Disabled Veteran Benefits in Delaware

Delaware's benefit is the Disabled Veterans School Tax Credit, available since 2022. A qualifying veteran gets a credit against 100% of the non-vocational school district property tax on a primary residence. The Department of Finance describes no credit against the rest of the bill.

To qualify you must receive 100% disability compensation, either through a 100% rating or TDIU, and you must have held legal domicile in Delaware for the past 3 years. You cannot claim it together with the Senior School Property Tax Credit.

Send the application to the county where you live; applications for the upcoming tax year are due April 30. Once you qualify you do not re-apply each year, but a move to a new home needs a new application. You must also pay your property tax bill in full by the end of each tax year to keep the credit the next year. You need a driver's license or state ID, VA documentation of your disability and a copy of your Social Security card.

Delaware lets you exclude part of a United States military pension from income. For tax years 2022 through 2026 the cap is $12,500. Under age 60 the law gives you the greater of that or the $2,000 general pension exclusion; at 60 or older the general pension exclusion is also $12,500.

The statute then steps the military cap up: $15,000 for 2027, $20,000 for 2028 and $25,000 from 2029 on. Each amount is a cap on what you exclude, not an exemption of the whole pension.

VA disability compensation is a separate matter. Delaware's taxable income starts from your federal adjusted gross income, and the IRS says not to include VA benefits in income, so disability compensation does not enter the Delaware calculation.

A veteran with a disability who is eligible for adaptive equipment benefits (power steering, brakes, window lifts, seats and similar equipment) is exempt from registration fees for one automobile at a time. The DMV needs documentation from the VA showing you qualify.

The Disabled American Veteran (DAV) plate is separate. You send a VA certification showing a service-connected disability and wartime service, plus a one-time $10 fee. You still have to inspect the vehicle and pay registration each year unless you also qualify for the adaptive equipment exemption.

Veterans rated 60% or more for service-connected disability can get a veteran license exemption: a no-fee hunting, trapping and fishing license. You apply on the Veterans with Disabilities Exempt Application sent to the Division of Fish and Wildlife, and processing can take up to four weeks.

The state park discount is not tied to a rating. The Delaware Military Pass cuts an annual pass by 50% for Delaware residents, and veterans qualify if they were honorably discharged. It is sold only at park offices: bring your DD214, Delaware driver's license and the registration for a vehicle registered in Delaware in your name.

Delaware adds ten points for disabled veterans and five points for other eligible veterans to your total ranking score, once you meet the minimum qualifications for the position. The Office of Veterans Services says unmarried widows, widowers or spouses can claim the points too.

The preference applies to original entrance to state merit employment only, not to promotion or to retention in a reduction in force. Submit a copy of your DD214, and for the disabled-veteran points add a VA letter indicating disability. Neither page names a minimum rating.

The state pension that the Office of Veterans Services lists is for veterans with paraplegia: $3,000 per year, paid in equal monthly installments. It is paid by the state, separately from VA compensation.

The law requires that you have no voluntary control over either leg, that the VA lists you as totally disabled for that cause, that the disability is a direct result of service while the United States was at war or engaged in hostilities as a member of the United Nations, and that you are a bona fide Delaware resident. You file evidence with the Pension Board of Trustees.

The Office of Veterans Services lists educational benefits for children of deceased military service members, prisoners of war and those declared missing in action. The listing does not name disabled veterans or their children as a group that qualifies.

Applicants must be between 16 and 24, Delaware residents for at least three years before applying, and attending school beyond high school. The Delaware Postsecondary Education Commission administers it.