New Jersey Disabled Veteran Benefits

If you are a disabled veteran living in New Jersey, or thinking about moving here, this page puts every state-level benefit tied to your VA (U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs) disability rating in one place: the full property-tax exemption, state income-tax breaks, license plates and placards, parks and hunting/fishing, education for you and your kids, the state veterans homes, hiring preference, and more. Every dollar figure, deadline, and form name below comes from an official New Jersey or federal government source, and I link that source so you can check it yourself. Where the state's own pages leave a number unsettled, I tell you to confirm it rather than guess.

Plain-language promise: I keep the how-to steps here so you can act. The only thing I route out is filing or increasing a VA claim, because that is free claims work best handled by an accredited Veterans Service Officer (VSO), never a paid company.

Now in effect — New Jersey dropped the old “wartime service” requirement. For decades a veteran had to have served during a defined war or emergency period to get the property-tax breaks. New Jersey voters approved a constitutional amendment that took effect December 4, 2020 and eliminated the wartime-service condition for both the full Disabled Veteran property-tax exemption and the $250 veterans deduction. This is already law, not pending: honorably discharged New Jersey veterans (and their surviving spouses) no longer need to have served in a specific war period to qualify. The state's own claim form says so on its face — see the note on Form D.V.S.S.E. (PDF).

Property tax exemption

What it is: New Jersey has two separate veteran property-tax programs, and they are very different in size. One is a full (100%), uncapped exemption from local property tax on your home for the most seriously disabled veterans — no income limit and no cap on the home's value. The other is a small $250 annual deduction that almost any veteran can get. Both are filed with your local municipal tax assessor, not the state.

The full (100%) exemption — the routes that qualify you. New Jersey calls this the Disabled Veteran's exemption, filed on Form D.V.S.S.E. To qualify at all you must be honorably discharged (or released under honorable conditions) with active-duty service, a legal New Jersey resident, and own (wholly or in part) and occupy the home as your principal residence. Then your service-connected disability must fit one of the three routes the state's own claim form lists in its Disability section (Form D.V.S.S.E., PDF):

• Route 1 — VA-declared 100% permanent and total (P&T). The VA has determined you to be 100% permanently and totally disabled for a service-connected condition. This is the standard the state states plainly: you provide VA certification that you are “100% permanently and totally disabled.”
• Route 2 — a service-connected disability declared total or 100% permanent. The form's checkbox B covers a service-connected disability declared to be a total or 100% permanent disability that is not rated 100% solely because of hospitalization or surgery and recuperation, and that was sustained through enemy action or accident or resulted from disease contracted in service. This is the catch-all for catastrophic, permanently totalizing service-connected conditions.
• Route 3 — Individual Unemployability (IU/TDIU) at the 100% rate. The form's checkbox C is explicit: a service-connected disability rated unemployable with payment of 100% and stated to be totally and permanently disabling qualifies. In plain terms, if the VA pays you at the 100% rate through Total Disability based on Individual Unemployability and has designated it permanent and total, this is your route — you do not need a 100% schedular rating. If your VA paperwork is unclear on the “permanent and total” wording, ask your municipal assessor and a free accredited VSO to check before assuming you do not qualify.

What is not required: there is no income limit, no cap on the home's value, and (since December 4, 2020) no wartime-service requirement. Once approved, you do not re-apply every year, though the assessor can ask you to file a periodic Certification of Eligibility to Continue Receipt (PDF) to confirm you still own and occupy the home.

Surviving spouse: an un-remarried surviving spouse, civil-union, or domestic partner who remains a New Jersey resident and continues to own and occupy the home may keep the full exemption. It also reaches the surviving spouse of a service member who died on active duty, and of a veteran who had the qualifying disability.

The separate $250 deduction (almost any veteran): apart from the full exemption, a flat $250 annual deduction against your property-tax bill is available to any legal New Jersey resident veteran who owns the property (wholly or in part) and had active-duty U.S. Armed Forces service with an honorable discharge — no VA disability rating is needed. Reservists and National Guard must have been called into federal active duty (active-duty-for-training alone does not count). Eligibility is measured as of October 1 of the pretax year. An un-remarried surviving spouse of a veteran who died on active duty (or who had qualified) can also claim it. File Form V.S.S. with your assessor or tax collector.

1. Figure out which program fits: the full exemption if you are 100% P&T, rated total/100% permanent, or paid at the 100% rate through permanent IU; or the $250 deduction if you are an honorably discharged veteran who owns your home.
2. Get your VA certification letter stating you are 100% permanently and totally disabled (for the full exemption), and your discharge document (DD Form 214).
3. Download the right form: Form D.V.S.S.E. (PDF) for the full exemption, or Form V.S.S. (PDF) for the $250 deduction.
4. File it with your local municipal tax assessor (the deduction form can also go to the tax collector), with your VA and discharge documents attached.
5. If you are denied, you can appeal to your County Board of Taxation on Form A-1, generally by April 1 (or January 15 in Burlington, Gloucester, and Monmouth counties): Form A-1 Petition of Appeal (PDF).
6. Questions: your municipal assessor, or the NJ Division of Taxation at 609-292-7974.

Sources State Division of Taxation, full exemption · State Division of Taxation, $250 deduction

State income tax

What it is: New Jersey does not add state tax on top of your already federally tax-free VA disability compensation, does not tax military pensions, and gives every veteran an extra income-tax exemption regardless of disability rating.

• VA disability compensation is federally tax-free, and New Jersey does not tax it either — it is not reported as income on your New Jersey return. (This is federal treatment New Jersey follows; noted for completeness.)
• Military pensions and survivor's-benefit payments are NOT taxed by New Jersey. The state's own guidance says plainly that New Jersey does not tax U.S. military pension and survivors' benefit payments, and you should not report them on your New Jersey return. Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) annuities are exempt too, regardless of age or disability. (Note: a federal civil-service pension based partly on military credit is still taxable.)
• $6,000 Veteran Income Tax Exemption: any veteran honorably discharged or released under honorable circumstances from active duty on or before the last day of the tax year can claim an extra $6,000 exemption on the New Jersey return, on top of the regular personal exemptions. If both spouses filing jointly are qualifying veterans, each can claim it. This is a flat amount — it is not scaled to your VA rating and applies to disabled and non-disabled veterans alike. It does not carry over to a surviving spouse or dependents.

1. Confirm your VA disability compensation and military pension never appear as income on your New Jersey return.
2. To claim the $6,000 exemption the first time, submit proof of honorable discharge (usually your DD Form 214) with the Veteran Income Tax Exemption Submission Form (PDF) — upload it, mail it (NJ Division of Taxation, Veteran Exemption, PO Box 440, Trenton, NJ 08646-0440), or fax it (609-633-8427) — then check the box/oval on your return. You do not resubmit proof in later years.
3. If a past return wrongly showed VA compensation or a military pension as taxable, fix it with a preparer familiar with military filings or by contacting the NJ Division of Taxation — this is a filing mechanic, not claims work.

Sources IRS Publication 525 · State Division of Taxation, military pay · State Division of Taxation, veteran exemption

Vehicles, plates & tolls

What it is: the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission (MVC) issues a low-cost Disabled Veteran license plate and a placard that waives parking-meter fees. A full registration-fee waiver exists, but only through a narrow route tied to the VA's vehicle-adaptation grant. There is no blanket disabled-veteran registration-fee waiver.

• Disabled Veteran (DV) license plate: available for a $15 fee; you provide your DD Form 214 and a VA award letter documenting the service-connected disability.
• Disabled Veteran placard — free municipal parking: a vehicle displaying the MVC-issued DV placard is exempt from municipal parking-meter fees for up to 24 hours (when the veteran owns the vehicle and is the driver or a passenger). Apply on Form SP-47 (PDF) in person at any MVC agency or by mail to the MVC Special Plates Unit; the placard renews every three years.
• Free registration — narrow route only: free vehicle registration is available only if you (a) lost your eyesight due to war service and are eligible for state compensation, or (b) have a service-connected disability and qualified for a VA automobile / adaptive-equipment grant. Call the MVC at 609-292-6500 ext. 5076 for the application.
• Tolls / vehicle sales tax: New Jersey does not publish a disabled-veteran toll discount, and no disabled-veteran sales-tax carve-out on vehicle purchases was confirmed in the official MVC or Taxation pages reviewed. Confirm current details with the MVC or NJ Division of Taxation before relying on either.

1. Gather your DD Form 214 and VA award letter.
2. For the $15 DV plate, apply at any MVC agency; for the placard, file Form SP-47 in person or by mail.
3. If you received a VA automobile / adaptive-equipment grant (or lost eyesight in war service), call MVC at 609-292-6500 ext. 5076 to set up the fee-exempt registration.

Sources State Motor Vehicle Commission, DV plates & placards · State Motor Vehicle Commission, veterans

Recreation: parks, hunting & fishing

What it is: New Jersey gives disabled veterans free hunting and fishing privileges, and free park entrance is available to disabled residents (including disabled veterans). These run through the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) — Fish & Wildlife and the Division of Parks & Forestry.

• Free hunting & fishing licenses, permits, and stamps: honorably discharged New Jersey resident veterans whom the VA has declared to have a service-connected disability “of any degree” (no minimum rating) get free hunting/fishing licenses and most permits and stamps — including unlimited antlerless-deer permits, an antlered-deer permit, spring and fall turkey permits, and over-the-counter bear permits. The first-time certification cannot be done online or at a license agent: you mail proof of your VA service-connected disability (VA letter or wallet card), proof of honorable discharge (DD Form 214), and New Jersey residency proof to the Trenton address on the Disabled Veteran License Application (PDF). After that, you get licenses online or at agents for free.
• Free State Park & Forest admission: New Jersey's Division of Parks & Forestry issues a free Disability Pass that grants free park and forest entrance (and discounted camping) to New Jersey residents with a qualifying disability; it is obtained at the Trenton office using the discount application on the State Park Pass page. Separately, New Jersey law provides free admission to State Parks and Forests for honorably discharged New Jersey resident veterans whom the VA has declared to have a service-connected disability of any degree, and bars charging such a veteran a fee for a state-park-beach vehicle permit. Because the DEP's public page does not spell out the veteran-specific route, confirm it with Parks & Forestry using your VA disability documentation (Parks & Forestry: 866-337-5669 or 609-777-3373).

1. Get your VA letter or wallet card showing a service-connected disability (any percentage) and your DD Form 214.
2. For hunting/fishing, complete the one-time mail-in certification using the Disabled Veteran License Application (PDF) (you cannot do the first certification online). After you are certified, pull your free licenses and permits online or at any agent.
3. For park entry, apply for the free Disability Pass at the DEP Trenton office (or ask Parks & Forestry at 866-337-5669 how the veteran free-admission law applies to you), and bring your VA disability documentation.

Sources State Fish & Wildlife · State Parks & Forestry

Education for you & your family

What it is: New Jersey's biggest education benefit is a National Guard tuition waiver for currently drilling members; there are also programs aimed at the children of service members who died, were disabled, or were taken prisoner / declared missing.

• NJ National Guard Tuition Program (NJNGTP): tuition-free enrollment at participating New Jersey public colleges and universities (state law allows up to 16 credits per semester) for actively drilling New Jersey National Guard members in good standing who have completed Initial Active Duty Training. Grants and scholarships apply first; the waiver covers the remaining tuition. It does not cover lab fees or books. A child or surviving spouse of a Guard member killed in the line of duty may also attend tuition-free.
• War Orphans Tuition Assistance: $500 per year for up to four years of college or equivalent training for the child of a service member who died in service or from a service-connected disability. The child must be a New Jersey resident for at least one year before applying and generally between ages 16 and 21, and the veteran must have been a New Jersey resident.
• POW/MIA Tuition Benefit: free undergraduate tuition at any New Jersey public or private institution for a child born or adopted before or during the period a parent was officially declared a prisoner of war or missing in action after January 1, 1960, if the service member was a New Jersey resident when entering service.
• Veterans Tuition Credit Program: $400 per year (full-time) or $200 per year (part-time) for New Jersey resident veterans with active-duty service between December 31, 1960 and May 7, 1975 (Vietnam era).

1. If you are a drilling New Jersey Guard member, get your unit's certification of eligibility and file the FAFSA, then apply through the tuition program for each term.
2. For the children's and Vietnam-era programs (War Orphans, POW/MIA, or the Veterans Tuition Credit), contact the Veterans Benefits Bureau at 609-530-6949 or [email protected], and confirm the current amount and documents before relying on the figures above.

Sources State Department of Military Affairs · State Department of Veterans Affairs

State Veterans' Homes & long-term care

What it is: New Jersey runs three Veterans Memorial Homes — state-operated skilled-nursing facilities providing round-the-clock nursing and rehabilitation — plus transitional housing for homeless veterans.

• Three NJ Veterans Memorial Homes: in Menlo Park (Edison), Paramus, and Vineland. They provide skilled nursing, medical care, and rehabilitative therapies. Admission is generally limited to veterans, spouses, surviving spouses, and Gold Star parents.
• Veterans Haven (North and South): state-run transitional / residential programs that help homeless veterans get back on their feet.
• VA medical care (VA hospitals and clinics) is separate from these state homes — use VA.gov / VA facilities directly for that.

1. Pick the closest Home (Menlo Park, Paramus, or Vineland) and call its admissions office for the application and medical-eligibility packet.
2. Ask specifically what your out-of-pocket cost would be given your VA rating — higher service-connected ratings can substantially lower or eliminate what you pay for skilled nursing, so get the Home to confirm your case in writing.
3. Have your DD Form 214 and VA rating letter ready. For help navigating placement, call the statewide veterans hotline at 888-865-8387.

Sources State Department of Veterans Affairs

State hiring & civil service

What it is: New Jersey gives veterans an absolute preference in state civil-service hiring — not extra points, but a place at the top of the eligible list — and disabled veterans rank highest of all.

• Absolute veterans preference: qualified New Jersey veterans who pass a civil-service exam are placed at the top of the open-competitive employment list, ahead of non-veterans. This is a ranking preference, not a points add-on.
• Disabled veterans rank highest: a disabled veteran is placed above both other veterans and non-veterans on the open-competitive list. To count as a disabled veteran you must be receiving at least 10% disability compensation from the VA.
• Who qualifies: an honorable discharge from active duty that includes service during a qualifying war-era period (minimum active-duty time applies, and drills / training service alone do not count). A surviving spouse of a veteran, and the spouse of a disabled veteran, can inherit the preference in defined situations.

1. File the Civil Service Veterans Preference Claim Form (PDF) with the NJ Department of Veterans Affairs (Attn: DVS-VBB, PO Box 340, Trenton, NJ 08625-0340), with your DD Form 214 and, for disabled preference, your VA disability award letter.
2. Do this early — your preference must be on file no later than 8 days before the eligible list is issued, so file well ahead of any exam you plan to take.
3. Questions: the Veterans Benefits Bureau at 888-865-8387.

Sources State Department of Veterans Affairs · State Civil Service Commission

Other: burial, business, peddler's license

What it is: a set of smaller but valuable programs — free burial at the state veterans cemetery, a waived business-certification fee with a state-contract set-aside, and a no-cost peddler's license.

• State burial — BG William C. Doyle Veterans Memorial Cemetery (Arneytown / North Hanover Township, Burlington County): burial at no cost for eligible veterans, including the grave site and a state-provided grave liner (the only charge is if the family declines the state liner). Eligible dependents may also be interred. The funeral director arranges it by calling the cemetery, with next of kin present, after documentation is submitted.
• Disabled Veteran-Owned Business (DVOB) certification — fee waived: the normal $100 certification filing fee for Veteran and Disabled Veteran-Owned Business certification has been waived indefinitely, and New Jersey sets aside 3% of state contract dollars for DVOBs. A DVOB is a business at least 51% owned and controlled by disabled veterans (or verified by the VA as service-disabled-veteran-owned).
• Special Hawker & Peddler's License: any honorably discharged veteran who resides in New Jersey can obtain a special hawker-and-peddler's license through their county clerk (who forwards it to the Department of Veterans Affairs for verification); apply with your DD Form 214.

1. For burial, keep your DD Form 214 where your family can find it, and note that your funeral director initiates the Doyle Cemetery arrangements — confirm eligibility ahead of need.
2. To certify a business, apply through Business.NJ.gov (no fee) and ask about the 3% DVOB set-aside; questions to the Division of Revenue & Enterprise Services at 609-292-2146.
3. For the peddler's license, bring your discharge papers to your county clerk; for help, call the Department of Veterans Affairs at 609-530-6866.

Sources State Department of Veterans Affairs, burial · State Department of Veterans Affairs, peddler's license

Who to call

The New Jersey Department of Veterans Affairs is your front door for the state programs above and for a free accredited VSO to help with a VA claim. Note: in January 2026 the old Department of Military and Veterans Affairs split into two agencies — the Department of Veterans Affairs (the one you want for benefits) and a separate Department of Military Affairs (National Guard) — so some older web links now redirect.

• Website: nj.gov/dva
• Statewide veterans benefits hotline: 888-8NJ-VETS (888-865-8387); email [email protected]
• County Veterans Service Offices: all 21 counties have a Veterans Service Office staffed by trained, accredited VSOs who help you access federal, state, and local benefits at no cost. Directory and toll-free line 844-671-1019: Veterans Service Offices
• Property-tax questions: your local municipal assessor (they administer the exemptions) and the NJ Division of Taxation at 609-292-7974

1. Anything tied to your actual VA rating — filing a new claim, appealing, or arguing for a higher percentage — goes to a free accredited VSO. Find one through your county Veterans Service Office or at VA.gov. Never pay a private company for basic claims help.
2. State-program questions (property tax, plates, parks, education, homes, hiring) go to the specific office linked in that section, or start at nj.gov/dva or the hotline at 888-865-8387.

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