You Are Worth $2,500 to a Small Employer — Say So
A Massachusetts employer with 100 or fewer full-time staff can take a $2,500 credit against income tax or corporate excise for hiring a qualified veteran, once that veteran has been employed six continuous months. The credit was raised from $2,000 to $2,500. Four routes make a veteran qualified, and only two involve a disability: a family that received SNAP for three or more months in the past year; unemployment of four weeks or more in the past year; a service-connected disability with hire within a year of leaving the military; or a service-connected disability with the unemployment history. This is a line to use in an interview, because most small employers do not know it exists.
Verified August 27, 2026
What this benefit is
A Massachusetts employer with 100 or fewer full-time staff can take a $2,500 credit against income tax or corporate excise for hiring a qualified veteran, once that veteran has been employed six continuous months. The credit was raised from $2,000 to $2,500. Four routes make a veteran qualified, and only two involve a disability: a family that received SNAP for three or more months in the past year; unemployment of four weeks or more in the past year; a service-connected disability with hire within a year of leaving the military; or a service-connected disability with the unemployment history. This is a line to use in an interview, because most small employers do not know it exists.
What it's worth: $2,500 to the employer for each qualified veteran hired
- The credit is $2,500, raised from $2,000.
- The employer must have 100 or fewer full-time employees.
- The hire must be on or after 1 January 2017 and the veteran employed at least six continuous months.
- Four routes make a veteran qualified. TWO OF THEM DO NOT INVOLVE A DISABILITY: three or more months of SNAP in the household in the past year, or four or more weeks unemployed in the past year.
- The other two routes turn on a service-connected disability — hired within a year of leaving the military, or with the unemployment history.
- The Executive Office of Veterans Services certifies; the credit is claimed with the Department of Revenue.
- The credit belongs to the employer, not the veteran. Its use to the veteran is as a reason to be hired.
Who is entitled to it
- You served in the U.S. armed forces.
- Your discharge meets the state veteran definition.
- The credit is against Massachusetts tax.
Not sure whether that describes you?
Answer a few questions about this benefit specifically — we only ask what this one actually depends on, and we stop as soon as we know.
How to claim it
- 1Raise it yourself in the interview or offer conversation. Small employers rarely know the credit exists.
- 2Check which of the four routes fits you — SNAP in the household, four weeks unemployed, or a service-connected disability with a recent separation.
- 3The employer applies to the Executive Office of Veterans Services for certification, and claims the credit with the Department of Revenue.
- 4The six months of continuous employment must be completed before the credit can be taken, so it does not help an employer who does not keep you.
- 5Keep evidence of the qualifying route — a benefits letter, unemployment record or VA rating letter.
- Form
- Certification through the Executive Office of Veterans Services
- File with
- Employer, with the Executive Office of Veterans Services
- Documents you will need
- va benefit summary letter
- No renewal
- Once granted it does not need renewing.
Sources
- authority · published policyMassachusetts veteran hire tax credit — eligibility requirements
- operating · published policyMassachusetts Department of Revenue — where the credit is claimed
This finder provides an informational match, not a government eligibility determination. The responsible agency decides your application.