Veteran benefits in Fairfax County, Virginia
- Benefits you can claim here
- 37
- Property tax rate
- 0.95
- effective rate, ACS 2023 five-year
- 100% of your property tax bill, on the dwelling and up to one acre, typical home
- $0
- a year at this county rate
- Veterans in this county
- 69,495
- US Department of Veterans Affairs VetPop2023 county model, as of 9/30/2025
What to do, in Fairfax County
The process is the same across Virginia for the statewide records. Only the office and the tax rate change.
Find what applies to you
37 benefits reach Fairfax 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 Fairfax 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 Fairfax 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 |
| 100% of your property tax bill, on the dwelling and up to one acre (Va. Code §58.1-3219.5) | about $0 a year against the county rate |
| Total exemption (Va. Code §58.1-3219.5) | the entire bill — about $2,375 a year against the county rate on a typical $250,000 value, and more once your other taxing units are added |
| Where to file | Fairfax County Commissioner of the Revenue |
| Deadline | Set locally, every year |
Which document does the Fairfax County Commissioner of the Revenue 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 37 benefits you can claim in Fairfax County
All 133 Virginia counties get the same statewide law.
vehicles(5)
Purple Heart Plates Free on One Vehicle — and the Surviving Spouse Keeps Them
Virginia charges NO FEE for Purple Heart plates on ANY ONE MOTOR VEHICLE OWNED AND USED PERSONALLY by the recipient. Additional sets are charged at the standard plate fee, so the free one should go on the car you actually drive. The provision worth knowing is that the SURVIVING SPOUSE IS INCLUDED — the plates do not end with the recipient. No disability rating is required; this is decoration-based.
No plate fee on one personally owned and used vehicle
Disabled Veteran Plates — Free Registration, Any Rating
One vehicle registers free with disabled veteran plates — and the gate is any service-connected disability, with no percentage at all.
No annual registration fee on one personally used vehicle
Free Passage on Virginia Toll Roads — a Disability Route, Not a Veteran One, and the VA Can Sign It
Va. Code § 33.2-613(D) lets a driver with a severe physical disability use Virginia toll bridges, toll roads and other toll facilities free. The certification may come from a physician or from the Adjudication Office of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs — but the test is upper limb mobility, not a rating, and the exemption only works once the Department of Transportation window sticker is on the glass.
No toll on Virginia toll bridges, toll roads and other toll facilities, once the window sticker is issued
Disabled Parking in Virginia — Free Placards, and the DV Plate That Does Not Park
Virginia placards are free and last five years, and after the first one a renewal needs no practitioner certification if disabled parking plates have already been issued. The trap is Va. Code § 46.2-739(A): plain DV plates are barred in terms from using reserved accessible spaces. The plate that parks is the separate DV disabled parking plate under subsection B.
Free — the Department states that temporary and permanent placards for citizens carry no charge
Gold Star Plates — $0 a Year, and Not in the Code of Virginia At All
The Department of Motor Vehicles issues a Gold Star plate at no annual fee on a certification form of its own, the Gold Star or Next of Kin License Plate Applicant Certification (VSA 10A). The special licence plate article of the Code of Virginia was read end to end this session and contains no Gold Star section, which is why the Department is the authority here.
$0 a year for the standard Gold Star plate; $10 a year if you personalise it
other(12)
Virginia Veterans Care Centers — Long-Term Care Owned and Run by the Commonwealth
Va. Code §2.2-2001 provides for medical care centers for veterans OWNED AND OPERATED BY THE COMMONWEALTH, for Virginia-domiciled veterans under eligibility guidelines the Department of Veterans Services is required to establish. State-run long-term care is materially different from a private facility: the operator is the state and the guidelines are public policy rather than a business decision. WE COULD NOT ESTABLISH the facility names, the costs or the admissions process from the sources reviewed — the DVS site did not yield them — so this record points you at the department rather than pretending to details it does not have.
Long-term care at Commonwealth-owned and operated centers
Relief for Guard and Reserve Families on Extended Duty
Virginia's Military Family Relief Fund helps with LIVING EXPENSES — food, housing, utilities and medical services — for members of the Virginia National Guard and Virginia residents in the U.S. armed forces reserves called to EXTENDED FEDERAL ACTIVE DUTY IN EXCESS OF 90 DAYS, or to state or federal civil support duty. It is administered by the Adjutant General's office rather than the veterans department. THE GRANT AMOUNTS ARE NOT PUBLISHED, so ask rather than assume the sums are too small to be worth an application.
Assistance with food, housing, utilities and medical services
Free Claims Help From the Department — Including an Automated Filing System
Va. Code §2.2-2001 names benefits claims processing as a Department of Veterans Services duty, and requires DVS to establish eligibility guidelines for Virginia-domiciled VETERANS AND THEIR SPOUSES, ORPHANS AND DEPENDENTS. The statute specifically contemplates AN AUTOMATED SYSTEM FOR ELECTRONIC PREPARATION of veterans' disability claims. Office locations and intake details were NOT ESTABLISHED from the sources reviewed. What is certain is that the service exists, is a statutory duty, and is free — which is the answer to anyone proposing to charge you for it.
Free benefits claims processing, a statutory duty of the department
Military Benefits Subtraction — $40,000, at Any Age
Up to $40,000 of military benefits subtracted for taxable years 2025 and after. The age-55 requirement applied only through taxable year 2023 — from 2024 the subtraction is allowed at any age. It covers military retirement income, qualified military benefits under IRC 134, Survivor Benefit Plan payments to surviving spouses, and military benefits paid to surviving spouses of veterans.
Up to $40,000 subtracted for taxable years 2025 and after, at any age
Mental Health and Rehabilitative Services Support — Family Members Included
A statutory programme that identifies veterans and service members needing care, builds a coordinated resource plan, refers them to mental health, physical rehabilitation and other services, and monitors progress. It reaches family members in their own right, and prioritises by severity of need.
Identification, a coordinated resource plan, referral to services, and monitoring of progress
Free Recording of Your Discharge with the Circuit Court Clerk — and It Stays Confidential
The clerk of the circuit court where you live must record your discharge or DD-214 on presentation, free of charge. The recorded document is then closed to public inspection, with a short statutory list of people who may obtain a copy.
No charge to record, and the record is closed to public inspection
Ending a Lease on Orders — and the Landlord May Not Charge Liquidated Damages
A serving member with qualifying orders can end a residential lease by written notice, effective not less than 30 days after the next rent payment falls due. As the section now reads, the landlord may not charge any liquidated damages. A stop movement order counts, and so does being ordered into government quarters.
The remaining rent on the lease, less roughly one more month — with no liquidated damages
Cancelling Phone, Internet, TV, Gym, Satellite and Alarm Contracts on Orders — Spouses and Dependants Too
On permanent change of station orders, or temporary duty orders over three months, the member — and expressly the spouse or dependant — may terminate six named kinds of service contract without penalty. A provider that refuses commits a Virginia Consumer Protection Act violation, which is the leverage most people never use.
The early-termination penalty on six kinds of contract, cancelled outright
Custody While Deployed — A Deployment Order Is Temporary, and the Burden Shifts Back on Return
Under the Military Parents Equal Protection Act, any order cutting a deploying parent’s custody or visitation must say deployment is the reason and must be entered as a temporary order. The court may hand the visitation to a family member, including a stepparent. On return, a hearing takes precedence and is set within 30 days — and it is the other parent who must show the old order should not come back.
A temporary order rather than a permanent one, an expedited hearing within 30 days, and the burden on the other parent
Life Insurance Cannot Be Refused Over Military Status or Duty Assignment
No insurer may refuse to issue or refuse to continue a life insurance policy because of military status or duty assignment. And where group life or health cover was terminated because of that service, it must be reinstated on return to eligibility — with no new preexisting condition exclusions bolted on.
A refusal to issue, continue or reinstate cover on the ground of military service is prohibited
Veteran Treatment Dockets — the Statutory Hook, in Subsection C
Va. Code § 2.2-2001.1(C) directs the Department of Veterans Services programme to cooperate with localities that establish special treatment procedures for veterans and active military service members. It is the statutory hook a Virginia locality builds a veterans docket on. The rest of the section — the mental health and rehabilitative services programme itself — is covered by va-2-2-2001-1-support-program.
Coordinated mental health and rehabilitative services, and the statutory basis for a locality’s veteran treatment procedure
An Other-Than-Honorable Discharge for Sexual Orientation or Gender Identity — Rewritten for Virginia Purposes
Va. Code § 2.2-2001.6 lets a person separated with an other than honorable discharge due solely to sexual orientation or gender identity or expression petition the Department of Veterans Services to have the discharge treated as honorable. A successful petitioner gets the same rights, privileges and benefits under state law and local ordinances as any other honorably discharged veteran.
State and local veteran status restored — the same rights, privileges and benefits as any other honorably discharged veteran
employment(4)
Virginia Values Veterans — a Network of Employers Paid to Hire You
V3 certifies and trains Virginia employers to recruit and retain veterans, and connects veteran and military-spouse job seekers to that certified network. It also pays the employer: HIRING GRANTS OF $1,000 PER ELIGIBLE VETERAN HIRED, UP TO $10,000 PER COMPANY. For a job seeker the useful facts are that the network exists and is searchable, and that a small employer weighing your application has a thousand dollars riding on the decision — which is worth mentioning.
Access to a certified employer network; $1,000 per hire to the employer, up to $10,000
Veterans Hiring Preference with the Commonwealth
Five percent on a written examination, ten with a service-connected rating — and a preference in the selection process for the many jobs that have no examination at all.
Five percent on a written examination, ten with a service-connected rating; otherwise a preference in selection
Paid Military Leave for Public Employees — 21 Workdays, and a Pay Differential on Top
A Guard or reserve member employed by the Commonwealth or one of its political subdivisions gets up to 21 paid workdays per federal fiscal year for federally funded military duty, with no loss of seniority or accrued leave. Local governments may also pay the difference between regular pay and military pay.
Up to 21 paid workdays a federal fiscal year — up to 388 work hours for professional firefighters
Military Spouse Liaison — a Named Post for Licences, Child Care and the Skills Form
Va. Code § 2.2-2002.2 creates the position of Military Spouse Liaison inside the Department of Veterans Services, with five statutory duties: help with professional licences and employment, research and materials on the challenges spouses face, work on barriers to child care, a standardised form to present a spouse’s skills and education to employers, and whatever else the Commissioner assigns.
A named advocate inside the Department for licences, child care and employment matching
property tax(3)
Full Property Tax Exemption for 100% Disabled Veterans — and a Surviving Spouse Who Can Move
The whole bill on your principal residence and up to an acre — more where your locality already exempts more. A surviving spouse qualifies where the veteran died on or after 1 January 2011, until remarriage, and unusually the exemption is not tied to the house: the spouse may move to a different principal place of residence and keep it.
100% of your property tax bill, on the dwelling and up to one acre
One Vehicle Off the Personal Property Tax — and Either Spouse's Rating Does It
Virginia exempts ONE VEHICLE from local tangible personal property tax for a veteran rated 100% service-connected, permanent and total. A MARRIED COUPLE QUALIFIES IF EITHER SPOUSE HOLDS THE RATING, which is unusual — most exemptions require the qualifying person to be the owner. The exemption begins on the date the vehicle is acquired OR 1 JANUARY 2021, whichever is later, and is NOT RETROACTIVE BEFORE 2021. It is a state-mandated exemption, so a locality cannot decline it, but it is claimed with the local commissioner of the revenue.
One vehicle fully exempt from local personal property tax
Real Property Tax Exemption for a Surviving Spouse After a Line-of-Duty Death
A surviving spouse of a member of the armed forces who died in the line of duty is exempt from real property tax on the principal residence, up to the average assessed value of a single-family home in that locality. The statute covers a death that was the result of suicide, and lets the spouse move without losing it.
Real property tax exempted up to the locality’s average assessed value for a single-family home
education(3)
In-State Tuition on Residence Alone — No Domicile Required
Virginia charges the in-state rate at its public institutions to ANY VETERAN WHO RESIDES IN THE COMMONWEALTH, WITHOUT ESTABLISHING DOMICILE. Domicile in Virginia is a demanding test — it asks about intent, and it normally takes a year — and this provision sets it aside entirely. It also covers active duty members, activated Guard or reserve members, and Guard or reserve members mobilised or on temporary active orders for 180 DAYS OR MORE. Living here is the test.
In-state tuition without establishing domicile
VMSDEP — All Tuition and Fees for Eight Semesters
A full waiver of tuition and mandatory fees at Virginia public institutions, plus a stipend — and it opens at a 90% rating, not 100%.
All tuition and mandatory fees for eight semesters, plus a stipend
National Guard State Tuition Assistance — The Gap Between Federal Aid and the Full Bill
A grant to a serving Guard member covering the difference between the full cost of tuition and the other educational benefits they are eligible for. It is funded from an appropriation and awarded in the order applications arrive, so the 30-day filing deadline is the binding constraint.
The difference between full tuition and the other education benefits you are eligible for
recreation(2)
Free State Parks Passport at 100% — With Tiered Discounts on Everything Else
Virginia gives a veteran rated 100% service-connected a free parks passport covering VEHICLE PARKING AND ADMISSION, BOAT LAUNCH AND HORSE TRAILER PARKING. Beyond entry it is a tiered discount rather than a blanket waiver: 50% OFF camping, swimming, shelters, standard yurt stays of two or more nights, and equipment rentals, and 25% off certain other charges. Knowing which tier applies before you book is the difference between a pleasant surprise and an argument at the gate.
Free parking and admission; 50% off camping and rentals, 25% off some other charges
Disabled Veteran Lifetime Hunting and Fishing Licence
A lifetime licence that starts at a 30% rating and is priced by band — $100 at 30%, down to free if you are totally and permanently disabled.
A lifetime licence: free if totally and permanently disabled, $50 at 70%+, $75 at 50–69%, $100 at 30–49%
licenses & fees(2)
Expedited Licensure for Military Spouses — and a Temporary Licence if the Board Runs Late
Regulatory boards must expedite a military spouse’s licence application, and where a board cannot complete its review within 20 days it must issue a temporary licence of up to 12 months so you can work while it finishes.
Expedited review, and a temporary licence of up to 12 months if the board takes more than 20 days
The Veteran Indicator on a Virginia Licence or ID — No Extra Fee, and 180 Days in the Guard Counts
Va. Code § 46.2-328.2 requires the Department of Motor Vehicles to print a veteran indicator on a driver’s licence, permit or identification card for an applicant who asks and proves veteran status. There is no additional fee for the indicator, and the definition reaches more than 180 days of honourable service in the Virginia National Guard or the Armed Forces Reserves.
No additional fee for the indicator — you pay only the ordinary price of the licence or ID
burial(3)
State Veterans Cemeteries — The Commonwealth Pays the Spouse’s Burial Fee
At a state-operated veterans cemetery the Commonwealth pays the burial fee for a member of the National Guard and Reserve, and for a deceased spouse of a member or veteran — whether the spouse dies before or after them. Burial vaults are supplied at cost to eligible veterans and their family members.
The burial fee for a Guard or Reserve member or for a spouse, paid by the Commonwealth; vaults at cost
Line of Duty Act Burial Payment — Guard and Defense Force Members Are Inside It
Where a Virginia National Guard or Virginia Defense Force member dies on official state duty or Title 32 federal duty, the Line of Duty Act pays the funeral home directly for burial and transportation — up to $15,000 and $1,000 — as an advance against a $100,000 line-of-duty death benefit. Families rarely look here because the Act reads as a police and fire statute.
Up to $15,000 of burial expenses and $1,000 of transportation paid to the funeral home, against a $100,000 death benefit
Honor Guard Grant Program — New in 2026, and the Money Goes to the Organisation, Not the Family
Va. Code § 2.2-2004.3, enacted in 2026, directs the Department of Veterans Services to make grants to veteran service organisations each fiscal year to offset the expenses of providing honor guard burial details at veterans’ funerals in the Commonwealth — training, transportation, food, equipment and supplies.
Grants to veteran service organisations, subject to the availability of funds — no amount set by statute
Filing in Fairfax County
- Office
- Fairfax 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 Fairfax County
Fairfax 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 Fairfax County veteran benefits
- What can I claim here?
- The Virginia 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 Fairfax County?
- File with your Commissioner of the Revenue. The form and deadline are on each benefit record.
- What document does the Fairfax County Commissioner of the Revenue 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 Virginia.
Other counties
- Accomack
- Albemarle
- Alleghany
- Amelia
- Amherst
- Appomattox
- Arlington
- Augusta
- Bath
- Bedford
- Bland
- Botetourt
- Brunswick
- Buchanan
- Buckingham
- Campbell
- Caroline
- Carroll
- Charles City
- Charlotte
- Chesterfield
- Clarke
- Craig
- Culpeper
- Cumberland
- Dickenson
- Dinwiddie
- Essex
- Fauquier
- Floyd
- Fluvanna
- Franklin
- Frederick
- Giles
- Gloucester
- Goochland
- Grayson
- Greene
- Greensville
- Halifax
- Hanover
- Henrico
- Henry
- Highland
- Isle of Wight
- James City
- King and Queen
- King George
- King William
- Lancaster
- Lee
- Loudoun
- Louisa
- Lunenburg
- Madison
- Mathews
- Mecklenburg
- Middlesex
- Montgomery
- Nelson
- New Kent
- Northampton
- Northumberland
- Nottoway
- Orange
- Page
- Patrick
- Pittsylvania
- Powhatan
- Prince Edward
- Prince George
- Prince William
- Pulaski
- Rappahannock
- Richmond
- Roanoke
- Rockbridge
- Rockingham
- Russell
- Scott
- Shenandoah
- Smyth
- Southampton
- Spotsylvania
- Stafford
- Surry
- Sussex
- Tazewell
- Warren
- Washington
- Westmoreland
- Wise
- Wythe
- York
- Alexandria
- Bristol
- Buena Vista
- Charlottesville
- Chesapeake
- Colonial Heights
- Covington
- Danville
- Emporia
- Fairfax
- Falls Church
- Franklin
- Fredericksburg
- Galax
- Hampton
- Harrisonburg
- Hopewell
- Lexington
- Lynchburg
- Manassas
- Manassas Park
- Martinsville
- Newport News
- Norfolk
- Norton
- Petersburg
- Poquoson
- Portsmouth
- Radford
- Richmond
- Roanoke
- Salem
- Staunton
- Suffolk
- Virginia Beach
- Waynesboro
- Williamsburg
- Winchester
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.