INDIANA STATE VETERAN BENEFITS
We endeavor to keep this information current, but it is subject to change without notice.
INDIANA EDUCATION BENEFITS
Indiana offers free tuition for the children of disabled veterans and/or MIA/former POWs. Purple Heart Recipients and their children are also potentially eligible for free tuition at state schools. To qualify, the veteran must have:
- Been an Indiana resident for at least 36 consecutive months
- Served in a wartime period from August 2, 1990 to present, OR
- Be a Purple Heart recipient
The benefit at state-run schools covers free tuition and fees up to 124 credit hours.
National Guard Deployment Protection
Indiana protects public university students when they are National Guard members from Indiana or an adjoining state and are called up to duty during an academic term. The military service member receives a tuition refund or credit and is guaranteed to have the ability to re-enroll when no longer on active duty.
USS Indianapolis Crew Members Free Tuition
Provided they enroll within one year of receiving an honorable discharge, sailors who served for at least 180 days on the USS Indiana submarine can pay in-state tuition rates at Indiana’s public universities, regardless of residency.
INDIANA EMPLOYMENT BENEFITS
State Employment Veterans Preference
Hoosier veterans who have honorable discharges from the military receive preference when applying for jobs in the government.
Military CDL Skills Waiver
The Bureau of Motor Vehicles can waive the required Indiana Commercial Driver’s License drive skills test as for veteran applicants, provided the veteran has specific military training and drove military vehicles during their active service.
Next Level Veterans Program
Indiana is working to attract skilled labor. They will help Veterans apply for jobs in Indiana and even provide Veterans with $5,000 to help them relocate, if hired.
INDIANA FINANCIAL BENEFITS
Income Tax
The Hoosier State does not charge tax on the first $5,000 of active duty pay or the first $6,250 of retirement pay.
Disabled Veteran Property Tax Deduction
Disabled Hoosier veterans with honorable discharges may receive deductions from property taxes, according to certain criteria. This reduction in a home’s value is solely for tax purposes and is available only when the veteran’s home’s assessed value is $175,000 or less.
- Wartime Veterans with a 10% VA disability are eligible for a $24,960 dollar deduction
- Veterans who are considered by the VA to be totally and permanently disabled are eligible to receive a $12,480 deduction
- Hoosier Veterans who are 62 years old and have a VA rated disability of at least 10% are eligible to receive a $12,480 deduction
INDIANA VETERANS RECREATION BENEFITS
Hunting And Fishing Licenses
- Indiana residents with a valid Indiana driver’s license or voter registration card, who have leave orders from active duty on them, do not need to buy a hunting and fishing license in order to hunt or fish
- All active-duty military service members stationed in Indiana will be treated as residents, paying resident rates, for hunting and fishing licenses
- Resident veterans who have been rated by the VA with a service-connected disability are eligible to buy an Indiana hunting and fishing license at a discounted rate
State Parks
Hoosiers possessing a Disabled American Veteran license plate (or who are eligible for one) can get a discounted Indiana Golden Passport that grants unlimited entry to all Indiana State parks and Department of Natural Resource (DNR) facilities for one calendar year.
If you have this license plate on your vehicle, drive to the gate at any DNR site to purchase the Golden Passport. If you do not have the license plate but meet eligibility requirements for the Golden Passport, submit your completed application to the Indiana Department of Veterans Affairs.
INDIANA VETERANS HOME
Hoosier Veterans who have lived in the State for at least 12 months before applying to the Indiana Veterans Home in West Lafayette may be eligible, along with their spouses. For a fee, this Veterans Home offers nursing and domiciliary care to Veterans who were honorably discharged.
INDIANA VETERANS MEMORIAL CEMETERY
Indiana allows any Hoosier veteran eligible for internment at a national cemetery to be buried in the Veterans Memorial Cemetery, in Madison. Spouses are also eligible. Each county auditor controls the application process and has been authorized to pay up to $100 for each qualified burial and up to $100 for setting each headstone. Veterans must make application through the county auditor where they reside.
You can find more information regarding these benefits and other programs at the Indiana Department of Veterans’ Affairs’ website
