Disabled Veteran Benefits in Kansas

There is no exemption, even at 100%. Kansas gives money back as a refund you claim from the Department of Revenue. For these refunds a "disabled veteran" is a Kansas resident with an honorable or general discharge and a service-connected rating of 50% or greater.

There are two refunds a disabled veteran can claim. The Property Tax Relief claim (Form K-40SVR) refunds the difference between your homestead property tax in a base year and the tax this year. The base year is the calendar year before the first year you can claim, and you must have been a disabled veteran for all of it. For 2025, household income must be $58,041 or less and the home valued at no more than $350,000 in the base year. The Homestead Refund (Form K-40H) pays back a percentage of your property tax, based on household income, up to $700. Its limits are household income of $43,389 or less and a home valued at no more than $350,000. VA disability compensation does not count as income under the homestead law, and the state's free filing software generates whichever refund is largest.

The Veterans' Valor Property Tax Relief Act people search for is not law. The 2024 bill, HB 2096, would have refunded 75 percent of the property tax on the home of a veteran with a 100 percent permanent disability or unemployable rating. The Governor vetoed it. Its 2025-26 successor, HB 2005, is marked "Died" on the legislature's bill page.

You qualify if you are a Kansas resident, were honorably discharged (a general discharge under honorable conditions counts), have a permanent disability, and the VA certifies you as 100% permanent and total or as totally disabled or unemployable (TDIU).

It covers everyday buying: food, clothing, toiletries, appliances, restaurant meals, and upkeep, repairs or modifications to a vehicle. It does not cover buying a motor vehicle, alcohol, tobacco or e-cigarettes, or anything bought to produce income. The cap is $24,000 of purchases a year, not $24,000 of tax. The Department of Revenue's own example: at a combined 10% rate, using the full amount saves $2,400 a year.

You apply to the Department of Revenue, online or on paper Form K-97, with your DD-214 and a VA award or benefit summary letter. You get a wallet-sized card to show the retailer, and it is renewed every three years. A surviving spouse stays eligible until remarriage if the veteran died on or after July 1, 2026.

Kansas does not tax VA disability payments or military retirement pay. Both are on the state veterans office's short list of income that is not taxed in Kansas.

If you were honorably discharged and the VA pays you at the 100% rate for a permanent disability, you also claim an additional personal exemption when you file. The statute sets it at $2,250; the Kansas Office of Veterans Services lists $2,320 for tax year 2025 and later. The two official sources differ, so check the current Kansas return instructions.

Kansas sets this bar at 50%. A resident veteran entitled to VA compensation for a service-connected disability of at least 50% can register a passenger vehicle, a motorcycle or a truck of up to 20,000 pounds with a disabled veteran plate and pay no registration fee, at first issue and at renewal. Compensation for the loss, or permanent loss of use, of a hand or foot also qualifies.

Two limits matter. The property tax on the vehicle is still due, and additional disabled veteran plates for other vehicles carry standard registration fees and property taxes. Since July 1, 2022 there are two versions: one with the international wheelchair emblem, for veterans who also meet the state's definition of a person with a disability, and one without.

Either version lets you park without charge in any metered zone. Apply at your county treasurer's motor vehicle office with Form TR-103. Separately, a veteran whose DD-214 shows an honorable or general discharge can have "VETERAN" printed on a Kansas driver's license or ID card.

The bar here is 30%. State law tells the wildlife department to issue a permanent license to hunt and fish, free of charge, to any person residing in Kansas with a service-connected rating of 30% or greater and an honorable or general discharge. Send a copy of your VA letter with the application. The state veterans office adds one caution: the licenses are made available and issued based on state funding.

State parks are a different story. The state park permit statute sets no permit tied to a VA rating. What it has is a half-price vehicle permit for Kansas residents who are 65 or older, or who have a disability and display a disability plate or placard.

The cut-off is 80%. Under the Kansas Hero's Scholarship Act, community colleges, state universities and technical colleges enroll the spouse or dependent of a Kansas resident entitled to VA compensation for a service-connected disability of at least 80% without charge of tuition or fees, for up to 10 semesters of undergraduate instruction. Families of Kansas residents who died while serving in military service qualify too.

The catch is money. The waiver is awarded first come, first served, funding is limited, and waivers are guaranteed only up to the amount the legislature appropriates each year. The Board of Regents encourages you to apply as soon as you know which school you will attend.

Veterans themselves pay in-state rates, however long they have lived in Kansas, if they were stationed in Kansas for at least 11 months or had established residency before serving, and live in Kansas when they enroll. Their spouses and dependents get the same. Kansas residents who received hostile fire pay for at least 90 days after September 11, 2001 can apply for the Kansas Military Service Scholarship, which pays tuition and fees at public Kansas institutions. Financial need is a priority in awarding it.

Kansas law says veterans shall be preferred for initial employment and first promotion in state government and in the counties and cities, if competent to do the job. A veteran here means someone with an honorable or general discharge, and the statute has no point table. One exception: a retiree at pay grade O-4 or above gets the preference only if retired for combat wounds or rated 10% or more. If you apply as a veteran and are not hired, you must be notified within 30 days of the position being filled.

The preference reaches family: the spouse of a veteran with a 100% permanent and total rating can use it, and so can the surviving spouse of a veteran who died in the line of duty.

If you own a business, the state's contract preference counts you as a disabled veteran at 30% or greater. The state's goal is to award at least 3% of contracts to disabled veteran businesses, and one that is a responsible bidder is awarded the contract when its bid is not more than 10% higher than the lowest.