Connecticut offers various benefits for veterans. On this page, you’ll find a concise overview of each of these benefits.
Connecticut Veterans Home
Connecticut Veterans Home in Rocky Hill welcomes veteran residents of Connecticut with an honorable discharge. It features both residential and skilled-care facilities, with fees based on income.
Connecticut Veteran Financial Benefits
Property Tax Exemptions
Veterans with ninety days of wartime service, including Merchant Marines who served during WWII, qualify for a $1,500 exemption for property tax purposes, applicable to real estate or automobile taxes. Certain veterans without real property or a vehicle may receive a tax refund if leasing a vehicle.
Additionally, veterans below a certain income level and/or those with service-connected disabilities are entitled to further property tax exemptions, with paraplegics eligible for exemptions up to $10,000. Surviving spouses of veterans may also qualify. For specific details, reach out to your municipality’s Tax Assessor Officer.
Income Tax
Active duty pay remains tax-free if stationed out-of-state, as long as you neither own a home nor spend more than 30 days annually in Connecticut.
Similarly, military retirement pay and Survivor Benefit Plan payments are exempt from taxes.
Wartime Bonus
Connecticut National Guard members qualify for a bonus of $50 per month for each month of mobilized service since September 11, 2001, with a maximum payout of $500 for non-combat duty or $1,200 for combat service.
Connecticut Military Relief Fund
The Military Relief Fund offers financial assistance in the form of grants to service members and their families facing financial difficulties due to military service. The grant amount varies based on individual circumstances but is capped at $5,000.
Connecticut State Veteran Employment Benefits
In state and municipal employment exams, a wartime veteran eligible for or receiving U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) compensation gains an extra 10 points. If a wartime veteran is not eligible for VA compensation or pension, they receive five additional points. Spouses of qualified veterans are also eligible for extra points.
CDL Skills Test Exemption
Service members or veterans within one year of separation, who operated military vehicles equivalent to those requiring a commercial driver’s license in the civilian sector, are eligible to bypass the skills test section of a CDL exam.
Documentation verifying military vehicle operation is necessary.
Veterans Agriculture Program
Certain veterans qualify for exemptions from sales and use taxes on property exclusively utilized in commercial agricultural production.
Connecticut Veteran Education Benefits
Connecticut resident veterans who served a minimum of 90 days of active duty during a wartime period may have their tuition and fees waived at state regional community and technical colleges, as well as state universities. Additionally, if a veteran is declared missing in action while serving in the armed forces after January 1, 1960, their dependents are also eligible for the tuition waiver.
Connecticut Veteran Recreation Benefits
Hunting and Fishing Licenses
Active-duty military personnel, regardless of their location of assignment, are entitled to purchase hunting, trapping, and fishing licenses at the resident rate.
State Parks
Connecticut residents with a service-connected disability are provided with a complimentary lifetime pass granting access to all state parks and forests.
Connecticut State Veterans Cemetery
Any veteran honorably discharged, without a dishonorable discharge, is entitled to burial in the state veterans cemetery in Middletown. Spouses are also eligible for this burial benefit.
