Delaware veterans benefits

Full exemption from county property taxes (and local school taxes) for a disabled veteran with a 100% VA-rated service-connected permanent & total disability, or one receiving 100% compensation due to individual unemployability. Applies to the dwelling and surrounding land occupied as the owner's principal place of residence.

Credit against 100% of non-vocational school district property tax on the veteran's principal residence. Requires 100% VA service-connected permanent & total disability rating or 100% compensation due to individual unemployability (IU), plus 3 years legal domicile in Delaware and all prior property taxes paid. Cannot be combined with the Senior School Property Tax Credit. Apply through your county; deadline April 30 for the upcoming tax year; no annual reapplication but must report rating changes within 60 days.

Delaware allows a military-pension subtraction from federal AGI, available regardless of age, phasing up over recent years: $20,000 for tax year 2025 and $25,000 for tax year 2026 and beyond. This is in addition to (not stacked beyond statutory caps with) the general pension/retirement exclusion of $12,500 for taxpayers 60+ or $2,000 for those under 60. Delaware therefore exempts part of military retirement pay, not all of it.

VA disability compensation is excluded from federal gross income and therefore never enters Delaware's federal-AGI-based taxable income; Delaware does not tax it. Social Security and Railroad Retirement are also not taxable in Delaware. No Delaware page states the VA-comp treatment verbatim, but it follows directly from the FAGI starting point.

Active members of a federally recognized Delaware National Guard unit who meet membership requirements receive funding support for post-secondary education tuition and fees.

Full tuition and fees at any Delaware public college for children (ages 16-24) of veterans who died of a service-connected cause, or who are POW/MIA. Requires three years of Delaware residency and enrollment beyond high school.

Employers hiring qualified veterans (e.g., who served in hostile/combat zones such as Iraq/Afghanistan) may claim a tax credit of 10% of the veteran's wages, up to $1,500 per year, for up to three years.

Veterans receive preference points in state hiring: 10 points for disabled veterans and 5 points for other eligible veterans. Preference is transferable to unmarried spouses/widows in defined circumstances.

A motor vehicle owned by a disabled veteran who is eligible for VA 'adaptive equipment' benefits is exempt from registration fees, limited to one automobile per eligible veteran at a time. DMV also issues special veteran plates (Disabled Veteran, Purple Heart, Former POW) typically for a $10 fee with documentation.

Veterans with at least a 60% service-connected disability rating qualify for a no-fee veteran hunting/fishing/trapping license exemption via DNREC Division of Fish & Wildlife. Active-duty stationed in Delaware get resident rates, and OIF/OEF veterans (90+ days) get a one-time 12-month exemption after honorable discharge.

Disabled veterans receive a 50% discount on annual state park vehicle entrance fees.

A wartime-disabled veteran who is paraplegic and fully disabled as a direct result of service receives a state pension of $3,000 per year, payable in equal monthly installments, upon providing evidence to the Pension Office.

150-bed skilled nursing and dementia care facility in Milford. Eligibility: honorable discharge from active service (or Guard/Reserve eligible for age-60 retirement pay or 180+ days active duty), Delaware residency for 1 year prior to application, and meeting skilled-nursing level-of-care requirements. Daily rate $320/day (as of May 1, 2023); billing is waived for veterans 70%+ VA-disabled and there is no fee for 100% VA-disabled veterans.