Disabled Veteran Benefits in Nevada

The Disabled Veterans' Exemption needs a permanent service-connected disability of 60% or more, an honorable discharge and Nevada residency. State law sets it at $10,000 of assessed value at 60 to 79%, $15,000 at 80 to 99%, and a maximum of $20,000 for total permanent disability.

Those base amounts are adjusted for inflation each fiscal year. For fiscal year 2026/2027 the Carson City Assessor lists $18,200, $27,300 and $36,400. Nevada assesses property at 35 percent of its taxable value, so the exemption comes off a number much smaller than your home's price. Carson City puts the 100% tier at approximately $1,299 in property tax, and says the cash value varies with the tax rate.

Below 60% there is no disability exemption. Veterans with at least 90 days of active duty during one of the listed periods of conflict can claim the separate Veterans' Exemption, which starts from $2,000 of assessed value and is $3,640 this fiscal year. You cannot hold both. A surviving spouse who was married to and living with the veteran for the five years before the death, and has not remarried, can claim the disabled veteran exemption. You apply at your county assessor's office, in one county only.

Renters should know this one. If you do not own real property, or simply prefer it, Nevada lets you apply the exemption to personal property tax, which includes the governmental services tax charged when you register a vehicle. You can also split it.

The tiers match the property tax ones: at 100% the law exempts the first $20,000 of a vehicle's determined valuation. Carson City's assessor says the 100% tier is worth up to $1,456 on vehicle registration this fiscal year, more than it saves on a house there.

Go to your county assessor first. The assessor gives you an exemption number, and you must submit it to the DMV during your registration or renewal. It cannot be applied after the transaction is finalized. A veteran can also transfer the exemption to a current spouse.

A vehicle showing Nevada Disabled Veteran plates is exempt from parking fees, including parking meters, charged by the state or any political subdivision or other public body in Nevada. Federal lots are not covered.

The DMV's page describes the plates as a 100% benefit. The statute is wider. A qualifying disability is one rated at 100 percent, several ratings that combine to at least 100 percent, or a service-connected disability of any rating that includes a permanent disability that would qualify you for the special plates Nevada issues to people with a permanent disability. You must be receiving VA compensation for it.

You can have two sets of plates, for a private passenger vehicle, a noncommercial truck or a motor home. The DMV says all veterans plates must be ordered in person at a DMV office. Separately, an honorably discharged veteran can add a Veteran designation to a driver's license for $8.25, or at no extra fee during a standard renewal.

This one needs no application and no rating. The Department of Taxation says plainly that Nevada does not impose a state income tax on individuals. Its page does not single out VA compensation or military retirement pay, because no individual income is taxed. If you live and work in Nevada, it says, you do not need to file a state income tax return on your earned income.

Nevada raises its money through sales and property tax instead, and those you still pay.

Neither one is free. Nevada residents with a service-connected disability rated 50 percent or more and an honorable discharge or certificate of satisfactory service pay $15 for the annual resident specialty combination hunting and fishing license. It is valid for one year from the date you buy it, and a processing fee is added.

The Disabled Veteran Permit for state parks is for a disabled veteran who lives in Nevada and can show proof of a permanent service-connected disability and an honorable discharge. The page names no minimum percentage. It gives unlimited entrance to every state park plus camping and boat launches for 12 months, for a $30 administrative fee. The All Access permit, which also covers entrance, camping and boating fees, is $250.

Nevada veterans without a qualifying disability can get the Veteran Annual Entrance permit, which lets you into every park for 12 months without paying the entrance fee.

The fee waivers written into Nevada law go to specific groups, and the big one is the Purple Heart. The Board of Regents must waive registration, laboratory and other mandatory fees for a veteran awarded the Purple Heart, including trade, graduate and professional programs. If you are entitled to federal education benefits, the waiver covers the balance left after they are credited. If you are not, it covers the full amount.

The waiver also covers that veteran's children, if the veteran is or was a Nevada resident and the child graduated from a Nevada high school.

For everyone else the benefit is the price. Nevada's "tuition charge" is the extra amount billed to non-residents, and it cannot be charged to honorably discharged veterans. The Regents may also waive at least half the fees for a resident veteran who enrolls in a graduate program in science, technology, engineering, arts, mathematics or health science that the state has designated a critical need occupation. That waiver is discretionary and requires a 2.75 grade point average.

Nevada ranks its hiring preferences, and veterans with a service-connected disability sit at the top. The state's page sets no minimum percentage and states no number of points. Preferences cannot be combined.

The stronger protection is the interview rule. For positions in the classified service, the hiring agency must interview every qualified applicant who is a veteran with a service-connected disability. Other qualified veterans must make up at least 22 percent of the people interviewed, or all of them if there are too few to reach that share. Submit proof when you apply.

If you own a business, the state treats a bid on a state purchasing contract as 5 percent lower when it comes from a local business owned and operated by a veteran with a service-connected disability.