North Dakota Disabled Veteran Benefits

If you are a disabled veteran living in North Dakota, 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 property tax credit, state income tax breaks, license plates, parks and hunting/fishing, education for your family, the state veterans home, hiring preference, and burial. Every dollar figure, deadline, and form name below comes from an official North Dakota 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.

New for 2025 — two upgrades that are already in effect. North Dakota raised the disabled veteran property tax credit: at a 100% rating the credit now shelters up to $9,000 of taxable value (roughly the first $200,000 of a home’s true-and-full value), up from the prior $8,100/$180,000 level. And it broadened the discounted hunting and fishing licenses: the combined resident license eligibility dropped from a 100% rating down to 50% or greater. Both took effect for 2025. Confirm the current-year figures with the State Tax Department and the Game and Fish Department before you rely on them.
Sources State Tax Dept · Game and Fish

Property tax exemption

What it is: North Dakota’s benefit is the Disabled Veteran’s Property Tax Credit. It is a percentage credit against the taxable value of your homestead, not a flat full exemption. The credit percentage equals your VA disability rating, applied against up to the first $9,000 of taxable value of your home (that $9,000 corresponds to roughly the first $200,000 of true-and-full/market value; North Dakota assesses residential homestead value down to taxable value at a small fraction). So the higher your rating, the more of your home’s value is sheltered.

Every way to qualify (you need to meet the disability test and the ownership test):

• Disability route A — 50% or greater. You are a veteran of the U.S. Armed Forces with a VA service-connected disability rating of 50% or greater. The credit then scales with your rating.
• Disability route B — the 100% pay rate (this is the one that catches Individual Unemployability). You have an extra-schedular rating — including Individual Unemployability (IU) — that results in being paid at the 100% rate. In plain terms, if the VA pays you as if you were 100% even though your combined schedular rating is lower, you qualify at the top of the scale.
• Discharge: you must have an honorable discharge or be retired from the U.S. Armed Forces.
• Ownership/homestead: you must reside on and hold an ownership interest in the property.

How much the credit is worth by rating (maximum reduction in taxable value; the credit is proportional to your rating):

• 100% rating → up to $9,000 of taxable value
• 90% → $8,100  ·  80% → $7,200  ·  70% → $6,300  ·  60% → $5,400  ·  50% → $4,500

Married couples and surviving spouses:

• Both spouses are disabled veterans: the combined credits may not exceed 100% / $9,000 of taxable value on the homestead (it is not doubled).
• Surviving spouse: an eligible veteran’s surviving spouse remains eligible to continue the credit; a surviving spouse receiving VA Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) is treated as eligible for the full 100% credit.

1. Gather your current VA disability rating letter (your VA Summary of Benefits) and your discharge document (DD Form 214).
2. Get the Application for Disabled Veterans Property Tax Credit (PDF) and read the guideline before you file.
3. File it with your local assessor or county director of tax equalization — not the state — by the annual deadline. The state lists the deadline as April 1 of the assessment year; some older county materials cite February 1, so confirm the current-year date with your county assessor.
4. Once you are approved, the state notes the credit is automatically applied in later years for those who continue to qualify, but confirm it appears on your next tax statement.

Sources State Tax Dept · the Tax Commissioner’s guideline

State income tax

What it is: North Dakota does have a state individual income tax (it is not a no-income-tax state), but it exempts essentially all military-connected income, so most disabled veterans owe no ND tax on their military money.

• VA disability compensation is not taxed. It is tax-free under federal law, it never enters your federal taxable income, and North Dakota starts from your federal figures — so it is not taxed by the state either. Military disability retirement pay received for a service-connected injury or sickness is likewise generally excluded.
• Military retirement pay is fully deductible from North Dakota taxable income for retired members of the U.S. Armed Forces, Reserve, and National Guard (and their surviving spouses), effective tax year 2019 and later. The deduction equals the taxable amount shown on your Form 1099-R from the Defense Finance and Accounting Service, which you attach to your ND return.
• Active-duty, National Guard, and Reserve pay is exempt. Under a 2023 law, North Dakota exempts federally taxable military pay for active-duty, Guard, and Reserve service members.
• Non-resident service members stationed in North Dakota whose only ND income is military wages generally do not have to file an ND return.

1. Confirm your VA disability compensation appears nowhere as income on your federal or ND return (it should not).
2. If you receive military retirement pay, deduct the taxable amount from your 1099-R on the current ND return’s military-retirement line, and attach the 1099-R. Check the current-year instructions with the State Tax Department, since form layouts change.
3. If a prior ND return taxed military retirement or active-duty pay, fix it with a preparer familiar with military filings or by contacting the State Tax Department — this is a filing mechanic, not claims work.

Sources State Tax Dept · the Governor’s office

Vehicles, plates & tolls

What it is: North Dakota issues Disabled American Veteran (DAV) license plates that waive your registration fee and the vehicle excise (sales) tax. North Dakota has no toll roads, so there is no state toll benefit to claim.

• Who qualifies (any one of these): a veteran the VA certifies as 100% service-connected disabled; a veteran who qualifies under the federal automobile-allowance law for certain service-connected disabilities; or a veteran with an extra-schedular rating, including Individual Unemployability (IU), that totals the 100% rate.
• What is waived: state law exempts the annual registration/license fee, and the vehicle is exempt from ND vehicle excise (sales) tax.
• How many vehicles: up to two vehicles (each not over 26,000 lbs gross weight) may carry the tax-exempt DAV plate at one time.
• Parking: a vehicle with the DAV plate may use designated accessible parking statewide without a separate placard.
• Surviving spouse: an un-remarried surviving spouse receiving VA DIC may keep one DAV plate for personal use.

1. Ask the VA for a certification/award letter confirming your 100% (or IU-to-100%) status.
2. Complete SFN 2872, the Application for Certificate of Title and Registration of a Vehicle (PDF).
3. Submit the form plus your VA certification letter to the ND Department of Transportation, Motor Vehicle Division (608 E Boulevard Ave, Bismarck, ND 58505-0780; 701-328-2725).
4. Confirm at the counter that both the registration fee and the excise tax are waived before you pay.

Sources ND Dept of Veterans Affairs

Recreation: parks, hunting & fishing

What it is: a free lifetime state-park entrance permit for higher-rated disabled veterans, a discounted annual permit for others, and reduced-fee hunting and fishing licenses run by the ND Game and Fish Department.

• Free lifetime state-park permit: ND-resident veterans with a 50% or greater service-connected disability, and former Prisoners of War (POWs), get a free lifetime park entrance permit. Other ND-resident disabled veterans can buy a discounted annual permit for $28. Proof: your VA Report of Benefits letter or a ND DAV/POW license plate (a federal Golden Access / America the Beautiful pass is not accepted). Apply in person through ND Parks and Recreation (Century Center, 1600 E. Century Ave., Bismarck; 701-328-5357; [email protected]).
• Disabled veteran fishing license: a resident veteran with a 50% service-connected disability can buy a fishing license for $10 plus a $2 certificate fee.
• Disabled veteran combined hunting license (general game, habitat stamp, small game, and furbearer): for $10 plus a $2 certificate fee. As of 2025, a new law lowered eligibility from a 100% rating to 50% or greater. The Game and Fish licensing page may still show older 100% wording in places, so confirm the current threshold and fee with ND Game and Fish before you buy.

1. For the park permit, bring your VA Report of Benefits letter (or your ND DAV/POW plate) to the ND Parks and Recreation central office in Bismarck, or call 701-328-5357 first to confirm what to bring.
2. For a hunting or fishing license, have your VA rating letter ready (showing 50%+), then buy through the ND Game and Fish Buy and Apply system and confirm the disabled-veteran rate is applied.

Sources Parks & Rec permits · Game and Fish · 2025 legislation summary

Education for you & your family

What it is: the ND Dependent Tuition Waiver sends the dependents of a veteran who died from service or is rated 100% to a North Dakota public college tuition- and fee-free. This is a dependent benefit tied to the veteran’s status; it is not a general tuition waiver for the veteran alone.

• Which veteran statuses unlock it (any one): the North Dakota veteran was killed in action, died of wounds or other service-connected causes, was a Prisoner of War, was declared Missing in Action, or has a 100% service-connected disability rating — including an extra-schedular / Individual Unemployability rating that totals 100%.
• Who the eligible dependent can be: the veteran’s child, stepchild, spouse, widow, or widower.
• What it covers: tuition and fees at a North Dakota public institution toward a bachelor’s degree or certificate of completion. It excludes aviation flight charges/expenses.
• Residency catch for a child: the child’s other (non-veteran) parent must establish and maintain ND residency for the 5 years immediately before the dependent enrolls (or already have been a ND resident when the veteran died or was rated).

1. Have the dependent apply and be accepted to a North Dakota University System campus first.
2. Take the veteran’s VA rating letter (or the KIA/POW/MIA documentation) and the dependency documents to that campus’s financial aid or veterans services office, which processes the waiver.
3. Questions on eligibility go to the ND Department of Veterans Affairs at 701-239-7165.

Sources ND Dept of Veterans Affairs

State Veterans' Home & long-term care

What it is: the state runs the North Dakota Veterans Home in Lisbon, with a basic-care unit and a skilled-nursing unit for eligible veterans and their spouses.

• Capacity: the home operates 111 basic-care beds and 38 skilled-nursing beds (confirm current bed counts with the home).
• Who is eligible (any one): a bona fide North Dakota resident for 30 days; a veteran who served in a North Dakota regiment; a veteran who entered the service as a North Dakota resident; or the spouse or surviving spouse of an eligible veteran.
• Cost: long-term-care cost depends on your income, VA coverage, and level of care. For higher-rated service-connected veterans the VA often covers much or all of nursing-home cost — confirm your specific situation with the home’s admissions office.

1. Apply through any County Veteran Service Officer or the ND Department of Veterans Affairs (701-239-7165).
2. Contact the home’s admissions office for the application and physician’s-statement packet, and to confirm your cost given your VA rating.
3. Have your DD Form 214 and VA rating letter ready.

Sources ND Dept of Veterans Affairs · the ND Veterans Home

State hiring & civil service

What it is: North Dakota gives qualified veterans a hiring preference in public employment, with an added measure of protection for disabled veterans.

• The core preference: a qualifying veteran is entitled to preference over all other applicants in the recruitment and selection processes of North Dakota governmental agencies, provided the veteran is a U.S. citizen at the time of application.
• Who is a “disabled veteran” for this: a veteran entitled to a VA service-connected disability rating, who meets the job’s minimum qualifications. Disabled veterans receive an additional layer of preference; the exact scoring mechanics differ by hiring body, so confirm how the preference is applied with the specific agency (the state’s Office of Management and Budget administers Team ND state jobs).
• Disability protection: a preference-eligible veteran may not be disqualified from a position because of a physical or mental disability, unless the disability prevents proper performance of that job’s duties.

1. When you apply for a North Dakota public job, claim veteran status and, if applicable, disabled-veteran status.
2. Have your DD Form 214 (or NGB-22 for Guard service) and your current VA disability rating letter ready.
3. Ask the hiring agency exactly how the preference is applied to your application.

Sources ND Dept of Veterans Affairs · Office of Management and Budget · Job Service ND

Other: burial & fraud protection

What it is: a state veterans cemetery, plus a fraud hotline every veteran should keep handy.

• State veterans cemetery: North Dakota’s state veterans cemetery is located near Mandan and offers burial with military honors for eligible veterans and family members. Grave markers/headstones are provided at no cost to the veteran. Confirm eligibility categories and current details through the ND Department of Veterans Affairs.
• Fargo National Cemetery is a federal (VA National Cemetery Administration) burial option also serving North Dakota veterans.
• VSAFE fraud hotline: if anyone pressures you to pay for benefits help or you suspect a benefits scam, call 833-38V-SAFE (833-388-7233). Legitimate claims help is free.

1. For burial planning, contact the ND Department of Veterans Affairs (701-239-7165) or your County Veteran Service Officer to confirm cemetery eligibility and reserve arrangements.
2. Never pay a private company for basic VA claims help — if someone asks, hang up and call VSAFE.

Sources State burial benefits · VA National Cemetery Admin · ND Dept of Veterans Affairs

Who to call

The North Dakota Department of Veterans Affairs is your single front door for the programs above and for a free accredited VSO to help with a VA claim, a rating, or applying for any of these benefits.

• Website: veterans.nd.gov
• Phone: 701-239-7165
• Address: 4201 38th St S, Suite 104, Fargo, ND 58104-7535
• Property tax questions: your local county assessor / director of tax equalization (they administer the credit) and the State Tax Department.

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 the ND Department of Veterans Affairs or at VA.gov. Never pay a private company for basic claims help.
2. State-program questions (property tax, plates, parks, licenses, education, the veterans home, hiring) go to the specific office linked in each section above.

Sources State Tax Dept

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