Hawaii veteran benefits
- Verified veteran benefits
- 22
- plus 3 general-law and correction records
- Counties covered
- 5
- every one has its own page
- Veterans in this state
- 0.11M
- Rating thresholds that matter
- 0
- each one opens something different
How to use this, in four steps
You are on step 1. Nothing is locked — browse everything first, then check the ones that look relevant.
See what you may be entitled to
Browse every verified benefit in your state. No questions, no account — everything is open.
Check whether you qualify
Open any benefit and answer a few questions about that one. We stop as soon as we know.
Get the letter that shows the finding
A VA Benefit Summary Letter configured to show service connection, the rating and permanence satisfies most offices without disclosing any diagnosis.
File before the deadline
Claim with your county’s real property tax office — each county has its own form and calendar.
Which of these sounds like you?
Pick one and we will narrow the list. You can change or clear it at any point.
Two things sharpen this a lot
Both optional. Your county decides where you file and what a property tax exemption is actually worth; your rating decides which thresholds you cross.
Where do you live?
We use this once to work out your county, because property tax is decided county by county. No benefit is ever matched on a ZIP code alone.
Your VA disability status
What does my rating actually unlock?
Read the record for your county — Honolulu and Hawaii County exempt fully above a minimum tax, and the thresholds differ on Maui and Kauai.
26 benefits worth checking
What you appear to qualify for — worth checking.
One question checks 10 of them. You can skip it and keep browsing.
Did you serve in the armed forces?
2 more questions could resolve others. We ask them one at a time.
Guard and Reserve Drill Pay Is Not Taxed by Hawaii, Up to E-5
Hawaii excludes from gross income the pay a serving reserve or Guard member receives for duty equivalent to forty-eight drills — twelve weekends — and fifteen days of annual duty, valued at up to the E-5 pay grade after eight years of service. It reaches serving members of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and Coast Guard reserves and the Hawaii National Guard. It does not reach separated veterans.
VeteransApplies statewideNot a veteran benefitDrill and annual duty pay excluded, valued up to the E-5 grade
Read it and check if you qualifyThe Home Exempt — County by County
A totally disabled veteran’s home is exempt from real property tax — but property tax is COUNTY law in Hawaii, and the four counties draw the line in four different places. Honolulu and Hawaii County exempt the home outright above a minimum tax. Maui sets its gate at a 70% rating. Kauai runs two tiers: at 80% or more the home is exempt from everything except the $150 minimum, and below 80% up to $50,000 of taxable value is exempted instead.
VeteransApplies statewideThe home exempt from county real property tax above a minimum — except on Kauai below 80%, where it is $50,000 of taxable value
Read it and check if you qualifyEleven More Plate Legends Beyond Gold Star
HRS 249-9.2 provides twelve qualifying categories of military special number plate. The corpus records one. The others are the basic VETERAN plate, plus COMBAT, COMBAT WOUNDED, PEARL HARBOR SURVIVOR, FORMER POW, and separate legends for Second World War, Korea, Vietnam and Persian Gulf veterans. They are issued for a fee at standard registration cost, through county motor vehicle registration offices.
VeteransApplies statewideSpecial military-service plates at standard registration cost
Read it and check if you qualifyState Veterans Homes — Hilo and Kapolei
Hawaii runs two state veterans homes: the Yukio Okutsu State Veterans Home in Hilo, on (808) 961-1500, and the 120-bed Daniel K. Akaka State Veterans Home in Kapolei. Between them they provide post-acute care, short-term rehabilitation, residential long-term placement and 24-hour skilled nursing. Both are contract-operated under the Office of Veterans' Services.
VeteransApplies statewidePost-acute care, rehabilitation, long-term placement and 24-hour skilled nursing at two homes
Read it and check if you qualifyMilitary Pensions Untaxed — Under General Pension Law
Hawaii does not tax employer-funded pension distributions at all — and its own instructions name military pensions in terms. No age test, no cap, no income limit.
VeteransApplies statewideNot a veteran benefitThe whole of your military pension, subtracted from Hawaii income
Read it and check if you qualifyPreference Points in State Civil Service Exams
In open competitive state recruitment, a veteran receives 5 preference points on a DD214 showing honorable service — or 10 points on a VA or armed-service statement, dated within the past twelve months, confirming qualification for the 10-point preference.
VeteransApplies statewide5 or 10 points added in open competitive state recruitment
Read it and check if you qualifyTemporary Licence for a Military Spouse — Fees Still Apply, Five Years Maximum
HRS §436B-14.7 says a spouse on a permanent change of station here shall be approved for temporary licensure. The statute also requires payment of all applicable fees, and caps the holding at five years in the aggregate.
VeteransApplies statewideMandatory approval for temporary licensure, with expedited consideration
Read it and check if you qualifyState Share Toward a Specially Adapted Home — Never More Than the Federal Share
HRS §363-11 lets the State meet part of the cost the federal government does not, for a veteran who qualifies for the federal Specially Adapted Housing grant. Two limits define it: residency before service, and a ceiling at the federal share.
VeteransApplies statewideA state share toward the cost the federal grant does not cover
Read it and check if you qualifyMotor Vehicle Exemption — $45 Off, Not the Whole Registration
A veteran with a 100% service-connected rating is exempt from the $45 state registration fee. The rest of the registration bill still has to be paid, and the paperwork starts at the veterans office, not the DMV.
VeteransApplies statewide$45 off the state registration fee each year — the balance is still due
Read it and check if you qualifyState Veterans Cemetery — Gravesite, Marker and Perpetual Care, No Reservations
The cemetery at Kāne‘ohe provides the gravesite, the marker, opening and closing, and perpetual care. Gravesites cannot be reserved in advance, and full military honours are for retirees only.
VeteransApplies statewideGravesite, marker, perpetual care, opening and closing of the grave
Read it and check if you qualifyGuard Tuition Assistance — Full Undergraduate Tuition, Paid Back to You
The adjutant general may pay 100% of tuition for a first undergraduate degree at a university campus, and 50% toward a first master’s. It is a reimbursement with a 30-day application window, and the statute funds it only so far as money is available.
VeteransApplies statewide100% of tuition for a first undergraduate degree; 50% toward a first master’s
Read it and check if you qualifyFree Certified Copies for a Service Claim — A 1949 Statute Almost Nobody Cites
The health department must supply certified copies of birth, marriage, divorce and death records free of charge to a veteran, the veteran’s wife, immediate family or the next of kin of a deceased veteran, when the copy is needed for a claim based on armed forces service.
VeteransApplies statewideThe $10 first-copy fee and the $4 charged for each further copy, waived
Read it and check if you qualifyHunting and Ocean Fishing — The Resident Rate While You Serve
A serving member gets the $10 resident hunting licence instead of the $95 non-resident one, and is exempt outright from the non-resident marine fishing licence. Both turn on active duty. Neither reaches a veteran who has separated, and neither turns on a disability rating.
Serving membersApplies statewide$85 off a hunting licence, and no marine fishing licence fee at all
Read it and check if you qualifyVehicle Weight Tax — One Car Exempt While You Serve
One noncommercial vehicle registered to a Guard, reserve or armed service member assigned to a unit in the State is exempt from the vehicle weight tax. The state tax alone runs at 1.75 cents a pound, so a mid-size car carries about $60 a year of it.
Serving membersApplies statewideThe weight tax on one noncommercial vehicle, removed each year
Read it and check if you qualifyVeteran-Owned Business Preference — There Is None in the Procurement Code
The public procurement code creates its preferences by name, and no name on the list is a veteran. There is no veteran-owned or service-disabled veteran-owned set-aside, certification or bid preference in state procurement.
Veteran business ownersApplies statewideNo veteran preference exists in state procurement
Read it and check if you qualifyUniversity Tuition — The Non-Resident Differential Removed, Not Residency Granted
Serving members, their authorised dependants, state Guard and reserve members, and veterans using their federal education entitlement pay the resident rate. At the flagship campus that is $5,880 a semester instead of $16,896 — a difference of $11,016 each term.
Serving membersApplies statewide$11,016 a semester at the flagship campus — the non-resident differential, removed
Read it and check if you qualifyCounty Veterans Cemeteries — a Duty on Three Counties, Not a Grant You Apply For
HRS §363-5 obliges the councils of Hawaii, Kauai and Maui counties to establish, maintain and provide interment at veterans cemeteries in their own counties. A spouse, minor children and unmarried disabled adult children who predecease the veteran are named in the statute.
VeteransApplies statewideInterment at a county veterans cemetery on Hawaii, Kauai or Maui
Read it and check if you qualifyEnding a Lease on State Active Duty — Housing and the Car, by Written Notice
A dwelling lease or a motor vehicle lease signed before you entered state active duty or full-time Guard duty can be ended by written notice. On a monthly rent, termination lands thirty days after the next rent day. On a vehicle lease, no early termination charge may be imposed.
VeteransApplies statewideWritten notice ends the lease; no early termination charge on a vehicle lease
Read it and check if you qualifySix Per Cent Interest Cap — Reaching Debts the Federal Act Does Not
A pre-service debt bearing more than six per cent may not bear more than six per cent during a period of state active duty or full-time Guard duty. "Interest" includes service charges, renewal charges and fees.
VeteransApplies statewidePre-service debt capped at 6% a year during the period of service
Read it and check if you qualifyNo Eviction of Your Family Without a Judge — and a Stay of up to Three Months
While you are on state active duty or full-time Guard duty, the dwelling occupied by your spouse or dependants cannot be subject to eviction or distress except by leave of court. On application the court must stay the proceedings for up to three months unless your ability to pay is not materially affected.
VeteransApplies statewideEviction only by leave of court, with a stay of up to three months
Read it and check if you qualifyA Counsellor Post Won by the Women Veterans Subcommittee
A subcommittee of women veterans pressed for, and an Act funded, a veterans services counsellor post inside the state veterans office whose primary focus is women veterans. The subcommittee itself dates from 2013 and the task force behind it from 2011.
VeteransApplies statewideA funded counsellor post inside the state office, focused on women veterans
Read it and check if you qualifyEight Ways Into the State Farm Loan, and Service Is Not One
The agricultural loan chapter defines a new farmer by listing eight qualifying backgrounds. Military service, veteran status and the skills that come with them appear nowhere in the list, and no veteran preference sits in the definition.
VeteransApplies statewideNot a veteran benefitNo veteran route into the new farmer definition — qualify another way
Read it and check if you qualifyGold Star Family Plates — Grandparents Named In, and a Front Plate Kept as a Memorial
The county director of finance issues special military-service number plates reading "GOLD STAR FAMILY" to an applicant who proves they would qualify for a gold star lapel button under 10 U.S.C. §1126 — and the subsection says in terms that being the grandparent of the deceased member does not disqualify you. The plates are issued for a fee, are not transferable, and when the qualified person dies the director of finance shall allow the survivor to keep the front plate as a memorial.
VeteransApplies statewideOne set of GOLD STAR FAMILY plates, issued for a fee set by the county
Read it and check if you qualifyThe Word "Veteran" on the Licence — Other Than Dishonourable Is the Test
A driver's licence may carry a notation of veteran status if the applicant wants one. The statute is unusually precise about two things: the notation goes on the FRONT of the licence, and it may not include any designation other than the term "veteran" — no branch, no era, no rating. The definition reaches anyone who served in any of the uniformed services and was discharged under conditions other than dishonorable.
VeteransApplies statewideThe single word "veteran" on the front of the licence
Read it and check if you qualifyKupuna Care Absorbed the Caregivers Programme — and the $210 a Week Left the Statute With It
The kupuna caregivers programme at HRS §349-18, the one with the $210-a-week allocation guides still quote, was repealed by L 2022, c 160, §4. What remains is the kupuna care programme at §349-17, which now serves care recipients, caregivers AND employed caregivers, runs through the area agencies on aging, and pays the service provider directly. Its text carries no weekly cap and no veteran route.
VeteransApplies statewideNot a veteran benefitLong-term services and supports through the area agencies on aging — no veteran route
Read it and check if you qualifyThe Placard Is Decided by a State Board, Not the County — and Needs a Six-Year Prognosis
The issuing agency for every disability parking permit in this state is the disability and communication access board, even though a county counter takes the transaction and may keep a fee for it. The permanent removable windshield placard is issued only on a certificate of disability verifying the applicant's disability is expected to last at least six years, signed by a licensed practising physician, physician assistant or advanced practice registered nurse. A VA rating letter is not a certificate of disability.
VeteransApplies statewideNot a veteran benefitRemovable windshield placard, special plate or paid-parking exemption permit
Read it and check if you qualify
Does my county change the answer?
For the statewide records, no — the same law applies in all 5 counties. What changes is the office you file with and the local tax arithmetic, which we do not yet hold for Hawaii.
Every benefit here was checked against the statute or rule behind it, and each page shows the date. This is an informational match, not a government eligibility determination — the responsible agency decides your application.