California

Disabled Veterans' Exemption from property tax on the primary residence (Revenue and Taxation Code section 205.5). The statutory base amounts are $100,000 (basic) and $150,000 (low-income), and the State Board of Equalization indexes both for inflation every year, publishing the new figures in an annual Letter To Assessors. For 2026 the indexed basic exemption removes $180,671 of assessed value with no income limit, and the low-income exemption removes $271,009 for households whose income in the prior calendar year did not exceed $81,131 (BOE Letter To Assessors 2026/019). Confirm the current year's indexed amounts before filing. The exemption transfers to an unremarried surviving spouse.

California does not tax VA disability compensation. For taxable years 2025 through 2029, California excludes up to $20,000 of military retirement pay, and separately up to $20,000 of Survivor Benefit Plan annuity payments, from state income tax (Revenue and Taxation Code section 17132.9, added by SB 132 of 2025). The exclusion is limited to qualified taxpayers with federal adjusted gross income of $125,000 or less (individual) or $250,000 or less (joint filers and surviving spouses). Retirement pay above the excluded amount is taxed at regular rates, and the exclusion expires after the 2029 taxable year unless the Legislature extends it.

Veterans rated 100% service-connected (or receiving Special Monthly Compensation) can get a full waiver of vehicle registration fees on one vehicle, plus Disabled Veteran (DV) license plates. DV-plate holders can also drive toll-free on participating California toll roads.

California adds veterans' preference points to state civil service exam scores for veterans, and for the spouses of disabled or deceased veterans, improving their standing on hiring lists.

Three separate rules apply here, and none of them makes a veteran a legal California resident by itself. First, under 38 USC 3679(c), every public college that accepts Post-9/11 GI Bill or Montgomery GI Bill students must charge the in-state rate to covered individuals: veterans and eligible dependents who live in California while enrolled and use GI Bill benefits. Section 1005 of the Isakson and Roe Act removed the old rule that the veteran had to enroll within 3 years of separation, so for terms beginning on or after August 1, 2021 there is no post-separation enrollment deadline. Second, California Education Code section 68075.7 writes that covered individual exemption from nonresident tuition into state law for the California Community Colleges and the California State University; the University of California applies the same federal condition through its own policy. Third, formal residency classification for tuition remains a separate determination made by each campus residency office under its system's rules. An in-state rate or a nonresident tuition exemption does not by itself establish legal California residency, and honorable discharge alone does not make a veteran a California resident.

The College Fee Waiver for Veterans' Dependents waives mandatory systemwide tuition and fees at California Community Colleges, CSU, and UC campuses. It does not cover books, parking, room and board, or campus-based fees. Plan B covers the child of a veteran with a service-connected disability of any percentage; the student's own annual income, including the value of support from a parent, may not exceed the limit CalVet publishes each academic year ($22,941 for academic year 2026-27), and Plan B can be used at the same time as VA Chapter 35 benefits. Plan A covers the spouse and children of a wartime veteran who is totally disabled from service-connected causes or whose death was rated service connected (plus dependents of MIA or POW veterans), with no income limit, but it cannot be combined with Chapter 35: the dependent must sign an election statement choosing one or the other. Apply through your County Veterans Service Office; eligibility is determined each academic year.

Reduced fee resident hunting and fishing licenses (currently around $9 each vs. the standard $55+). Disabled Veteran sportsman license available.

The Distinguished Veteran Pass is a free lifetime pass (renewed every five years) giving free vehicle day-use entry, family camping, and boat use at more than 100 California State Parks units for qualifying veterans: California residents, honorably discharged, with a 50 percent or higher service-connected rating from qualifying wartime or foreign-operations service, former POWs, or Medal of Honor recipients.

The Distinguished Veteran Pass is a free lifetime pass (renewed every five years) giving free vehicle day-use entry, family camping, and boat use at more than 100 park units operated by California State Parks.

California operates state veterans cemeteries (Northern California in Igo, Central Coast at former Fort Ord, and Southern California) where eligible veterans are interred with no interment fee; modest fees may apply for a spouse or for markers.