programmes here, so this page shows state law and complete geography rather than a local layer.
- What is it worth in this county?
- Dollar figures use the county's EFFECTIVE property tax rate - what homeowners there actually paid per dollar of home value, from the Census ACS 2023 five-year file. It is an estimate for sizing a saving; the levy table on your own bill governs.
- Where do I file for a veteran property tax exemption in Jefferson County?
- File with your County assessor. The form and deadline are on each benefit record.
- What document does the Jefferson County County collector accept as proof?
- The statute sets what must be proved. An office may tell you which document it prefers, but it may not add a requirement the statute does not contain. We have not researched per-county document quirks in Arkansas.
Other counties
- Arkansas
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- Mississippi
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- Nevada
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- Scott
- Searcy
- Sebastian
- Sevier
- Sharp
- Stone
- Union
- Van Buren
- Washington
- White
- Woodruff
- Yell
This is an informational match, not a government eligibility determination. Veterans Alliance is privately owned and is not affiliated with the Department of Veterans Affairs. Geography from the US Census; veteran population from the VA VetPop2023 county model.