West Virginia veteran benefits
- Verified veteran benefits
- 25
- plus 2 general-law and correction records
- Counties covered
- 55
- every one has its own page
- Veterans in this state
- 0.12M
- 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 the credit on the West Virginia income tax return. Pay the property tax on time — timely payment is a condition.
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 the test that actually applies in West Virginia — the credit opens at 90%, lower than the 100% most states demand for their largest relief.
1 likely, 33 possible
What you appear to qualify for — worth checking.
One question checks 28 of them. You can skip it and keep browsing.
Did you serve in the U.S. armed forces?
2 more questions could resolve others. We ask them one at a time.
Disabled Veteran Real Property Tax Credit — Refundable
From a 90% rating, 100% of the property tax paid on the homestead comes back as a refundable credit on the state income tax return. The tax has to have been paid on time, and the credit is first claimable for tax year 2024.
VeteransApplies statewide100% of the property tax paid on the homestead, refunded
Read it and check if you qualifyThe Year You Separate, Your Active Duty Pay Comes Off Your State Income
A West Virginia resident on active duty for 30 OR MORE DAYS — armed forces, National Guard or reserves — who PERMANENTLY SEPARATES DURING THE TAX YEAR may deduct their active-duty military income for that year. A copy of the DD Form 214 is required. This is a one-year benefit tied to the year of separation, which is also the year someone is least likely to be thinking about state tax, so it is worth flagging before the return is filed rather than afterwards.
VeteransApplies statewideActive-duty military income deducted for the year of separation
Read it and check if you qualifyTuition and Fees Waived for the Family of Someone Killed in the Line of Duty
West Virginia waives UNDERGRADUATE TUITION AND FEES at state institutions of higher education for the child or spouse of a WEST VIRGINIA-RESIDENT National Guard member, reserve component member, or person on FEDERAL OR STATE ACTIVE MILITARY DUTY killed in the line of duty. SPECIAL AND LABORATORY FEES AND PARKING ARE EXCLUDED — so it covers tuition and the ordinary fees rather than literally everything. State active duty is inside it, which not every state's equivalent covers.
VeteransApplies statewideUndergraduate tuition and fees waived at state institutions
Read it and check if you qualifyMilitary Retirement Pay — 100% Exempt, Including USPHS and NOAA
West Virginia exempts military retirement income in full through a DECREASING MODIFICATION to federal adjusted gross income. The scope is wider than the phrase suggests: it covers the REGULAR ARMED FORCES, THE RESERVES, THE NATIONAL GUARD, AND UNIFORMED SERVICES THAT ARE NOT PART OF THE ARMED FORCES — including the COMMISSIONED CORPS OF THE U.S. PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE AND NOAA. Those last two are routinely left out of state exemptions and their retirees routinely assume they are excluded.
VeteransApplies statewideMilitary retirement income fully exempt from West Virginia income tax
Read it and check if you qualifyThe First $20,000 of Assessed Value, Exempt — and Age 65 Is a Second Door
West Virginia exempts the FIRST $20,000 OF ASSESSED VALUE of an owner-occupied homestead used exclusively for residential purposes. The Department of Veterans Assistance lists veterans rated 100% PERMANENT AND TOTAL by the federal VA; the same exemption is available to ALL OWNERS AGED 65 OR OVER, so an older veteran who is not rated at 100% reaches it by the other door. Proof for the disability route includes a WRITTEN CERTIFICATION SIGNED BY THE VETERANS ADMINISTRATION that the person is totally and permanently disabled. Claim with the county assessor.
VeteransApplies statewideNot a veteran benefitThe first $20,000 of assessed value exempt from ad valorem property tax
Read it and check if you qualifyVeteran on Your Licence — and Nine Ways to Prove It
West Virginia prints a United States Veterans designation on a driver's licence or ID card, usable as proof of veteran status. The accepted documents are unusually broad and worth listing, because older veterans are routinely turned away elsewhere for holding the wrong paper: DD Form 214, WD AGO 53, WD AGO 55, WD AGO 53-55, NAVPERS 553, NAVMC 78PD, NAVCG 553, a Military ID card, or a current military licence. THE FEE IS NOT ESTABLISHED from the sources reviewed — ask when you go.
VeteransApplies statewideUnited States Veterans designation on the licence or ID
Read it and check if you qualifyPriority of Service in State Job Training Programmes
West Virginia has a codified article — Veterans Employment Training Priority at W. Va. Code §§9A-4-1 to 9A-4-6 — giving veterans PRIORITY OF SERVICE in state employment and training programmes. The article covers purpose, definitions, programme eligibility, application for priority of services and the priority itself. Priority of service means being served first, ahead of others otherwise eligible, and it is worth asking for by name. WE HAVE NOT READ the administering rules; secondary sources point to WorkForce West Virginia.
VeteransApplies statewidePriority of service in state employment and training programmes
Read it and check if you qualifyCDL Written and Skills Waivers on One Form
West Virginia handles both CDL military waivers on a single form, CDL-ST-WVR: EVEN EXCHANGE, which is MOS-specific and waives the WRITTEN AND SKILLS tests, and the SKILLS TEST WAIVER for qualified military commercial motor vehicle experience. The detailed eligibility conditions were NOT ESTABLISHED from the sources reviewed — the DMV publishes the form index rather than the criteria. Ask the DMV which route your specialty and experience fit before booking any test.
VeteransApplies statewideSkills test waived; written test too on the MOS even-exchange route
Read it and check if you qualifyVeterans and Heroes to Agriculture — Free Membership and $600 a Year for Training
West Virginia's Department of Agriculture runs a programme for veterans entering or working in agriculture — and for FIRST RESPONDERS, and for SPOUSES AND FAMILY MEMBERS. MEMBERSHIP IS FREE. It pays SCHOLARSHIP REIMBURSEMENT UP TO $600 PER FISCAL YEAR for pre-approved agricultural training, runs an annual agribusiness pitch competition, and offers Homegrown by Heroes branding. The condition that catches people is that you must APPLY BEFORE REGISTERING for the training — reimbursement is not available retrospectively.
VeteransApplies statewideFree membership, with up to $600 a year in training reimbursement
Read it and check if you qualifyDV Tags Free at 100% P&T — and a $10 Plate for Every Veteran
Disabled veteran tags are free for veterans with the federal auto grant or a 100% permanent and total rating; POWs, Purple Heart recipients and Pearl Harbor survivors have their own plates; and every other honorably discharged veteran gets the veterans plate for a one-time $10 over the regular fee.
VeteransApplies statewideVeterans plate: one-time $10 over the regular fee; DV tags free at auto-grant or 100% P&T
Read it and check if you qualifyFree Hunting, Trapping and Fishing — 100% P&T, Auto Grant or POW
A resident veteran with a 100% permanent and total rating, the federal auto grant, or former POW status qualifies for free hunting, trapping and fishing licences — and any service member on leave hunts and fishes with no licence at all, the leave papers serving instead.
VeteransApplies statewideHunting, trapping and fishing licences free
Read it and check if you qualifyState Parks Veterans' Salute — 10% Off Lodges, Cabins and Campsites
West Virginia state parks discount lodging and campsites for veterans and active-duty military under the Veterans Salute. There is no residency condition — the department describes it for veterans and serving members generally, so an out-of-state veteran visiting the parks qualifies on the same terms as a resident.
VeteransApplies statewide10% off standard lodges, cabins and campsites, all year
Read it and check if you qualifyWar Orphan Education — Tuition Waived, Plus a Living Stipend
A qualifying student — the child, 16 to 25, or the spouse of a veteran killed in action or dead of war service — is not charged tuition and fees at any in-state post-secondary institution, and the veterans department adds up to $1,000 a semester ($2,000 a year) toward room, board and books.
VeteransApplies statewideTuition and fees not charged, plus up to $2,000 a year toward room, board and books
Read it and check if you qualifyBurial at the Donel C. Kinnard Memorial State Veterans Cemetery
A veteran's burial at the state cemetery in Dunbar costs nothing — gravesite or niche, opening and closing, a pre-set crypt, headstone or niche cover, perpetual care and a Presidential Memorial Certificate. Eligibility follows the federal national-cemetery rules; a spouse or eligible family member is interred for a $780 fee.
VeteransApplies statewideVeteran burial at no cost — grave or niche, crypt, headstone, perpetual care; spouse and family interments carry a $780 fee
Read it and check if you qualifyW. Va. Veterans Home — Residential Care at Half of Monthly Income
A 125-bed residential home for veterans who are still independent in daily living. The maintenance fee is 50 percent of the veteran's monthly income — not a fixed rate.
VeteransApplies statewideResidential care for a maintenance fee of half your monthly income
Read it and check if you qualifyVeteran Vendor Preference — 3.5 Percent on State Bids
A resident vendor who is a veteran gets a 3.5 percent bid preference on state purchases, by either of two routes: four years of continuous residence here, or a workforce three-quarters made up of two-year residents.
VeteransApplies statewide3.5 percent bid preference
Read it and check if you qualifyMilitary Incentive Credit — 30% of $5,000, or Your Rating Times $5,000
A credit paid to the employer who hires you: 30% of the first $5,000 in wages for an economically disadvantaged veteran, your disability percentage times the first $5,000 for a disabled veteran, and 25% of the first $5,000 for a Guard or reserve member. You are the one who has to be certified.
VeteransApplies statewideWorth up to $1,500 to an employer for an economically disadvantaged veteran; a rating-scaled amount for a disabled veteran
Read it and check if you qualifyCertified Veteran Owned Business — a Decal, Not a Bid Preference
A state certification for a business at least 51% owned by an honorably discharged veteran, by serving military personnel of any branch, or by their spouses. It issues an official decal and logotype for invoices, websites and advertising.
VeteransApplies statewideAn official decal and logotype marking the business as veteran or military owned
Read it and check if you qualifyGuard Educational Encouragement Program — Up to $10,000 a Fiscal Year
State tuition assistance funded by the National Guard for a drilling member, up to $10,000 per service member per fiscal year as prescribed by the Adjutant General, at an approved accredited institution in the State.
VeteransApplies statewideUp to $10,000 per service member per fiscal year
Read it and check if you qualifyVeterans Re-education Assistance — $500 a Semester, Including Non-Traditional Study
A stipend of up to $500 a semester for a veteran enrolled in a certified post-secondary course, funded through annual legislative allocations since fiscal year 1997 and able to reach vocational and non-traditional study case by case.
VeteransApplies statewideUp to $500 a semester
Read it and check if you qualifyMedal of Honor or Purple Heart — Tuition Waived, But Only What Other Aid Does Not Cover
All public institutions of higher education waive undergraduate tuition and mandatory fee charges for residents of the State awarded the Medal of Honor or the Purple Heart, for a maximum of eight semesters. The waiver is last-dollar: W. Va. Code 18B-10-10 covers only the amount exceeding other state or federal education benefits, grants or scholarships, so a recipient with GI Bill entitlement may find little or nothing left for it to pay. Recipients whose combat wounds caused permanent disability or the loss of a limb hold an enhanced tier, offset only against aid designated solely for tuition and mandatory fees.
VeteransApplies statewideUndergraduate tuition and mandatory fees waived for up to eight semesters — less whatever other aid already covers
Read it and check if you qualifyIn-State Tuition for a Non-Resident Using the G.I. Bill, Within Three Years
All public institutions of higher education assess tuition at the in-state rate for non-resident recipients of the G.I. Bill who enrol within three years of discharge.
VeteransApplies statewideTuition at the in-state rate rather than the non-resident rate
Read it and check if you qualifyHigh School Diploma for a WWII, Korea or Vietnam Veteran Who Left to Serve
A veteran of the State who left high school before graduating to serve in World War II, Korea or Vietnam may be awarded a high school diploma, granted by the county of current residence or the county where the school stood.
VeteransApplies statewideA high school diploma, awarded by a county board of education
Read it and check if you qualifyJack Bennett Fund — Up to $380 Toward Setting a Veteran’s Grave Marker
The federal government supplies the headstone or marker free and leaves the installation bill to the family. This fund pays up to $380 toward those installation fees, on need measured by the federal Means Test Threshold. A family member, a cemetery or a funeral director may apply.
VeteransApplies statewideUp to $380 toward grave marker installation fees
Read it and check if you qualifyFive Preference Points on a State Examination — Ten With a Purple Heart or a Rating
Five points are added to a final passing examination score for a veteran, and a further five — ten in total — for a Purple Heart recipient or a veteran with an established service-connected disability. The disability route needs a Veterans Administration letter dated within the last six months.
VeteransApplies statewideFive points on a passing score, ten with a Purple Heart or a service-connected disability
Read it and check if you qualifySurplus Property for a Veteran-Owned Small Business — No Cost to Enrol
The state surplus property agency runs a veterans programme that lets a verified veteran-owned small business search and request federal surplus property. Enrolment is free; a service fee covers administration, transport and warehousing where it applies.
VeteransApplies statewideAccess to federal surplus property; free to enrol, service fee on what you take
Read it and check if you qualifyThe 20 Percent Utility Discount Has No Veteran Door — Three Others Are Open
The state’s reduced-rate utility programme is reached through food assistance at age sixty or over, supplemental security income at eighteen or over, or the state works programme. Veteran status is not one of the routes, and the energy assistance programme names no veteran preference either.
VeteransApplies statewideNo veteran route — qualify through one of the three published categories
Read it and check if you qualifyWomen Veterans Program — Women Service Officers and a Private Consultation
The veterans department runs a Women Veterans Program with women veteran service officers available across its benefits offices, built around military sexual trauma claims and any other claim a woman veteran may have. Enrolment is by a form on the department site, and a woman service officer then makes contact for a private benefits consultation.
VeteransApplies statewideA woman service officer, a private consultation, and help with an MST claim
Read it and check if you qualifyState Veterans Nursing Facility — 120 Beds, a Dementia Unit, and a Breezeway to the VA
A 120-bed veterans-only nursing facility opened in 2008, with private and semi-private rooms, a 20-bed unit for residents needing specialised care for Alzheimer’s disease or dementia, round-the-clock nursing with a physician on call, and breezeway-connected access to the federal medical centre next door. Two wheelchair-capable buses take residents to medical appointments.
VeteransApplies statewideA veterans-only nursing bed, at a cost the department says is well below the national average
Read it and check if you qualifyRAFT Suicide Prevention Programme — the State’s Own Prevention Effort
Resource Availability Family Tapestry, established in 2023, is the veterans department’s own suicide prevention programme for service members, veterans and their families, covering prevention, intervention and postvention, and working alongside the Governor’s Challenge team that has run here since 2020.
VeteransApplies statewideA state prevention programme, partner referrals, and a route into the Governor’s Challenge team
Read it and check if you qualifyDepartment Benefits Offices — Accredited Service Officers in Fourteen Locations
The veterans department operates fourteen benefits offices and a claims office. Accredited service officers advise on benefits, file claims, and may represent a veteran to the federal benefits administration on a disagreement with a decision. The department publishes a county-by-county lookup covering all fifty-five counties.
VeteransApplies statewideFree accredited help with a claim, and representation on an appeal
Read it and check if you qualifyGold Star Family Plate — and the Surviving Spouse Plate That Carries the Veteran’s Own Plate Forward
The Division of Motor Vehicles issues a Gold Star Family plate on form DMV-48-L to a parent, spouse or relative of a deceased service member, on authorisation from the Department of Veterans Assistance. A separate application, form DMV-48F, lets a surviving spouse hold the same military plate the deceased veteran held.
VeteransApplies statewideA Gold Star Family plate, or the deceased veteran’s own military plate carried forward by the surviving spouse
Read it and check if you qualifyThe Disabled Veteran Plate That Actually Parks — Two Signatures, Not One
There are two disabled veteran plates here and only one of them uses accessible parking. Form DMV-48-DI, the Disabled Veteran Mobility Impaired plate, requires authorisation from the Department of Veterans Assistance and a licensed physician, and its own certification boxes ask for a federal vehicle grant or a 100 percent total and permanent rating plus a physician’s finding on walking.
VeteransApplies statewideA disabled veteran plate that authorises use of accessible parking, on a double certification
Read it and check if you qualifyCaregiver Support — the State Has None of Its Own, and Its Own Page Says So by What It Lists
The Department of Veterans Assistance publishes a caregiver support page. Every programme on it is the federal VA’s or a national charity’s: the Program of General Caregiver Support Services, the Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers, and three out-of-state nonprofits. The only in-state door it names is the Bureau of Senior Services, which is not a veterans programme.
VeteransApplies statewideNot a veteran benefitNo state-funded caregiver stipend, respite programme or adult day health route for veterans — the routes are federal
Read it and check if you qualify
Does my county change the answer?
For the statewide records, no — the same law applies in all 55 counties. What changes is the office you file with and the local tax arithmetic, which we do not yet hold for West Virginia.
- Barbour County
- Berkeley County
- Boone County
- Braxton County
- Brooke County
- Cabell County
- Calhoun County
- Clay County
- Doddridge County
- Fayette County
- Gilmer County
- Grant County
- Greenbrier County
- Hampshire County
- Hancock County
- Hardy County
- Harrison County
- Jackson County
- Jefferson County
- Kanawha County
- Lewis County
- Lincoln County
- Logan County
- McDowell County
- Marion County
- Marshall County
- Mason County
- Mercer County
- Mineral County
- Mingo County
- Monongalia County
- Monroe County
- Morgan County
- Nicholas County
- Ohio County
- Pendleton County
- Pleasants County
- Pocahontas County
- Preston County
- Putnam County
- Raleigh County
- Randolph County
- Ritchie County
- Roane County
- Summers County
- Taylor County
- Tucker County
- Tyler County
- Upshur County
- Wayne County
- Webster County
- Wetzel County
- Wirt County
- Wood County
- Wyoming County
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.