Veteran benefits in Garfield County, Washington
- Benefits you can claim here
- 39
- Property tax rate
- 0.75
- effective rate, ACS 2023 five-year
- A partial or full exemption, set by your income against your county median, typical home
- $0
- a year at this county rate
- Veterans in this county
- 244
- US Department of Veterans Affairs VetPop2023 county model, as of 9/30/2025
What to do, in Garfield County
The process is the same across Washington for the statewide records. Only the office and the tax rate change.
Find what applies to you
39 benefits reach Garfield 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 Garfield 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 Garfield 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 |
| A partial or full exemption, set by your income against your county median (RCW 84.36.381) | about $0 a year against the county rate |
| Total exemption (RCW 84.36.381) | the entire bill — about $1,875 a year against the county rate on a typical $250,000 value, and more once your other taxing units are added |
| Where to file | Garfield County county assessor |
| Deadline | Varies by county, every year |
Which document does the Garfield County county assessor 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 39 benefits you can claim in Garfield County
All 39 Washington counties get the same statewide law.
recreation(2)
A Lifetime Pass at 30% — Camping, Moorage and Boat Launch Included
Washington issues a FREE LIFETIME pass to a veteran with a VA award letter showing a service-connected rating of 30% OR MORE. It covers day-use parking, CAMPING, MOORAGE, boat launch and trailer dump at state parks, and carries DISCOVER PASS DAY-USE PRIVILEGES on DNR- and WDFW-managed lands as well. Thirty per cent is a low threshold for a benefit this wide, and moorage is included, which matters on the Sound. Extra-vehicle fees and reservation fees sit outside it.
Free lifetime pass — day use, camping, moorage, boat launch and trailer dump
Reduced Fee Hunting and Fishing Licences
A 30% service-connected disability — or being 65 or older with a disability of any degree — puts your combination fishing licence at $6.90 and every hunting licence at the youth rate.
Combination fishing licence at $6.90; every hunting licence at the youth rate
education(4)
Operation Recognition — the Diploma From Your School District
Washington school districts issue a high school diploma to a veteran with a qualifying discharge under RCW 73.04.005 who left high school before graduating to serve in WORLD WAR II, THE KOREAN CONFLICT OR THE VIETNAM ERA. The Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction adopts the application form and the evidence standard, so a district that has never handled one has a state form to follow. WDVA promotes the programme and is the easiest place to start if a district is unsure.
A high school diploma issued by a school district
A Tuition Waiver for Foreign Service — but the Institution Chooses Whether to Grant It
Washington public institutions MAY waive all or a portion of tuition and fees for an active or reserve member, or a Guard member called to active duty, who served in ACTIVE FEDERAL SERVICE ON FOREIGN SOIL OR IN INTERNATIONAL WATERS. The word to read carefully is MAY. This is PERMISSIVE, not mandatory: the statute authorises the waiver and each institution decides its own policy, so the same veteran can be granted it at one Washington college and refused at another. Ask the specific school before enrolling — and if refused, ask whether another has a different policy.
All or part of tuition and fees, at the institution's discretion
Tuition and Fee Waiver for Dependents of Totally Disabled Veterans
Public colleges must waive all tuition and fees for the child or spouse of a veteran who became totally disabled, was taken prisoner, went missing, or died in service — up to 250 quarter credits or the equivalent. A child is eligible between 17 and 26; a spouse or domestic partner has a ten-year window and loses it on remarriage. A $500 annual book stipend comes with it.
All tuition and fees waived up to 250 quarter credits, plus a $500 annual book stipend
National Guard Postsecondary Education Grant — With a Year of Service for Every Year of Money
A partial tuition grant for an actively drilling member of the Washington National Guard, and for a spouse or dependant. The award varies by institution type up to $6,500 for 2026-27, with up to $500 once for books — and carries an obligation to serve one year in the Guard for each year funded.
$2,500 to $6,500 for 2026-27 depending on the institution, plus up to $500 once for books
housing(5)
Transitional Housing at Port Orchard and Orting — With a Women Veterans Wing
WDVA runs transitional housing at PORT ORCHARD AND ORTING for veterans of any branch with an Honorable or General Under Honorable discharge who have experienced homelessness, need case management to obtain and sustain independent housing, and can manage their own activities of daily living. There is a WOMEN VETERANS WING, which matters because mixed transitional housing is a reason women decline it. It includes case management, JOB TRAINING AND CAREER SUPPORT and transport to appointments. The programme fee is 30% OF INCOME, CAPPED AT THE COUNTY FAIR-MARKET RATE.
Transitional housing with case management; fee is 30% of income, capped at fair market rate
A Second Mortgage for the Down Payment — Terms Not Established
The Washington State Housing Finance Commission offers a veterans downpayment assistance loan, paired with a Commission first mortgage. It is a SECOND MORTGAGE rather than a grant, which means it is borrowed money secured on the house. WE COULD NOT ESTABLISH the amount, the rate or the terms from the sources reviewed. Secondary sources indicate up to $10,000, AND WE HAVE NOT TREATED THAT AS VERIFIED. Get the current terms from the Commission or a participating lender before counting on it.
A downpayment assistance second mortgage, paired with a Commission first mortgage
Six Months of Case Management to Keep the Housing You Have — Pierce and Kitsap
WDVA's Housing Retention Program gives SIX MONTHS of case management to veterans eligible for VA health care with a qualifying discharge who recently exited homelessness or are AT RISK OF LOSING HOUSING. It runs in PIERCE AND KITSAP COUNTIES. It includes personalised support plans, connection to local resources, mental health and medical referrals, employment and benefit assistance, and MINIMAL FINANCIAL RESOURCES for housing. The exclusion to note: you must NOT be concurrently receiving SSVF or HUD-VASH case management.
Six months of case management, with minimal financial resources for housing
State Veterans Homes — No Cost at 70% and Above
Four state homes providing nursing home level care. At a 70% to 100% service-connected rating — or at any rating where the service-connected disability is the reason care is needed — the care is at no cost. Spouses, widows and Gold Star parents can be admitted.
Nursing home care at no cost at a 70% to 100% rating, or where the service-connected condition is the reason for care
End the Lease on PCS or Deployment Orders — and the Spouse or Dependant Can Do It Too
Washington’s residential landlord-tenant act lets a tenant who is a member of the armed forces, including the national guard and armed forces reserves — or that tenant’s spouse or dependant — end a rental agreement on less than the usual 20 days’ written notice where permanent change of station or deployment orders do not allow 20 days’ notice.
Release from the rental agreement on less than 20 days’ written notice
property tax(2)
A Property Tax Grant for the Widow or Widower of a Veteran — Four Ways to Qualify
Washington pays a GRANT toward regular and excess property taxes for the widow or widower of a veteran, measured against the FIRST $100,000, $150,000 OR $200,000 of assessed value depending on your income tier. Four routes qualify the deceased veteran: died of a service-connected disability; rated 100% DISABLED FOR THE 10 YEARS BEFORE DEATH; a FORMER POW rated 100% for at least one year before death; or the further route in the chapter. THE FILING DEADLINE IS WITH THE DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE, NO LATER THAN 30 DAYS BEFORE the tax is due — not with the county, and not on the tax due date.
A grant measured against the first $100,000 to $200,000 of assessed value, by income tier
Property Tax Exemption at 40% From 2027 — Income Decides How Much
A property tax exemption on the home you own and live in. From taxes collected in 2027 the threshold is a 40% combined service-connected evaluation — down from 80% — and a total service-connected disability rating counts whatever the percentage on it. Income sets how much of the value is exempt, not whether the exemption is open to you. A veteran applying in late 2026 is applying for the 2027 tax year, so the 40% figure is the one that applies now.
A partial or full exemption, set by your income against your county median
vehicles(5)
No Sales Tax on Adaptive Driving Equipment — and the Disability Need Not Be Service-Connected
Washington does not charge retail sales tax, or the companion use tax, on PRESCRIBED ADD-ON AUTOMOTIVE ADAPTIVE EQUIPMENT — INCLUDING THE INSTALLATION AND REPAIR LABOUR. Two things widen this well past what people expect. THE DISABILITY NEED NOT BE SERVICE-CONNECTED. And it reaches active-duty service members as well as veterans. MANUFACTURER-INSTALLED EQUIPMENT IS EXCLUDED, so this is about equipment added to a vehicle rather than a vehicle bought already adapted.
No sales or use tax on prescribed adaptive equipment, including installation and repair labour
Disabled American Veteran Plates — No Fees, No Excise
One vehicle with no licence fees, no plate fees and no excise taxes — behind one of the narrowest gates in this corpus.
No vehicle licence fees, plate fees or excise taxes, on one personal vehicle
Gold Star Plates — Nine Classes of Family, and No Excise Tax at All for Six of Them
RCW 46.18.245 gives Gold Star plates to a widow, widower, parent, adoptive parent, stepparent, adult in loco parentis or foster parent, child, adopted child or sibling of a service member who died in service or as a result of it. For everyone but a child or sibling, one vehicle carries no vehicle licence fees, no plate fees and no motor vehicle excise tax.
One vehicle free of vehicle licence fees, plate fees and motor vehicle excise tax for a widow, widower, parent, adoptive parent, stepparent or in loco parentis applicant; plate fees only for a child or sibling
Disabled Parking in Washington — a Veteran Route Added in 2025, and No Doctor Needed for It
RCW 46.19.010(1)(k), added by 2025 c 295 and effective 1 October 2025, makes a veteran with a 70 percent or higher disability rating who uses a service animal eligible for special parking privileges. It sits outside the subsection that requires a practitioner to determine the disability, and placards are issued free of charge.
Free — parking placards and identification cards must be issued free of charge
Washington State Ferries — No Veteran Fare, and a VA Card Will Not Get You the Disability One
The largest ferry system in the country offers no discount to veterans, to Purple Heart recipients, to Medal of Honor recipients or to Gold Star families. The 50 percent disability fare that does exist is real, but Washington State Ferries states plainly that IDs from the Veterans Administration are not accepted as proof of it.
No veteran fare exists — the route in is the disability fare, and it needs a card the VA does not issue
other(12)
The State Will Manage Your Money — and Protect It From Creditors
The Washington State Department of Veterans Affairs acts as PROTECTIVE PAYEE for veterans incapable of managing their own financial affairs: it manages income to meet housing, food, clothing and medical needs, and PROTECTS INCOME AND ASSETS FROM CREDITOR CLAIMS AND DIVERSION. That last part is the reason this exists. A veteran whose benefits are being taken by a creditor, or by someone close to them, has a state agency that will hold the money instead. No rating threshold is stated; incapacity to manage financial affairs is the test.
State protective payee and fiduciary services
Washington Has No Income Tax — For Anyone
Widely listed as a veteran benefit. It is not one: Washington levies no personal income tax on any resident.
No Washington income tax applies — and none would apply to anyone
County Veterans’ Assistance Fund — Every County Must Run One
Each county is required to levy a tax for a veterans’ assistance fund and to run an assistance programme for indigent veterans and their families out of it. The fund also pays for burial or cremation of an indigent veteran or their family member, at not less than $300.
Assistance set by your county, funded by a required levy — plus not less than $300 towards disposition of remains
Free Recording of Your Discharge — and a Form That Closes It to the Public
Every county auditor must record the discharge of a veteran residing in Washington, on presentation, without expense. A separate form takes the recorded discharge out of public disclosure; that form is the only thing a fee may be charged for, capped at $7 all in.
No charge to record the discharge; up to $7 for the public-disclosure exemption form
Free Clinical Counselling for War Trauma — Any Discharge, Families Included
No-cost, confidential, outpatient clinical counselling contracted by the veterans affairs department. Discharge status does not gate it. Guard and reserve members deployed in support of war and peacekeeping missions qualify, and family members can be seen where the issue is military-related.
No cost — the department pays for the counselling sessions
Veterans Innovations Program — Emergency Money for the Post-9/11 Cohort
Grant assistance for a Washington veteran who served on or after 11 September 2001 and is in financial hardship: eviction and foreclosure prevention, utility shut-off, transportation, and support through a transition into work or education.
A grant sized to the emergency, within the funding available
The State Civil Relief Act — 180-Day Stays, No Quiet Default Judgment, and a Case the Governor’s Call-Up Does Not Break
Chapter 38.42 RCW gives a service member and their dependants protections in every Washington civil or administrative proceeding: a plaintiff must file an affidavit on military status before default, the court appoints counsel, and proceedings can be stayed until 180 days after release. A national guard member called up by the governor is inside it.
Protection from the day the orders arrive until 180 days after release, plus costs and reasonable attorneys’ fees on a violation
Walk Away From the Phone, Internet, Gym and TV Contracts on Orders — No Fee, No Lost Deposit
On permanent change of station orders, or deployment orders of at least 30 days, a service member may terminate or suspend a telecommunications, internet, health studio or subscription television contract by written notice — email counts — with no penalty, fee, loss of deposit or other additional cost. A separate section lets a spouse leave an employment contract on relocation orders.
No penalty, fee, loss of deposit or other additional cost on the covered contracts
Deployment Is Not a Reason to Take Your Parenting Plan Apart
The effect of a parent’s military duties potentially impacting parenting functions cannot, by itself, be a substantial change of circumstances justifying a permanent modification of a parenting plan or custody decree. The court can hand the deployed parent’s residential time to a family member for the absence, and a temporary custody order ends within ten days of the returning parent’s notice.
Your parenting plan cannot be permanently modified on the strength of your deployment alone
Veterans Treatment Court — Every Court in the State May Run One, and Four Charge Types Shut You Out
Chapter 2.30 RCW authorises every trial and juvenile court in Washington to establish a therapeutic court, and names veterans treatment court as one of the programme types. Treatment replaces the ordinary path through the case in exchange for resolving it. The prosecutor must consent in a criminal case, and four categories of charge or prior conviction bar entry unless the court makes a special finding.
Treatment in place of the ordinary path through the case, where the local court runs the programme and the prosecutor consents
A State-Funded Veterans Service Officer in Small Counties — and the Adjacent-County Right That Starts in 2028
The state pays to put an accredited veterans service officer into underserved counties. The version in force today funds counties with a population of one hundred thousand or less, first come first served, capped at one full-time officer each. From 1 July 2028 the test changes to counties where take-up of federal disability or pension compensation is below the national average, and a funded county must then let veterans from adjacent counties use its officer.
A state-funded accredited service officer in your county, where your county qualifies and applied
Women Veterans Advisory Committee — a Seat, Not a Cheque
The Department of Veterans Affairs runs a Women Veterans Advisory Committee whose stated mission is to ensure Washington’s women veterans have equitable access to federal and state veterans’ services and benefits. It is an advisory and outreach body with an open membership application — it is not a benefit that pays money.
Advisory committee membership, outreach, events and webinars — no payment
employment(3)
Veterans' Scoring Criteria
Ten percent added to a passing examination score — but only five if you draw military retirement, and only until your first appointment.
Ten percent for war or armed-conflict service, five percent otherwise
Twenty-One Days of Paid Military Leave for Public Employees, On Top of Vacation and Sick Leave
A Guard or reserve member working for the state, a county, a city or any political subdivision gets 21 paid days of military leave each year running 1 October to 30 September, at normal pay, in addition to any vacation or sick leave and with no loss of job rating or privileges.
21 paid days a year at normal pay, in addition to vacation and sick leave
Veterans Conservation Corps — Habitat Work, Training and Ecotherapy, and You Pick Which Half
The Washington Veterans Conservation Corps is created by statute inside the Department of Veterans Affairs. An enrollee may choose the volunteer habitat-restoration projects list, the training, certification, ecotherapy and placement programme, or both. The department is directed to help enrollees find employment in conservation work.
Habitat restoration work, training and certification, ecotherapy, and help finding conservation employment
licenses & fees(2)
Military Spouse Licensure in 30 Days, Plus a 180-Day Temporary Licence
Every professional licensing authority must run an expedited process for military spouses licensed elsewhere: a licence within 30 days of a completed application, and a temporary licence procedure lasting at least 180 days. Deployed licensees are not charged a renewal fee.
A licence within 30 days, a temporary licence for at least 180 days, and no renewal fee while deployed
The Veteran Designation on a Washington Licence — Four Named Documents, Retiree Card Included
RCW 46.20.161 puts a veteran designation on a Washington driver’s licence on request. The statute names four acceptable proofs — a VA identification card or proof of service letter, a DD Form 214 or 215, an NGB Form 22, or a DD Form 2 retiree card — and lets the department accept alternates besides.
A veteran designation on the licence — the licence fee itself is $10 for each year the licence is issued
burial(2)
State Veterans Cemetery — No Charge for the Veteran, $311 for a Family Member
The cemetery at Medical Lake charges nothing to inter an eligible veteran or service member: burial space, an inscribed government marker, a concrete vault for a casket burial, military honours on request and perpetual maintenance. A family member’s interment is charged at $311.
No direct charge for a veteran’s interment; $311 for a family member’s interment or memorialisation
County Burial or Cremation for an Indigent Veteran — a $300 Floor, and It Covers the Family Too
Every county legislative authority must designate an authority responsible, at county expense, for lawfully disposing of the remains of a deceased indigent veteran — or of a deceased family member of an indigent veteran. The sum may not be less than $300, and where relatives or friends take charge of the arrangements the county pays them instead.
Not less than $300 towards disposition of the remains; the ceiling is whatever your county has set
Filing in Garfield County
- Office
- Garfield 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 Garfield County
Garfield 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 Garfield County veteran benefits
- What can I claim here?
- The Washington 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 Garfield County?
- File with your county assessor. The form and deadline are on each benefit record.
- What document does the Garfield County county assessor 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 Washington.
Other counties
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.