Disabled Veteran Benefits in Mississippi

Mississippi's homestead exemption comes in three tiers, and veterans with a service-connected, total disability and an honorable discharge sit in the top one. Tier 3 is a total exemption: no property taxes at all on the qualifying homestead. It carries over to an unremarried surviving spouse. The same tier covers any honorably discharged veteran who is at least 90 years old, and the unremarried surviving spouse of a servicemember who was killed or died on active duty.

There is no partial exemption tied to a lower VA rating. A veteran below a total rating gets what every homeowner gets: a credit of up to $300 under 65, or an exemption on the first $7,500 of assessed value at 65 or older or if classed as totally disabled, for example under the federal Social Security Act.

You apply at your county Tax Assessor's office between January 1 and April 1, and you must own and live in the home on January 1 of that year. Once approved you do not refile each year, but a change in your VA status, marriage, a death or a new deed can require a new application.

The plate fee is the small part. The exemption also removes the taxes on the vehicle. A qualified veteran may register up to 2 vehicles and 1 motorcycle that are exempt from all ad valorem and privilege taxes, with a $1.00 fee for each plate. Own more than that and regular fees apply to the extra plates.

Who qualifies: Mississippi VA describes a legal resident with a 100% service-connected disability evaluated as permanent and total by the VA, or a total rating based on individual unemployability that the VA has also evaluated as permanent and total. So TDIU counts when it is permanent. The Department of Revenue words it differently, as a 100% permanent service-related disability or a 70% non-permanent one, verified by the Veterans Affairs Board. If you are near either line, get your verification from the Veterans Affairs Board before you go to the tax collector.

An unmarried surviving spouse keeps the benefit for as long as he or she stays unmarried.

Your VA disability compensation is not taxed by Mississippi. The Department of Revenue lists Veterans' Administration payments alongside Social Security as benefits the state does not tax.

Military retirement pay is exempt too. Mississippi does not tax retirement income, pensions or annuities once you have met the plan's retirement requirements, and the state's return instructions say retirement income from federal, state and private retirement systems is exempt in total. Early distributions are the exception.

If you still drill, the first $15,000 of National Guard or Reserve pay is excluded from income.

Mississippi does not issue a special disabled veteran license. It simply exempts you. Residents who are totally service connected disabled by the Veterans Administration are not required to purchase a hunting or fishing license.

What you must do is carry proof of your age, residency and disability status whenever you hunt or fish. The exempt licenses the state once issued for disabilities are now null and void, so your VA paperwork is what counts in the field.

The exemption is for a total rating. The state's license pages list no reduced-price license for veterans at lower ratings, so below that line you buy the regular resident license.

The program is open at any rating. The Veterans' Home Purchase Board makes VA-guaranteed home loans at a fixed rate. The rates effective March 1, 2026 are 4.50% on terms up to 15 years and 5% on 16 to 30 years, with a maximum loan of $500,000.00. The board says its rates are typically 1 to 2 percent below market.

To qualify you must have been a Mississippi resident right before you entered the service, or have lived in the state for two consecutive years before applying. You need a VA Certificate of Eligibility and a discharge from active duty under conditions other than dishonorable. Guard and Reserve members with 6 years of service can apply, and so can an unmarried surviving spouse of a veteran who died from service-connected causes.

People search for a Mississippi tuition waiver for the children of disabled veterans. Mississippi VA's list of state benefits does not include one. What it does list is narrower.

Any veteran, or anyone entitled to education benefits under Title 38, is authorized in-state tuition. The state lists this as a benefit for nonresident students, so it applies even if you came from another state.

The one state-funded scholarship is for the children of servicemembers whose home of record is Mississippi and who are officially reported as a prisoner of war or missing in action: eight semesters without cost at any state-supported college or university, not counting books, food, supplies and activity fees. The Adjutant General is also authorized to pay tuition for certain members of the active Mississippi National Guard.

When a Mississippi state agency receives its list of eligible applicants, disabled veterans and veterans are listed at the top, with disabled veterans first. You claim it by marking veteran status on your application.

For this purpose a disabled veteran is one the VA has certified at a service-connected rating of at least 30% within the last ninety days, or one awarded the Purple Heart for wounds received in combat. For the board, a veteran is someone who served ninety days during a period of war or armed conflict and was honorably discharged. Proof is a certified copy of your discharge papers, plus VA certification of the disability for disabled veteran status.

The preference also protects you once hired. In a reduction in force, veterans are awarded four points and disabled veterans eight points toward their retention score.