Pennsylvania VA Disability Benefits: Property Tax Exemption and $150 Pension

If you hold a VA disability rating and live in Pennsylvania, the state layers its own benefits on top of your federal VA compensation. Pennsylvania VA disability benefits include a full property tax exemption for 100% disabled veterans, two $150-per-month state pensions for severe service-connected injuries, free or discounted vehicle registration and hunting and fishing licenses, a 10-point civil service hiring preference, education grants for your children, and priority admission to six state veterans homes. Most of these programs are administered by the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs (DMVA), and every county has a Director of Veterans Affairs who will prepare the applications for free.

Full Property Tax Exemption at 100% Disability

The largest benefit by dollar value is a complete exemption from real estate taxes, covering county, township, and school district levies, for veterans the VA has rated 100% permanently and totally disabled. Total disability based on individual unemployability (TDIU) counts for this purpose.

Who Qualifies

You must have a 100% permanent and total rating, have served during a designated wartime or armed conflict era, and own and occupy the home as your primary residence. Your name has to be on the deed; a spouse can be listed with you. Property held in a trust or LLC qualifies only when you and your spouse are the sole members.¹

You also have to show financial need. As of January 1, 2025, the State Veterans’ Commission’s “presumptive need level” is $114,637. If your annual income is at or below that figure, you get a rebuttable presumption of need. Veterans above the threshold can still qualify but have to prove need separately.²³ Under current rules, all your income counts, including VA disability compensation and retirement account distributions, though a spouse’s income is excluded.¹

An unmarried surviving spouse may qualify as well, provided the deceased veteran met every requirement during their lifetime.¹

How to Apply

You cannot file this one yourself. The application goes through the county Office of Veteran Services, and the state adjudication can take up to 90 days. Keep paying your property taxes until you receive the official approval letter. The exemption lasts five years, then has to be renewed.¹

A Rule Change in the Pipeline

DMVA Regulation 13-6 would narrow the definition of “income” for the need test to gross income reported to the IRS, excluding VA disability compensation and other federal and state veterans’ benefits from the calculation. DMVA estimates the change could open eligibility to roughly 1,422 additional veterans, based on denial records from 2017 through 2022. The final-form regulation was received by the Independent Regulatory Review Commission on June 30, 2026, with a public meeting scheduled for August 20, 2026.⁴⁵ If you were denied previously for exceeding the income limit, it is worth checking back with your county office.

$150 Monthly State Pensions

Pennsylvania pays two separate $150-per-month pensions on top of federal VA compensation, each tied to a specific category of severe service-connected injury.

The Amputee and Paralyzed Veterans Pension is for veterans who suffered a service-connected injury or disease resulting in the loss or loss of use of two or more extremities, with at least a 40% VA disability rating in each affected limb. You must have been a Pennsylvania resident when you entered the military, have received an honorable or under-honorable-conditions discharge, and the qualifying injury must have occurred during an established period of war or armed conflict, or during combat-related activities in peacetime.⁶⁷

The Blind Veterans Pension uses the same residency, discharge, and service-era requirements and covers service-connected vision loss where visual acuity is 3/60 (10/200) or less, or the visual field in the better eye is contracted to 20 degrees or less.⁷

Both applications go through your local County Director of Veterans Affairs.

Free or Reduced Vehicle Registration

Pennsylvania waives titling and registration fees for one passenger vehicle, up to 9,000 pounds registered weight, for severely disabled veterans. The category covers veterans with a 100% service-connected disability certified by a VA Regional Office, as well as veterans who lost a limb or eye, became partially paralyzed, were held as prisoners of war in a qualifying conflict, or received the Congressional Medal of Honor or Purple Heart.⁸

You submit form MV-371DV (Supplemental Application for Free or Reduced Registration Rates for Veterans) with supporting paperwork such as your DD-214 or VA benefit letter. Which sections you complete depends on which qualifying category applies to you.⁸

Hunting and Fishing Licenses

License prices are tiered by rating.

At 100% service-connected disability, resident hunting, fishing, and furtaking licenses are free, including lifetime versions. The free fishing license also includes a Combination Trout/Lake Erie Permit at no extra charge.⁹¹⁰
At 60% to 99%, fishing licenses are $1 and hunting licenses are $2.97. Additional permits like the Trout/Lake Erie Permit are at standard prices.⁹¹⁰

You buy these licenses through county treasurers or the Game Commission and Fish and Boat Commission offices, with VA documentation of your rating.¹¹ Act 21 of 2025 removed the previous requirement that the disability result from war or armed conflict, so veterans whose disabilities came from training, peacetime service, or non-combat operations now qualify.¹²

Civil Service Hiring Preference

Under 51 Pa.C.S. § 7103, eligible veterans receive a 10-point preference on state and municipal civil service examinations. Those 10 points are added to your passing score, and the appointing authority must give preference to a veteran on the eligible list regardless of exact numerical standing. The preference also protects you during a reduction in force.¹³¹⁴

Spouses of veterans classified by the VA as permanently and totally disabled, and unmarried surviving spouses of deceased veterans, get the same 10-point preference and appointment priority.¹³

Education Benefits for Your Children

Pennsylvania’s state-funded education money for disabled veterans mostly flows to their children, not to the veterans themselves.

The Educational Gratuity Program pays $500 per semester, up to four years, for children of veterans who are 100% permanently and totally service-connected disabled, or who died during an established war service period. The child must be between 16 and 23, have lived in Pennsylvania for five years before applying, and attend an approved Pennsylvania institution. As of August 2024, financial need is no longer a requirement.¹⁴

The POW/MIA Educational Grant offers up to $1,200 to children of service members declared prisoners of war or missing in action who served on active duty after January 31, 1955, and were Pennsylvania residents for at least 12 months before service.¹⁴

For yourself, Pennsylvania guarantees in-state tuition at public colleges and universities when you use VA educational benefits, plus early course registration at public institutions of higher learning.¹⁴

Emergency Financial Help

Two state programs can help if you hit a sudden financial wall. Neither is tied to your disability rating, but both are open to disabled veterans.

Veterans Temporary Assistance (VTA) provides up to $1,600 within a 12-month period for food, rent, fuel, and clothing. Any veteran who served on active duty with a discharge under conditions other than dishonorable can apply. If you have a service-connected disability, you qualify regardless of your length of service. Surviving dependents of eligible veterans or service members killed in action also qualify.¹⁵

The Military Family Relief Assistance Program (MFRAP) gives non-repayable grants of up to $5,000 for urgent needs including food, housing, childcare, utilities, medical services, insurance, and vehicle payments. Former service members who received a medical discharge for a disability incurred in the line of duty during a qualifying active-duty period remain eligible for four years after discharge. Applications are reviewed case by case and can be processed in as little as 48 hours.¹⁶

State Tax Treatment of VA Disability Pay

Pennsylvania does not tax your VA disability compensation. Military disability retirement pay received as a pension or similar allowance for service-connected injury or sickness is excluded from taxable income, Dependency and Indemnity Compensation to surviving families is excluded, and military retired pay is also not taxable in Pennsylvania.¹⁴

State Veterans Homes

Pennsylvania operates six veterans homes offering long-term residential care:

Delaware Valley Veterans’ Home in Philadelphia
Gino J. Merli Veterans’ Center in Scranton
Hollidaysburg Veterans’ Home in Hollidaysburg
Pennsylvania Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Home in Erie
Southeastern Veterans’ Center in Spring City
Southwestern Veterans’ Center in Pittsburgh

Four levels of care are available: domiciliary (shelter, food, and medical care for veterans incapacitated from earning a living), personal care (help with daily activities and medication), memory care (for Alzheimer’s and related dementias), and nursing care (24/7 moderate to full assistance). Hollidaysburg, Soldiers’ and Sailors’, and Southeastern provide all four. Delaware Valley, Merli, and Southwestern offer memory and nursing care only.¹⁷

You must have been discharged under honorable conditions and be a Pennsylvania resident, or have been a resident when you entered service. Spouses and surviving spouses of eligible veterans may also qualify. Applications are available at county Veterans Affairs offices, veterans organizations, or the Bureau of Veterans’ Homes, and admissions are processed in the order received.¹⁸

Start With Your County Director

The property tax exemption application has to come through the county. The two state pensions go through the county. Most other benefits run smoother when a Veterans Service Officer prepares the paperwork. Pennsylvania’s County Directors of Veterans Affairs are accredited officers who help you identify benefits, confirm eligibility, and submit applications for county, state, and federal programs at no cost. DMVA keeps a current directory on its website and stresses that you should never pay anyone for help applying.¹⁹

You can also sign up for the Pennsylvania Veterans Registry to receive weekly benefit and employment updates through the DMVA Digest newsletter. For a mental health emergency, the Veterans Crisis Line is available 24 hours a day by dialing 988 and pressing 1.²⁰

1
Montgomery County, PA. Real Estate Tax Exemption FAQs
2
Pennsylvania DMVA. Pennsylvania Veterans
3
Bucks County, PA. Disabled Veterans Real Estate Tax Exempt
4
Pennsylvania IRRC. Proposed Regulation 13-6
5
Pennsylvania IRRC. Regulation 13-6 Status
6
Pennsylvania DMVA. Amputee and Paralyzed Veterans Pension
7
Cumberland County, PA. State Benefits
8
PA House of Representatives. Disabled Veterans Vehicle Registration
9
York County, PA. Hunting and Fishing Licenses
10
Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission. Fishing License for Disabled Veterans
11
Pennsylvania Game Commission. License Types
12
Senator Argall. Veterans Benefits Update
13
Pennsylvania State Civil Service Commission. Veterans Preference
14
MyArmyBenefits. Pennsylvania State Benefits
15
Pennsylvania DMVA. Veterans Temporary Assistance
16
Pennsylvania DMVA. Apply for Military Family Relief Assistance
17
Pennsylvania DMVA. Levels of Care
18
National Association of State Veterans Homes. Pennsylvania Veterans Homes
19
Pennsylvania DMVA. County Director of Veterans Affairs
20
Pennsylvania DMVA. Department of Military and Veterans Affairs