Ohio Veterans Bonus: Eligibility, Payments, and Deadlines

The Ohio Veterans Bonus is closed. The state stopped accepting applications on August 30, 2024, and no new claims can be filed regardless of when the veteran served.¹ Veterans who already received a payment keep it, and the Ohio Department of Veterans Services still handles questions about applications submitted before the deadline.

Who Qualified

Three things had to line up. The veteran needed active duty service (not just training) during at least one covered conflict period, Ohio residency both when entering the military and when applying, and separation under honorable conditions—or continued service on active duty or in a reserve component.²

“Separated under honorable conditions” was broader than a strictly Honorable discharge. A General Discharge Under Honorable Conditions also met the standard. Other-than-honorable, bad conduct, and dishonorable discharges did not.

Active-duty personnel and members of the Ohio National Guard or reserves could qualify too, provided they met the service-date and residency rules.³

Qualifying Service Periods

The program covered three windows, and a veteran whose service spanned more than one could qualify under each:

Persian Gulf: August 2, 1990, through March 3, 1991
Afghanistan: October 7, 2001, through a date to be determined by the President marking the end of U.S. involvement
Iraq: March 19, 2003, through a date to be determined by the President marking the end of U.S. involvement

Service during any of these windows counted, whether the veteran deployed to the conflict zone or served elsewhere during the same period.²

What the Bonus Paid

The rate depended on where a veteran served. In-theater service in the Persian Gulf, Afghanistan, or Iraq paid $100 per month. Service elsewhere in the world during a covered period paid $50 per month.³

Hard caps limited the total:

In-theater service: $1,000 maximum
Domestic or other foreign service: $500 maximum
Combined across categories: $1,500 maximum

A veteran with ten months in Iraq and six months stateside during a qualifying period would receive $1,000 for the in-theater time (hitting the cap) and $300 for the domestic months, totaling $1,300.²

Combat-Related Disability

Veterans medically discharged or medically retired because of a combat-related disability sustained during service in the Persian Gulf, Afghanistan, or Iraq received a flat $1,000 payment.²

Survivors and POW/MIA

Separate payment provisions covered families of service members killed in action, those who died from service-related injuries, and those designated as missing in action or prisoners of war. These payments could exceed the standard caps; the exact amounts sit in Sections (D)(2) and (D)(3) of the constitutional amendment.²

The Deadlines That Applied

Each conflict had its own filing deadline:

Persian Gulf service: December 31, 2013
Afghanistan service: Within three years after the President declared the end of U.S. involvement
Iraq service: Within three years after the President declared the end of U.S. involvement

Whatever those individual dates would have produced, the program itself stopped accepting applications on August 30, 2024.¹

Questions About a Prior Application

If you filed before the closure and are still waiting on an answer or a payment, contact the Ohio Department of Veterans Services directly. The closure of this bonus does not affect other Ohio veteran benefits, and County Veterans Service Offices statewide still help veterans connect with federal VA benefits, state property tax exemptions, and local assistance programs.⁴

1
Ohio Department of Veterans Services. Ohio Veterans Bonus
2
Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Constitution Section 8.2r – Persian Gulf, Afghanistan, and Iraq Conflicts Compensation Fund
3
Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. Ohio Military Members and Veterans May Be Eligible for Bonus
4
MyArmyBenefits. Ohio Military and Veterans Benefits