Maine
Maine offers a $6,000 property tax exemption for veterans rated 100 percent service connected (or those receiving 100 percent pension), free hunting and fishing licenses for resident veterans with permanent disability, in state tuition at the University of Maine System, and a free lifetime state parks day-use pass for all resident veterans under 65.
Maine Department of Veterans AffairsProperty tax exemption
$6,000 exemption from the assessed value of the primary residence.
State income tax
Maine does not tax VA disability compensation, and military retirement pay is fully exempt from Maine income tax.
Disabled veteran plates & registration
Maine exempts the registration fee on a Disabled Veteran plate for veterans rated 100% permanent and total, and also exempts the vehicle excise and sales tax (vehicles under 26,000 lbs).
Public employment preference
Maine guarantees a job interview to any veteran (and Gold Star spouse) who meets the minimum qualifications for a state job, and adds a 10-point preference for veterans rated 30% or more.
In state tuition
Under 38 USC 3679(c) (originally Section 702 of the Veterans Access, Choice, and Accountability Act), every public college that accepts Post-9/11 GI Bill or Montgomery GI Bill students must charge in state tuition to covered students using their GI Bill, regardless of state residency. The old requirement to enroll within 3 years of separation was removed by the Isakson and Roe Act effective August 1, 2021, so there is no longer a time limit after discharge. State specific extensions to this rule are noted below where applicable. Maine also has the Veterans Dependents Educational Benefit covering tuition for spouses and children of veterans rated 100 percent or who died of service connected causes.
Dependent / survivor education
Maine's Veterans Dependents Educational Benefits waive 100% of tuition and fees at the University of Maine System, the community colleges, and Maine Maritime for the spouses and children of veterans rated 100% P&T (or killed/MIA).
Hunting and fishing license
Complimentary lifetime hunting and fishing license.
State park entrance
Maine issues a free lifetime day-use pass to Maine state parks and historic sites for any Maine-resident veteran with an honorable discharge or general discharge under honorable conditions (apply with a DD214 through the Maine Bureau of Veterans Services). Veterans 65 and older already enter free as Maine seniors. The pass covers the veteran only and excludes sites such as Baxter State Park, Acadia, and the Allagash Wilderness Waterway.
Camping & recreation
Maine resident honorably discharged veterans get a free Lifetime Veteran State Park and Museum Pass, and any veteran with a Disabled Veteran plate enters state parks, beaches, and campgrounds free.
State veterans cemetery
Maine operates four state veterans cemeteries (Augusta, Caribou, and Springvale) with free burial - grave, opening/closing, and headstone - for eligible veterans and their dependents.
Maine ranks 10 of 51 for rural veterans' access to accredited help: 11.85 accredited representatives per 10,000 veterans, with 66.2 percent of its veterans living rural.
Email me the Maine benefit checklist
A clean, printable checklist of every Maine benefit on this page - with the eligibility threshold and official source for each - sent straight to your inbox.
State legislatures revise thresholds and dollar amounts every session. The figures above are sourced from the state agency that administers each program, but the latest year is the state's word, not ours. Before you file an application, click the source link in each section and verify the current threshold.
Writing about Maine veteran benefits? You are welcome to reference this guide. Copy the citation below and link back so your readers can verify each program against the state source, or download the benefits table.
Developers: this record is available as structured data VBD:STATE:ME