Disabled Veteran Benefits in California

California's Disabled Veterans' Exemption is all or nothing. You qualify if the VA rates you 100%, or pays you at the 100% rate because of unemployability, or if you are blind in both eyes or have lost the use of two or more limbs because of service. An 80% rating does not get 80% of the exemption: nothing is allowed below 100%.

The exemption applies to your principal place of residence and the amount is raised by an inflation factor every year. For 2026 the basic exemption is $180,671. If your household income is $81,131 or less, the low-income exemption is $271,009. An unmarried surviving spouse can claim it too.

You get form BOE-261-G from your county assessor and file it there, not with the state. To receive the full exemption, file within 90 days of receiving your rating or by the next lien date, whichever is later. The basic exemption is filed once; the low-income one every year by February 15. If the VA was slow to rate you, the exemption reaches back to the effective date of your rating. A separate Veterans' Exemption of up to $4,000 exists, but only for veterans who own very little: a single claimant cannot own property worth more than $5,000 in total, or $10,000 for a married couple.

DV License Plates exempt you from registration and license fees on one vehicle: a passenger vehicle, a motorcycle, or a commercial vehicle of 8,000 pounds or less that is not used for hire. California does not hand them to everyone at 100%. You qualify if your 100% rating is for a condition that substantially impairs mobility, or you cannot move without an assistive device, or you have lost the use of one or more limbs, or you are permanently blind.

The plates also carry disabled parking privileges, including on-street metered parking at no charge. The DMV's list covers street parking and marked disabled spaces; it does not mention airport lots or private garages.

Apply with DMV form REG 256V. Its medical section is signed by a doctor or other licensed provider, but a certification from a County Veterans Service Officer, CalVet or the VA is accepted in its place. Separately, eligible veterans can have VETERAN printed on a driver license or ID. A 2023 law eliminated the $5 fee for the designation, though the DMV can still charge its standard license fee.

Since January 1, 2023, California law exempts certain veterans' vehicles from tolls on toll roads, toll bridges and other toll facilities. It is tied to the license plate, not to your rating. The vehicle must be registered to a veteran and display a Disabled Veteran plate, or a Purple Heart, former prisoner of war, Pearl Harbor survivor or Medal of Honor plate.

Two conditions trip people up. The vehicle has to be registered to a transponder or other electronic toll account with the toll agency, so the plate alone is not enough. And the law does not cover high-occupancy toll (HOT) lanes.

The exemption follows the plate. A rating by itself, without one of those plates, is not on the statute's list.

The College Fee Waiver for Veteran Dependents waives mandatory systemwide tuition and fees at any California Community College, California State University or University of California campus. It does not pay for books, parking or room and board, its plans are for dependents rather than the veteran, and the student must meet California residency requirements.

Plan B is the one that does not need a 100% rating. It covers the child of a veteran who has a service-connected disability. The page sets no minimum rating, no wartime service requirement and no specific age limit, and only children qualify under this plan. The test is the child's own income: adjusted gross income plus the value of support from a parent cannot exceed $22,941 for the 2026-27 academic year.

Plan A is for families of a veteran who is totally disabled from service or whose death was rated service-connected. It covers an unmarried child over 14 and under 27, and the spouse of a wartime veteran with no age limit. It has no income limit, but the total rating or the death must have come before the child's 21st birthday, and you cannot draw Plan A and VA Chapter 35 together. Apply with form DVS-40 at your County Veterans Service Office for each academic year, because the waiver is not granted for past years.

The Distinguished Veteran Pass gives free vehicle day use, family camping and boat use at more than 100 state park units. You need an honorable discharge, California residency and a combined rating of 50% or greater with wartime service, and the qualifying dates include everything from January 1, 1981 to the present. The pass is valid for five years before it has to be renewed.

Hunting and fishing licenses are not free here, but they are cheap. An honorably discharged veteran with a rating of 50% or greater pays $9.79 for the Disabled Veteran Hunting License, and $10.54 for the Disabled Veteran Sport Fishing License from a license agent or $10.04 at a Fish and Wildlife office. A regular resident fishing license is $64.54. You prequalify by sending Fish and Wildlife your VA Benefit Summary Letter; after that you can buy the license anywhere licenses are sold.

Since January 1, 2014, California's veterans' preference works by rank: any veteran who achieves a passing score on an entrance examination is ranked in the top rank of the eligibility list. The same goes for the widow or widower of a veteran and for the spouse of a 100% disabled veteran. It applies to open competitive exams, and a dishonorable discharge rules it out.

The law names no separate tier for a disability rating: a passing score puts any veteran in the top rank. The preference ends once you hold permanent civil service status. You apply to CalHR with a copy of your DD-214 and form SPB 1093, and once approved your information stays on file for future qualifying exams.

California conforms to federal law on VA benefits. VA disability compensation, including lump-sum retroactive payments, is tax-exempt and so is Combat-Related Special Compensation.

Military retirement pay is different. The Franchise Tax Board says it plainly: if you are a resident, your military retirement pay is taxable. What changed is a temporary break. For tax years 2025 through 2029 you can exclude up to $20,000 of military retirement pay from California income.

The exclusion has an income cap: federal adjusted gross income of no more than $125,000 for an individual or $250,000 on a joint return. Concurrent Retirement and Disability Pay is included in income, even if there is a VA disability determination.