Disabled Veteran Benefits in Maine

Maine takes the break off the home's just value rather than cutting the bill by a percentage. Today the veteran exemption is $6,000 for a veteran receiving compensation for total, service-connected disability. A veteran who served in a recognized war period also qualifies at age 62. You apply at your town office by April 1 of the first year, and the assessors keep granting it while you remain a resident there.

A new law changes this. For tax years beginning April 1, 2027, the homestead exemption takes up to $25,000 off the just value of a homestead owned for the preceding 12 months, and adds a veteran amount tied to your VA rating: up to $10,000 at 60%, $20,000 at 70%, $30,000 at 80%, $40,000 at 90% and $50,000 at 100%. A veteran who received a federal specially adapted housing grant gets $50,000. Under that law a veteran rated below 60%, or with no rating, gets $5,000 if under 62 and $6,000 at 62 or older. You get one of these veteran amounts, not several. The current exemption is discontinued from the same date.

If you are 100% permanent and total, Maine also gives an additional credit equal to the amount of your Property Tax Fairness credit. The two together cannot be more than the property tax or rent you paid. It is run through the individual income tax, not the town office.

Maine ties its vehicle benefits to the top of the rating scale. The Disabled Veteran plate goes to a veteran who is 100% service connected and in receipt of 100% benefits, and the disability must be permanent and total. The vehicle is exempt from excise tax, registration and title fees and cannot exceed 26,000 pounds registered weight.

A veteran who has lost, or lost the use of, both legs gets a broader exemption that also drops sales tax. You do not have to display the plate to get the excise tax exemption: a veteran who meets the rule can choose a different plate, but then pays the regular registration fee.

To prove "total, service-connected disability" you need a current VA Benefit Summary letter. The Bureau of Veterans' Services can help work out whether you qualify for the excise exemption.

A veteran with a service-connected disability of 50% or more can get a complimentary license to fish, trap and hunt, including archery, muzzleloader, bear, pheasant and wild turkey, plus one expanded archery antlerless deer permit. It stays valid for life as long as you keep meeting the residency requirement. Lottery permits such as moose and antlerless deer still require an application. Get it from the Bureau of Veterans' Services central office in Augusta or by mail, with a copy of your driver's license or proof of residency.

The lifetime park pass has no rating requirement. You need to be a Maine resident with an honorable or general discharge under honorable conditions, and you apply by mail with a copy of your DD214. It is for the veteran only, and veterans 65 or older do not get one because they already enter free as seniors.

Camping is where the 100% rating matters. A 100% disabled veteran, spouse and unmarried children are exempt from reservation and camping fees on a family site, and from day use fees. The veteran must be a Maine resident and present for the whole trip. Proof is the Disabled Veteran plate or a letter from the DMV.

The waiver covers tuition and all mandatory fees at the University of Maine System, the Maine Community Colleges and Maine Maritime Academy. The veteran must have a 100% total permanent disability rating from a service-connected disability, or have been killed in action or died from a service-connected disability.

Two conditions catch people. The veteran must have entered service from Maine or have lived in Maine for five years immediately before the application, and a living veteran must keep living in Maine while the benefit is used. And the student must apply for a Federal Pell Grant.

Maine fully exempts benefits received under a military retirement plan, survivor benefits included, for tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2016.

Other pension income gets a separate, capped deduction that is reduced by the Social Security and railroad retirement benefits you receive. That reduction does not apply to military retirement pay.