Updated August 2026

New Hampshire Veteran Benefits 2026

Live Free or Die isn’t a slogan here — it’s a debt the Granite State pays forward.

New Hampshire skips the sales tax for everyone and adds real benefits on top for veterans. Every claim below is checked against New Hampshire RSAs and agency sources.

New Hampshire Highlights

No income tax on wages or retirement pay
Property tax credits for veterans: $700 standard for total service-connected disability, up to $5,000 by town vote
No vehicle sales tax (NH has no general sales tax); free plates & registration-fee exemptions for 100% P&T disabled veterans
Free state park day-use admission at any service-connected disability rating
Free perpetual hunting & fishing license at 100% P&T; half-price lifetime license at 80–99%
NH National Guard tuition-free courses at state colleges & universities
NH Veterans Home residential care

Aerial view of the Mount Washington Hotel at Bretton Woods with the Presidential Range of the White Mountains behind — Mount Washington Hotel and the Presidential Range, White Mountains. Carol M. Highsmith / Library of Congress

Income Tax Treatment

New Hampshire has no state income tax. New Hampshire taxes neither wages nor pensions; its remaining interest-and-dividends tax was repealed effective January 1, 2025.

This means military retirement pay, active duty pay, and all other income sources are free from state income tax. VA disability compensation is also tax-free at the federal level.

Property Tax Exemption for Disabled Veterans in New Hampshire

Type: Income-tax credit (refund)

New Hampshire's disabled-veteran benefit is a property TAX CREDIT (a direct reduction of the tax bill), not an assessed-value exemption. The state-default credit under RSA 72:35 is $700; a municipality may vote to adopt a higher amount, up to $5,000. It requires a total and permanent service-connected disability (or service-connected double amputee/paraplegic). Separately, RSA 72:36-a grants a FULL exemption from all property tax for certain 100% permanently/totally disabled (or double-amputee/blind) veterans whose homestead was specially adapted with VA SAH/SHA assistance. NH also has a small $50 all-veterans' credit (RSA 72:28) — distinct from the disabled-veteran benefits.

VA disability rating / category	What you get
Total & permanent service-connected disability (also double amputee or paraplegic) — RSA 72:35	Tax credit: $700 default; municipality may adopt $701 up to $5,000Honorable discharge; owns/occupies as principal residence on April 1; VA certification of total & permanent service-connection. Locally adopted amount varies by town.
100% permanent & total disabled, OR double amputee, OR blind (5/200 or less), with VA-adapted homestead — RSA 72:36-a	FULL exemption from all property tax on the homesteadHome must be specially adapted via VA SAH/SHA grant (or acquired with proceeds from such a home). Permanent total disability per 38 C.F.R. 3.340.
Baseline (any qualifying wartime veteran) — RSA 72:28	$50 credit (town may adopt up to $750)Not a disability benefit; listed for contrast.

Income limit: None for the disabled-veteran credit or the RSA 72:36-a full exemption.
Age requirement: None.
Surviving spouse: Yes — surviving spouse of a qualifying disabled veteran is eligible under both RSA 72:35 and RSA 72:36-a (surviving spouse as defined in RSA 72:29, V).
Counts being paid at 100% via unemployability (TDIU)? Varies / not explicitly addressed — confirm with the assessor or state VA

Recent change: RSA 72:35 maximum optional credit was raised; the current cap a municipality may adopt is $5,000 (formerly commonly cited as $4,000). State default remains $700. Amounts and adoption are set locally, so the effective benefit varies by town.

Source: RSA 72:35 (disabled-vet tax credit); RSA 72:36-a (full exemption for VA-adapted homes); RSA 72:28 (baseline veterans' credit) and a second official source. Verified June 2026 against primary sources.

To apply, contact your county assessor's office or the New Hampshire Department of Veterans Affairs. You will typically need your VA disability rating letter (and often your DD‑214) and proof that the home is your primary residence.

Real estate vs. personal property: this benefit applies to real-estate (home/homestead) property tax. Personal-property taxes — such as the annual tax some states levy on vehicles — are separate and generally still apply, even at a 100% rating, unless your state specifically exempts them.

Check your exemption by rating & state →

Vehicle & Registration Benefits

No vehicle sales tax — for anyone: New Hampshire “does not have a general sales and use tax” (NH Department of Revenue Administration), so there is no motor-vehicle sales tax to exempt at any disability rating — buying a car in NH is sales-tax-free for veterans and non-veterans alike. What you pay instead is a two-part registration bill: a municipal permit fee collected at your town or city hall plus the state registration fee. Both parts have veteran exemptions, below.

Free plates and registration — 100% P&T, amputee, paraplegic, or blind veterans: Under RSA 261:86, the state furnishes one set of special number plates without charge for one motor vehicle owned by a veteran (listed as first or second owner) who is an amputee or paraplegic who received the vehicle from the U.S. government (or is replacing one so received), or whom the VA evaluates as permanently and totally disabled from a service-connected disability, or who is totally blind from a service-connected disability. The disabled-veteran plates carry the international accessibility symbol; a P&T-rated veteran may opt for the standard veteran plates instead, but then gives up the accessibility-symbol parking privileges. The fee side is separate and just as valuable: RSA 261:141, VIII waives the state registration fee for vehicles owned by those same veterans (plus honorably discharged former POWs), while RSA 261:157 and RSA 261:159 waive the municipal permit fee on the initial set of plates for veterans of a qualifying war or armed conflict who are P&T disabled (or amputee/paraplegic with a VA-furnished vehicle or cash settlement) and for blind veterans. Under RSA 261:157-a, towns may also vote to waive the municipal fee for one vehicle owned by a former POW, a Purple Heart recipient, or a Pearl Harbor survivor. Rounding it out: vehicles bearing the accessibility-symbol disabled-veteran plates get free parking time in any NH city or town while under the owner’s direct control (RSA 265:73), and the same amputee/paraplegic and P&T-rated veterans pay no driver’s license fee (RSA 263:42, III).

Veteran plates, decals & medal plates: Any veteran discharged honorably — including a general discharge under honorable conditions — can get New Hampshire’s veteran number plates under RSA 261:87-b for the regular registration fee plus $4 per plate; a surviving spouse may keep the plates until remarriage. The DMV also issues Veteran Decal Plates (RSA 261-C) with a 3" x 3" square for a branch-of-service decal (Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, Space Force), a valor-medal decal (Medal of Honor, service crosses, Silver Star, Bronze Star — pre-qualification required), or a Gold Star Family decal — the decals are sold by the NH Office of Veteran Services, not at DMV locations. Per the DMV plate-types page, decal plates cost $15 plus an $8 plate-manufacturing fee in the first year, on top of regular town and state registration fees. Ex-POW, Purple Heart, and Pearl Harbor survivor plates are issued free under RSA 261:86 (Pearl Harbor survivors pay the regular registration fee), though those three plate types do not carry the free-parking privilege.

Recreation: Parks, Hunting & Fishing

Free state park day-use — any disability rating: Under RSA 216-A:3-g, IV, no New Hampshire disabled veteran who shows satisfactory proof of a service-connected disability — any percentage, not just 100% — may be charged for day-use admission to the state park system. Disabled-veteran plates issued under RSA 261:86 or a VA letter certifying the service-connected disability count as proof; NH State Parks asks that you pair the VA letter with your NH driver’s license. The waiver covers day-use admission only — “enterprise” charges such as camping, ski lifts, the aerial tramway, Flume Gorge, metered parking, and concessions still apply.

Active-duty & retired military day-use: RSA 216-A:3-g, V also admits free of charge: any active member of the armed forces (any branch, any state of residence, including the NH National Guard) upon presentation of military ID, and any retired member of the armed forces — or the spouse or unmarried surviving spouse of a retired member — with military ID plus proof of New Hampshire residency. NH State Parks notes the free admission covers the service member or veteran only, not accompanying family members or guests.

Free perpetual hunting & fishing license — 100% P&T resident veterans: Under RSA 214:13, a New Hampshire resident with a discharge other than dishonorable who is totally and permanently disabled from a service-connected disability is issued a special veteran’s fishing, hunting, or bow-and-arrow license that is perpetual — it never needs renewal. A one-time $10 administrative fee is charged at application (hold on to the license: if it is lost after 7 years you must re-establish eligibility). Rated 80–99%? The same statute gives resident veterans at least 80 percent but not 100 percent disabled a lifetime license at 50 percent of the normal lifetime-license cost under RSA 214:9-c — mandatory issuance once you have held the rating more than 2 years, discretionary (subject to VA re-examination rules) before that. Paraplegic veterans may also obtain a permit to hunt from a motor vehicle or boat, with a one-time $10 fee, under RSA 207:7-a (see the NH Department of Military Affairs and Veterans Services benefits page).

Education & Other New Hampshire Benefits

NH National Guard tuition waiver: Under RSA 110-B:63-c, active members of the New Hampshire National Guard — residing in-state or out-of-state — may take courses tuition-free in state-supported postsecondary institutions: any Community College System of New Hampshire college or University System of New Hampshire college or university, in a degree-enhancing curriculum. Members must first use any post-9/11 federal tuition benefit and other federally funded military tuition assistance (Montgomery GI Bill benefits, housing allowances, and National Guard scholarship grants are excluded from that offset). After completing the initial 6-year service obligation, a member may transfer the waiver to a spouse with a 4-year reserve-duty commitment — but note that this transfer provision is currently scheduled to be repealed effective July 1, 2027.

Free tuition for children of disabled or fallen service members: the NH Department of Military Affairs and Veterans Services lists three programs: free University System of NH tuition for a child of a service member who is totally and permanently disabled from a service-connected disability (NH domicile conditions apply — RSA 187-A:20); free tuition at NH public institutions of higher learning — plus a scholarship of up to $2,500 per year for room, board, books, and supplies for up to 4 years where there is financial need — for children of members who died in wartime service or from a service-connected disability (RSA 193:19–21); and free Community College System tuition for the child of a NH-domiciled service member reported missing in action or held prisoner of war after February 28, 1961 (RSA 188-F:15).

VA Healthcare in New Hampshire

New Hampshire has approximately 1 VA medical center along with community-based outpatient clinics (CBOCs) throughout the state. Veterans enrolled in VA healthcare can receive care at any VA facility nationwide.

To find the nearest VA facility, visit VA.gov Facility Locator.

Official New Hampshire Veterans Resources

Frequently Asked Questions

Does New Hampshire tax military retirement pay?

New Hampshire taxes neither wages nor pensions; its remaining interest-and-dividends tax was repealed effective January 1, 2025.

Does New Hampshire offer property tax exemptions for disabled veterans?

Does New Hampshire have a state income tax?

New Hampshire has no state income tax. All income sources are tax-free at the state level.

Is there a vehicle sales tax or registration fee exemption for disabled veterans in New Hampshire?

New Hampshire has no general sales or use tax, so no one pays vehicle sales tax. Veterans the VA evaluates as permanently and totally disabled from a service-connected disability (plus amputee or paraplegic veterans with VA-furnished vehicles and blind veterans) receive one set of special plates free for one vehicle under RSA 261:86 and pay no state registration fee under RSA 261:141, VIII. Qualifying wartime veterans in those categories also pay no municipal permit fee on the initial set of plates under RSA 261:157 and RSA 261:159, and towns may vote to waive the municipal fee for former POWs, Purple Heart recipients, and Pearl Harbor survivors under RSA 261:157-a.

Do disabled veterans get free admission to New Hampshire state parks?

Yes. Under RSA 216-A:3-g, IV, a New Hampshire disabled veteran with any VA service-connected disability rating — not just 100% — pays no day-use admission to the state park system. Disabled-veteran license plates or a VA letter certifying the disability serve as proof. Fees for enterprise activities such as camping, ski lifts, the aerial tramway, Flume Gorge, and metered parking still apply. Active-duty members of any branch, and retired members of the armed forces and their spouses with proof of NH residency, also receive free day-use admission.

Do 100% disabled veterans get free hunting and fishing licenses in New Hampshire?

Yes. Under RSA 214:13, a New Hampshire resident with a discharge other than dishonorable who is totally and permanently disabled from a service-connected disability receives a perpetual fishing, hunting, or bow-and-arrow license — no renewals — for a one-time $10 administrative fee. Resident veterans rated at least 80 percent but not 100 percent disabled can get a lifetime license at 50 percent of the normal lifetime-license cost.