100% VA Disability Benefits in Hawaii: Tax, Tuition & Vehicle Fees

If you hold a 100% VA disability rating and live in Hawaii, you receive federal compensation starting at $3,938.58 per month as of December 2025, and you qualify for a distinct set of Hawaii benefits on top of that check: county property tax exemptions, a state vehicle registration fee waiver, no state income tax on your VA compensation, tuition waivers for your dependent children at the University of Hawaii, and free burial in a state veterans cemetery. This is the practical picture of 100% VA disability benefits in Hawaii.¹

Your Monthly Federal Payment

The VA sets compensation rates nationally and adjusts them each December. At the 100% rate, effective December 1, 2025:¹

Veteran alone, no dependents: $3,938.58
Veteran with spouse only: $4,158.17
Veteran with spouse and one child: $4,318.99
Veteran with one child, no spouse: $4,085.43
Each additional child under 18: add $109.11
Each additional child over 18 in a qualifying school program: add $352.45
Spouse receiving Aid and Attendance: add $201.41

Payments climb further when a veteran has one or two dependent parents. The federal amount is the same in every state; Hawaii does not add a supplemental cash payment.

Property Tax Exemption by County

The most valuable state-side benefit for a 100% disabled veteran who owns a home is property tax relief, but Hawaii sets this at the county level. Rules and amounts differ between Honolulu, Kauai, Maui, and Hawaii County.²

City and County of Honolulu

A totally disabled veteran’s home on Oahu is exempt from all real property taxes except the minimum tax, and the exemption extends to the unmarried surviving spouse. The property must be owned and occupied as the veteran’s home, and any portion used for commercial purposes is excluded.³

You apply using form E-8-10.5 with a physician’s certificate of disability, filed by June 30 to affect the first tax payment or by December 31 for the second. Form E-8-10.5A renews the exemption in later years. Filing is available online through the Honolulu Real Property Assessment Division. If you later move into a licensed long-term care facility or adult residential care home in Hawaii, the exemption continues as long as you don’t rent, lease, or sell the original home.⁴

Kauai County

Kauai uses a tiered structure. With a rating of at least 80%, your home is exempt from all property taxes except a $150 minimum, and the exemption continues for an unmarried surviving spouse who remains in the home. Ratings below 80% receive a $50,000 exemption that can be combined with the regular home exemption. File RP Form P-6 along with the Claim for Home Exemption (P-3) by September 30.⁵

Maui County and Hawaii County

Both counties offer disabled-veteran exemptions, but the specifics come from the county tax offices directly. Maui provides a downloadable disability exemption application through its Real Property Assessment Division.⁶ Hawaii County directs veterans to hawaiipropertytax.com.⁷

Vehicle Registration Fee Exemption

Hawaii waives $46 of the state motor vehicle registration fee for one vehicle owned by a 100% service-connected disabled veteran. Any remainder of the registration fee is still yours to pay.⁷

You must be a Hawaii resident with a discharge under other than dishonorable conditions and a current 100% rating. Send copies of your driver’s license, current vehicle registration, and current VA 100% disability letter to the Office of Veterans’ Services by fax at 808-433-0385 or email at ovs@hawaii.gov. The OVS then mails back an original exemption letter to present at the DMV. Photocopies and letters from prior years are not accepted, so you have to submit a fresh request every year.⁷

Separately, specially adapted passenger vehicles provided by the VA to service-connected disabled veterans are exempt from county vehicular taxes. Details differ by island, so check with your local real property tax office.²

Hawaii Income Tax Exclusion

Hawaii does not tax VA disability compensation. Military disability retirement pay received as a pension, annuity, or similar allowance for personal injury or sickness resulting from active service is also excluded from Hawaii taxable income. The exclusion covers disability compensation and pension paid to veterans or their families, plus specific VA grants for wheelchair-accessible homes, motor vehicles for veterans who lost limbs or sight, and dependent-care assistance. Regular military retired pay is likewise exempt from Hawaii income tax.²

Tuition Waivers for Dependent Children

Dependent children of a veteran with a VA 100% service-connected disability rating can receive tuition waivers at the University of Hawaii. Under the framework established through legislative action on HRS Chapter 304A, an eligible student must be a dependent child (including adopted or stepchild) under age 24, demonstrate financial need, and have been domiciled in Hawaii for at least five years. The same waiver framework covers dependents of veterans killed in action and Purple Heart recipients from 2001 onward.⁸ An earlier version of the benefit allowed up to eight semesters of waivers.⁹

Nonresident veterans using VA educational benefits, the Fry Scholarship, or the Veteran Readiness and Employment program qualify for resident tuition rates at Hawaii colleges.²

Burial at the Hawaii State Veterans Cemetery

Hawaii operates state veterans cemeteries including the Hawaii State Veterans Cemetery in Kaneohe. An eligible veteran and eligible dependents can be buried at no cost. The cemetery provides the gravesite or columbarium niche, opening and closing of the grave, a flat granite or bronze marker, perpetual care, and, subject to fund availability, a Polyguard vault liner for casketed burials. The VA also provides one burial flag per veteran and pays a plot or interment allowance for eligible wartime and peacetime veterans.¹⁰

Eligible dependents are the spouse, minor children under 21, children under 23 enrolled in an approved educational program, and unmarried adult children who became physically or mentally disabled before age 21. Families still cover mortuary services, transportation of remains, and urn vaults.¹⁰

Other Benefits Worth Knowing

Specialty veteran license plates such as Combat, Combat Wounded, Pearl Harbor Survivor, Former POW, and Gold Star Family cost the same as a standard plate. Application procedures vary by county.⁷
A “Veteran” designation can be added to your Hawaii driver’s license, state ID, or instruction permit by presenting a DD-214 or VA verification letter, provided your discharge is under other than dishonorable conditions.²
The Office of Veterans’ Services will provide free certified copies of your DD-214 if it has the records on file.⁷
The Hawaii Workforce Development Division and American Job Centers give veterans priority for job and training referrals. Federal hiring preferences include a 10-point preference for veterans with compensable service-connected disabilities.²
The Yukio Okutsu State Veterans Home in Hilo is a VA- and Medicare/Medicaid-certified nursing and personal care facility for veterans.¹¹

If You Are on TDIU Rather Than a Schedular 100%

Total Disability based on Individual Unemployability pays at the 100% rate when service-connected disabilities prevent substantially gainful employment, even if your combined schedular rating is lower. The monthly amount matches the 100% payment.¹²

Whether TDIU satisfies Hawaii benefits that require a “100% service-connected disability rating” is not clearly answered in state materials. The OVS specifies that veterans must be “determined by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs to have a 100% service-connected disability rating” and must submit a “VA 100% Disability Letter” to prove eligibility for the registration fee exemption.⁷ Because TDIU changes the pay level, not the schedular rating, veterans on TDIU should call the Office of Veterans’ Services at (808) 433-0420 or email ovs@hawaii.gov to confirm whether their VA letter meets the state’s eligibility language.

Where to Get Help

The Hawaii Office of Veterans’ Services provides free help with VA claims, forms, and appeals, and walks veterans through both state and federal benefit applications. General number: (808) 433-0420. Email: ovs@hawaii.gov. Free interpreter services for non-English speakers: (808) 369-3478.¹³

1
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Veteran Compensation Rates
2
My Army Benefits. Hawaii State and Territory Benefits
3
American Legal Publishing. Revised Ordinances of Honolulu, Section 8-10.5
4
City and County of Honolulu. Totally Disabled Veterans Exemption
5
County of Kauai. Exemption and Tax Relief Information
6
Maui County. Real Property Assessment Forms and Instructions
7
Hawaii Office of Veterans’ Services. Benefits and Services
8
Hawaii State Legislature. SB 951 (2021)
9
Hawaii State Legislature. HB 2278 (2008)
10
Hawaii Office of Veterans’ Services. Arranging for Burial in the Hawaii State Veterans Cemetery
11
Hawaii Business Magazine. Yukio Okutsu State Veterans Home
12
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Individual Unemployability
13
Hawaii Office of Veterans’ Services. Office of Veterans’ Services