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State Benefits

STATE BENEFITS:  For more information about other available programs click the below link or call your County Veterans Office: 
Veterans Affairs (pa.gov)


FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE:  The VTA provides temporary financial assistance of up to $1,600 in a 12-month period to veterans or their surviving spouses who reside in Pennsylvania for the necessities of life (food, shelter, fuel and clothing). To be eligible for a VTA grant, veterans must:

  • Have served in the Armed Forces of the United States
  • Have been discharged under honorable conditions after a period of active duty, other than active duty for training, as evidenced by a DD Form 214 or other official documentation, or
  • Have died in service or been killed in action, or
  • Have suffered a service-connected disability as certified by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs.
  • Be a bona fide resident of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania


To qualify for VTA, a veteran or the surviving spouse of a deceased veteran must be temporarily unable to provide the necessities of living and have a direct and immediate need for assistance. The assistance must be essential and not for the relief of an inconvenience, or the purchase of goods or services other than necessities of living, and have unforeseen circumstances caused by temporary loss of income, assets or support due to sickness, disability, unemployment, natural or manmade disaster or other cause beyond the control of, and not because of misconduct by the applicant or, caused by a temporary increase in costs or expenses beyond the control of, and not because of misconduct by the applicant resulting in insufficient funds to pay for necessities of living. Recipient may not be receiving sufficient monetary assistance from any state or federal agency based on the need for temporary assistance described in the application. (Applicants may be receiving food stamps and still qualify for VTA.)


REAL ESTATE TAX EXEMPTION: This program provides real estate tax exemption for veterans meeting certain criteria related to their service.  


Mandatory eligibility criteria for disabled veterans and their surviving spouses include:  

  • Resident of the Commonwealth 
  • Honorable or Under Honorable Conditions discharge from the Armed Forces of the United States
  • Service during a period of war as determined by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (operation or service-specific expeditionary medals can also be used to establish wartime service)
  • Real estate occupied as principal dwelling 
  • Real estate owned solely by the veteran or jointly with spouse or as an estate by the entirety 
  • 100 percent permanent service-connected disability, total disability individual unemployability, or service-connected blindness, paraplegia, or loss of two or more limbs as rated by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
  • Applicants must also show financial need. Applicants with an annual income of $108,046 or less are given a presumption of need for the exemption. Applicants whose gross annual income exceeds $108,046 will be considered to have a financial need for the exemption when their allowable monthly expenses exceed monthly household income. The applicant’s monthly household expenses must be verified with supporting documentation and will be calculated to include a cost-of-living allowance.

To apply for this benefit, contact your  County Director of  Veterans Affairs in the county you reside to apply for this program. 

 

Other State Programs

Blind Veterans Pension
Paralyzed Veterans Pension
Educational Gratuity Program
State Veterans Homes
Birth and Death Records
Disabled & Severely Disabled Veterans Vehicle Registration and License Plate