West Virginia Disabled Veteran Benefits

If you are a disabled veteran living in West Virginia, 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 relief, the state income-tax breaks, vehicle plates and fees, parks and hunting/fishing, education for you and your family, the state veterans' homes, hiring preference, burial, and who to call. Every dollar figure, deadline, and form name below comes from an official West Virginia 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. West Virginia's own Department of Veterans Assistance (WVDVA) field offices provide that VSO help at no charge.

Know this first — West Virginia does NOT have a traditional across-the-board “100% disabled = no property tax” exemption like some states. Instead, since tax year 2024 it offers the Disabled Veteran Real Property Tax Credit, a refundable state income-tax credit that gives you back the real-property tax you actually paid on your home — so for a qualifying veteran the practical result can be close to a full wash on your homestead, but it works through your income-tax return, not by zeroing out your tax bill at the assessor. Who qualifies is keyed to a 90% or higher permanent and total service-connected rating. Details, the exact form, and the separate $20,000 homestead exemption are in the Property tax section below.

Sources the credit statute · WV Tax Division guidance

Property tax exemption

What it is: West Virginia relieves property tax for disabled veterans through two separate, stackable-in-principle programs. One is a refundable income-tax credit that returns the property tax you paid on your home; the other is a flat reduction in your home's assessed value. Neither is automatic — the credit is claimed on your state income-tax return, and the homestead exemption is filed with your County Assessor.

The routes that can effectively zero out (or heavily offset) the tax on your home:

• Route 1 — Disabled Veteran Real Property Tax Credit, the primary benefit. This is a refundable credit against your West Virginia personal income tax equal to the real-property (ad valorem) tax you timely paid during the year on your homestead. Because it is refundable, you get it even if it exceeds your income-tax liability. Who qualifies (all of these must be true):
  • Honorably discharged from any branch of the U.S. armed services, and
  • Considered at least 90% totally and permanently disabled due solely to service-connected disabilities by the VA. (So a 90%, and a 100% P&T, veteran both qualify; a rating below 90%, or one that is not permanent and total, does not.)
  • Homestead only: if you own more than one West Virginia property, the credit applies only to your primary residence.
  • “Timely paid” is strict: the first half must be paid before October 1 and the second half before April 1. The law expressly disallows credit for late, delinquent, or “back-tax” payments — so do not let a payment slip.
  You claim it by completing Form DV-1 (PDF) (DV-1 instructions), carrying the Total Tax Paid from Part II of the DV-1 to Form IT-140, Line 21(B), of your personal income-tax return, and attaching your property-tax paid receipt(s) and a copy of your VA disability-rating letter. First claimable for tax year 2024 (filed in 2025) and continuing. One caution: if you take this credit you cannot also take the Senior Citizen Tax Credit or the Homestead Excess Property Tax Credit that same year — this credit takes precedence and must be taken alone.
• Surviving spouse continuation. An “eligible widowed spouse” — the unmarried surviving spouse of a disabled veteran who had previously received this credit — may keep claiming it until death or remarriage. It also ends if the home is sold or the assessor determines it no longer qualifies.

The separate assessed-value reduction (not veteran-specific, but many disabled veterans qualify):

• Route 2 — the $20,000 Homestead Exemption. This exempts the first $20,000 of assessed value of an owner-occupied home from property tax for any West Virginia resident who is age 65 or older, or who is certified permanently and totally disabled — which includes a veteran the VA has rated 100% permanent and total. It normally requires two consecutive years of West Virginia residency, but there is a veteran carve-out: a person who was a West Virginia resident when they entered active duty and kept West Virginia as their home of record throughout service, then returns and buys a home on retirement or on early separation for permanent/total disability, is treated as meeting the residency test without the usual two-year lookback. You file this with your County Assessor (documentation of disability required: physician or Social Security certification, or a Medicare card plus proof of disability benefits).

Can you use both? In principle these are two different mechanisms — the credit refunds property tax paid on your income-tax return, while the homestead exemption lowers the assessed value before your tax bill is even calculated — so an eligible veteran may benefit from each. But the official guidance reviewed does not spell out how they interact. Confirm stacking with your County Assessor and the WV Tax Division (or a tax professional) before relying on getting both.

1. Confirm your VA paperwork shows a 90% or higher rating that is permanent and total (for the credit), or a 100% permanent and total rating (for the $20,000 homestead exemption). Have your VA rating letter in hand.
2. Pay your property tax on time — first half before October 1, second half before April 1 — and keep the receipts. Late payments kill the credit.
3. For the credit, complete Form DV-1, attach your paid receipts and VA rating letter, and file it with your IT-140 state income-tax return. Remember it must be taken instead of (not on top of) the Senior Citizen or Homestead Excess credits.
4. For the $20,000 homestead exemption, contact your County Assessor's Office and file with your disability documentation; the exemption attaches at the July 1 assessment date and applies to the following tax year.
5. Not sure which helps you most, or how they combine? Ask your County Assessor and a free WVDVA benefits office to walk through your numbers.

Sources the credit statute · surviving-spouse rule · homestead-exemption law · homestead residency rule · WV Tax Division guidance · WV Tax Division · WVDVA State Benefits

State income tax

What it is: West Virginia does not tax your already-federally-tax-free VA disability compensation, and since 2019 it fully exempts military retirement pay with no cap.

• VA disability compensation is federally tax-free, and West Virginia does not add tax on top of it. This is the general federal rule (VA disability compensation is excluded from gross income), which West Virginia follows — it is not a West Virginia-specific carve-out. Confirm current-year treatment with a tax professional or IRS Publication 907 if you are relying on it.
• Military retirement pay is fully exempt from West Virginia income tax. For tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2019, all military retirement income — regular Armed Forces, Reserves, National Guard, and the uniformed services (U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps and NOAA Commissioned Officer Corps) — is exempt with no dollar cap and no income limit. You claim it as a decreasing modification on Schedule M of Form IT-140. Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) survivorship annuities are treated the same way — confirm the current line with the form instructions. Form: Schedule M (Form IT-140) (PDF).
• There is no separate West Virginia veteran income-tax credit beyond the property-tax credit described above (which is claimed on the income-tax return but its value is tied to property tax paid, not a standalone income exclusion).

1. Confirm your VA disability compensation never appears as taxable income on your West Virginia return (it should not be on your federal return either, and West Virginia starts from your federal figures).
2. If you receive military retirement pay or SBP, take the decreasing modification on Schedule M; check the current-year line reference in the instructions, since layouts change.
3. If a prior return taxed your military retirement or VA compensation, fix it with a preparer familiar with military filings or by contacting the WV Tax Division — this is a filing mechanic, not claims work.

Sources WV Tax Division guidance for servicemembers

Vehicles, plates & tolls

What it is: the West Virginia Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV) issues a Disabled Veteran plate and waives the registration fee for a qualifying veteran's one vehicle. West Virginia does not run a statewide veteran toll-exemption program comparable to some other states.

• Disabled Veteran (“DV”) plate and registration-fee waiver. Available to a veteran with a 100% total and permanent service-connected disability rating from the VA, or who received a federal automobile grant for a specially adapted vehicle. The qualifying veteran is not required to pay the annual registration fee on one such plate (you still pay small statutory items — a $0.50 insurance-enforcement fee and a $1.00/year litter fee across the 10-year plate cycle). Only one vehicle per veteran is registration-fee-exempt per year. Apply on Form DMV-48-D (PDF); the WVDVA must certify the veterans-affairs portion before you submit it to a WV DMV regional office.
• Other free/low-cost veteran plates. West Virginia also issues no-fee or reduced-fee military plates to former prisoners of war, Purple Heart recipients, and Pearl Harbor survivors, and a general veteran plate is available for a $10 one-time fee plus regular state fees. Confirm which plate fits you and the exact current fee with the DMV.
• Second/additional DV plate: a second Disabled Veteran plate can be obtained but is not fee-exempt, and a personalized version costs more. Exact current amounts were not confirmed against a primary WV DMV fee table in this pass — confirm the fee with the DMV before applying.

1. Confirm you have a 100% total and permanent VA rating (or a federal auto-adaptation grant). Have your VA rating letter ready.
2. Get Form DMV-48-D and take it to a WVDVA field office to have the veterans-affairs certification completed.
3. Submit the certified form to a WV DMV regional office and confirm at the counter that the annual registration fee is waived on your one qualifying vehicle before you pay.

Sources WV DMV · the plate statute · WVDVA State Benefits

Recreation: parks, hunting & fishing

What it is: West Virginia lets its most seriously disabled resident veterans hunt, trap, and fish without buying a license at all, and gives all veterans a year-round discount at state parks.

• Free hunting, trapping & fishing — no license required. A West Virginia resident veteran may hunt, trap, and fish without obtaining any license by either qualifying route the law provides: (1) honorably discharged from the U.S. armed forces and receiving a VA disability pension/compensation based on a total, permanent service-connected disability (in practice, a 100% permanent-and-total rating); or (2) certified as exempt from the state motor-vehicle registration fee under the disabled-veteran plate law — which covers 100% total-and-permanent service-connected veterans and recipients of a federal automobile (auto-adaptation) grant. To carry proof, ask the WV Division of Natural Resources (DNR) how it documents the exemption; DNR also runs separate Class Q disability-accommodation hunting and fishing programs (special seasons, gated-road access, stocked waters) that are disability-based, not veteran-specific. DNR disability services phone: 304-558-6200 (Mon–Fri, 8:30am–5:00pm).
• State Parks “Veterans' Salute” discount: veterans and active-duty service members get a 10% discount on standard lodge rooms, cabins, and campsites at West Virginia State Parks, year-round (some parks/promotions vary; confirm at booking). This is a general veteran discount and is not gated by a disability rating.
• Separately, the federal America the Beautiful lifetime free-access pass to national parks and wildlife refuges is available to all veterans and Gold Star families regardless of state (a federal, not West Virginia, benefit).

1. If you are a resident veteran with a total, permanent (100%) service-connected disability, or you are certified as exempt from the vehicle-registration fee (which includes federal auto-adaptation grant recipients), you can hunt/fish/trap with no license — carry your VA rating letter and call WV DNR at 304-558-6200 to confirm how they want the exemption documented in the field.
2. For lodging, book any West Virginia State Park and ask for the 10% Veterans' Salute discount; present valid military ID or proof of eligibility at check-in.

Sources the license-exemption statute · WV DNR · WVDVA State Benefits

Education for you & your family

What it is: West Virginia runs several tuition programs — the biggest are for the surviving spouses and children of veterans who died or were permanently disabled from service, plus waivers for combat-decorated veterans and in-state tuition for GI Bill users. Most are administered by the WVDVA.

• War Orphan Education Program: for the surviving spouse or a child younger than 26 of a qualifying deceased or permanently disabled veteran. It waives tuition and fees at any West Virginia public post-secondary school (beyond what federal DEA pays) and adds up to $1,000 per semester, maximum $2,000 per year, toward room, board, books, and living expenses. Apply on the War Orphan Education Program application (PDF). (The official page ties eligibility to the veteran-parent's service-connected death or permanent disability rather than a stated VA percentage — confirm your specific eligibility with WVDVA.)
• Purple Heart / Medal of Honor tuition waiver: West Virginia residents awarded the Medal of Honor or Purple Heart get tuition and mandatory fees waived at public institutions.
• Veterans Re-education Assistance: a stipend of up to $500 per semester for eligible veterans enrolled in certified post-secondary education. Apply on the Veterans Re-education Assistance application (PDF).
• In-state tuition for GI Bill users: a nonresident using federal GI Bill benefits who enrolls within three years of discharge pays in-state tuition rates at West Virginia public institutions.
• High School Diploma Program: WWII, Korean War, and Vietnam War-era veterans who did not finish high school can be awarded a diploma.

1. Figure out which program fits: War Orphan for your spouse/child under 26 if you died or were permanently disabled from service; Re-education Assistance or the GI Bill in-state rate for you as the veteran; the Purple Heart/Medal of Honor waiver if you hold that decoration.
2. Download the matching application (War Orphan or Re-education Assistance) and confirm current age bounds and required documents with a WVDVA benefits office before you rely on the figures.
3. Coordinate the award with your school's financial-aid office so it applies against actual tuition owed.

Sources WVDVA Education Benefits

State Veterans' Homes & long-term care

What it is: West Virginia operates two state facilities — a residential/domiciliary Veterans Home in Barboursville and a skilled-nursing facility in Clarksburg — both administered by the WVDVA.

• West Virginia Veterans Home — Barboursville (residential/domiciliary): a 125-bed facility at 512 Water Street, Barboursville, WV 25504 for veterans who can live largely independently. Eligibility: discharge under honorable or general-under-honorable conditions; generally 12 consecutive months of active duty (or 24 months if you enlisted after September 7, 1980), with medical-discharge exceptions; you must be ambulatory, self-sufficient in daily activities, and eligible for VA Medical Center care. Income does not affect admission, but residents contribute 50% of their monthly income as a maintenance fee. A separate Project-214 track offers up to 60 days of no-cost temporary residence for homeless veterans. Phone (304) 736-1027.
• West Virginia Veterans Nursing Facility — Clarksburg (skilled nursing): a 120-bed skilled-nursing home at One Freedom Way, Clarksburg, WV 26301 (opened 2008), with 24-hour nursing, on-call physicians, pharmacy services, and a dedicated 20-bed Alzheimer's/dementia unit; it connects by breezeway to the Louis A. Johnson VA Medical Center. Phone (304) 626-1600.

1. Decide which level of care you need: Barboursville for independent residential living, Clarksburg for skilled nursing or memory care.
2. Call that facility's admissions line directly (Barboursville 304-736-1027; Clarksburg 304-626-1600) and confirm current eligibility, wait-list status, and the exact cost/contribution for your situation.
3. Have your discharge document (DD Form 214) and VA rating letter ready to submit.

Sources Veterans Home (Barboursville) · Clarksburg Nursing Facility

State hiring & civil service

What it is: West Virginia adds points to your state civil-service exam score — more if you are a disabled veteran — administered by the WV Division of Personnel.

• Veterans preference points: a qualifying veteran (honorable/general-under-honorable discharge) gets 5 points added to a passing state civil-service exam score. A veteran who also meets the statutory “disabled veteran” definition — a present service-connected disability, or receipt of VA compensation, disability-retirement pay, or a pension — gets 5 more points, for a maximum of 10. Purple Heart recipients likewise may get up to 5 additional points. You must submit your DD Form 214, and the disabled-veteran status must be verified by a VA letter dated within the last six months. Questions: 304-558-3950.

1. When you apply for a West Virginia state civil-service position, claim veteran status and request your preference points.
2. Attach your DD Form 214, and for the disabled-veteran points a VA rating letter dated within the last 6 months.
3. Questions on how the points apply? Call the WV Division of Personnel at 304-558-3950.

Sources the preference-points statute · WV Division of Personnel

Other: burial & veteran hiring incentive

What it is: a no-cost state veterans cemetery, plus an employer-side tax credit that makes hiring veterans more attractive.

• Donel C. Kinnard Memorial State Veterans Cemetery (Dunbar): burial at no cost to an eligible veteran — grave site or niche, opening/closing, a pre-set crypt, headstone or niche cover, perpetual care, and a Presidential Memorial Certificate for next of kin. Open to a veteran who died on active duty or was discharged under conditions other than dishonorable. A spouse or eligible dependent may also be buried there (a $780 fee applies to a non-veteran spouse/family-member burial; the spouse retains burial rights even after remarriage). Located at 130 Academy Drive, Dunbar, WV 25064, phone 304-746-0026. (The federal West Virginia National Cemetery at Pruntytown is a separate VA option; ask a VSO.)
• Military Incentive Program (employer credit): West Virginia offers tax credits to employers who hire economically disadvantaged veterans and unemployed National Guard/Reserve members. It is an employer-side incentive rather than a direct payment to you, but it can make you a more attractive hire; administered through WorkForce West Virginia.

1. For burial, contact the Kinnard Cemetery at 304-746-0026 (or ask a WVDVA benefits officer) to confirm eligibility and pre-register.
2. Job-seeking? Mention the Military Incentive Program to prospective employers and connect with WorkForce West Virginia veteran employment services.

Sources Kinnard State Veterans Cemetery · the employer-credit statute · WVDVA State Benefits

Who to call

The West Virginia Department of Veterans Assistance (WVDVA) 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. WVDVA runs field/benefits offices statewide that provide this help at no charge.

• Website: veterans.wv.gov
• Main office: 1900 Kanawha Blvd. East, Building 5, Room 205, Charleston, WV 25305 — phone (304) 558-3661.
• Find your nearest benefits/field office and current contact details on the WVDVA Contact Us page.
• Property-tax questions: your County Assessor (they administer the homestead exemption) and the WV Tax Division for the Disabled Veteran credit.

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. Use a WVDVA field office or find one at VA.gov. Never pay a private company for basic claims help.
2. State-program questions (property tax, plates, parks, education, homes, hiring, burial) go to the specific office linked in that section, or start at veterans.wv.gov or by calling (304) 558-3661.

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