Texas state benefits
100% Disabled Veteran Homestead Exemption
100%+- VA awarded you 100% disability compensation for a service-connected disability and a 100% rating or individual unemployability (TDIU)
- The home is your residence homestead in Texas
- Exempts the home's total appraised value from property tax
- Surviving spouse keeps it if not remarried and the home was (and still is) their homestead. On a new home, it's capped at the old home's exemption amount.
Disabled Veteran Exemption by Rating ($5,000–$12,000)
10%+- Any service-connected rating of 10% or more. The exemption comes off the property's assessed value:
- 10–29%: $5,000 · 30–49%: $7,500 · 50–69%: $10,000 · 70%+: $12,000
- Also $12,000 if you're 65+ with at least 10%, totally blind in one or both eyes, or have lost use of a limb
- Goes on any one property you own, so you can stack it with item 1. Surviving spouses (while unmarried) can qualify; if there's no surviving spouse, unmarried children under 18 can.
Disabled Veteran Plates + Free Registration
50%+- Service-connected rating of 50% or more, or 40%+ from amputation of a lower extremity, and receiving VA compensation
- One vehicle registers with no registration fee: just the $3 plate fee on the first set. Extra vehicles can display DV plates, but registration and local fees apply.
- Passenger car or truck up to 18,000 lbs, motor home or motorcycle
- DV plates exempt you from fees at government parking meters (not federal). The ISA (wheelchair-symbol) version also allows disability parking and can come with a placard.
Free Tolls on TxDOT Toll Roads
50%+- Vehicles registered in Texas and displaying DV plates (item 3) or certain medal plates (e.g., Purple Heart)
- TxDOT roads: no sign-up needed. Tolls are waived based on your plate. Examples: SH 130 (segments 1–4), SH 45N/SE, Loop 1, the SH 99 Grand Parkway segments, and TxDOT-run TEXpress lanes in DFW.
- Other operators set their own rules. Many require enrollment. No discount on the LBJ TEXpress lanes run by LBJ Infrastructure Group or on the NTE/NTE 35W TEXpress lanes. TxDOT's I-635E (LBJ East) TEXpress lanes are free.
Disabled Veteran Designation (50%+) + Free Driver License or ID (60%+)
50%+- Free license/ID: service-connected rating of 60%+, honorable discharge and receiving VA compensation (not for CDLs or for people required to register as sex offenders)
- "DISABLED VETERAN" designation: 50%+, or 40%+ with a lower-extremity amputation
- The veteran designation is free with an original or renewal license
Free Super Combo Hunting & Fishing Package
50%+- Resident or nonresident veteran with a 50%+ rating or loss of use of a foot or leg, who is receiving VA compensation
- Free (item 502): hunting and fishing licenses plus 5 endorsements, including saltwater with a red drum tag
- The Federal Duck Stamp isn't included (you need it for waterfowl)
Free State Park Entry: Disabled Veterans Parklands Passport
60%+- U.S. veteran with a 60%+ service-connected disability or loss of a lower extremity
- Free entry to Texas state parks for you and a companion
- Any honorably discharged veteran can get the separate free Veterans passport (holder only)
Hazlewood Act: Up to 150 Hours of Free College Tuition
Veteran: any rating (Texas entry); spouse/children: 100% P&T or TDIU- Veteran: entered service in Texas or had Texas as home of record, 181+ days of active duty, honorable or general discharge, and lives in Texas now
- Legacy: the veteran can pass unused hours to one child at a time (Texas resident, 25 or younger)
- Spouse and each dependent child: their own 150 hours if the veteran entered service from Texas and is rated 100% T&P service-connected or TDIU (or died of service-connected causes, or is MIA or KIA). The spouse or child must be a Texas resident.
- Covers tuition and most fees at Texas public colleges, not books or living costs. Not usable while you have federal VA benefits that pay full tuition (e.g., Chapter 33).
Federal benefits to look into
CHAMPVA: health coverage for your spouse and kids
P&TIt's for family members, not the veteran: the spouse or dependent child of a veteran rated P&T from a service-connected disability. It's a cost-sharing program: VA shares the cost of covered care with the family. Not free. Family members eligible for TRICARE can't get CHAMPVA.
DEA (Chapter 35): school money for your spouse and kids
P&TChapter 35 / DEA education benefits are available to the spouse and children of a veteran who is P&T due to a service-connected disability. For school or training that started on or after Aug 1, 2018, DEA pays up to 36 months of benefits.
Social Security: faster disability decisions
100% + P&TSSA expedites disability claims from veterans rated 100% P&T. Say "veteran rated 100% P&T" (or enter "Veteran 100% P&T" in the online Remarks). It doesn't guarantee approval; SSA's own rules still apply.
Dental insurance for CHAMPVA families (VADIP)
P&TCHAMPVA covers dental only in limited medical cases; enrollees can buy dental insurance at reduced cost through VADIP.
Your Benefit Summary Letter (proof of your rating)
All veteransYou can download your Benefit Summary Letter (sometimes called an award letter) on VA.gov.
VA dental care (Class IV)
100% (or paid at 100% for TDIU)Per VA, you qualify for any needed dental care if you have a service-connected disability rated 100% disabling, or you're paid at the 100% rate because of TDIU. A temporary 100% rating does not qualify.
DoD ID card and base privileges (100%)
100% (or paid at 100% for TDIU)A 100% disabled veteran (DAV) and eligible family members can get a DoD Uniformed Services ID card. It gives commissary, exchange and MWR privileges and base access. It is not TRICARE.
Base retail access for all service-connected veterans
Any ratingAll service-connected veterans can use commissaries, exchanges and MWR retail facilities, in person and online, per VA's matrix.
Federal student loan discharge (TPD)
100% (or paid at 100% for TDIU)Veterans whom VA has determined have a service-connected disability rated 100% or are rated totally disabled based on individual unemployability (TDIU) can have eligible federal student loans discharged.
No VA home loan funding fee
10%+Veterans receiving VA compensation for a service-connected disability are exempt from the VA home loan funding fee, at any compensable rating, not just 100%.
America the Beautiful Access Pass
Other rulesA free, lifetime pass for U.S. citizens or permanent residents with a permanent disability. It doesn't have to be 100% or service-connected.
Military Lifetime Pass (federal lands)
All veteransVeterans (and Gold Star families) can get a free lifetime pass to federal recreation lands. No disability is needed.