Florida VA Benefits
Florida has a reputation for being among the country’s most veteran-friendly states. The Sunshine State’s veterans receive billions of dollars in federal benefits each year, and multiple state programs have been established to protect veterans’ quality of life.
Many benefits are available through the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, but others are available outside the VA. They include employment preferences, property tax exemption, and tuition waiver programs.
Our Veterans Guide team has compiled this list of Florida VA and other benefits to help you understand your options. Whether you have qualified for disability or not, there are options here for all Florida veterans.
Educational Benefits
Florida offers multiple programs to make the cost of a college education more affordable to military service members. Some are also available to spouses and dependents.
College Credit for Military Training
All Florida colleges and universities offer course credit or career education hours for post-secondary education a veteran received while serving. A credentialed committee reviews eligible training to match the candidate’s training with the appropriate number of course hours.
The Department of Education assigns hours to the best-matched program or course of study. Credit is available in numerous fields, including health care, education, engineering, business, and criminal justice.
Congressman C.W. Bill Young Tuition Waiver Program
This program waives out-of-state tuition and fees for honorably discharged service members studying at an eligible Florida institution. Those include state universities, Florida College System members, and career centers.
Eligible veterans pay in-state costs only, assuming they reside in Florida while enrolled. Dependents receiving VA educational assistance are also eligible.
Educational Benefits for Florida National Guard Members
The Educational Dollars for Duty program, or EDD, provides tuition assistance to Florida Army and Air National Guard members. Qualifying service members can access up to $6,900 annually to use in authorized degree, license, and certification programs. Reimbursement may also be available for the costs of books and other materials.
Educational Programs for Dependents
The Scholarship for Children and Spouses of Deceased or Disabled Veterans, or CSDDV, is available to dependent children or un-remarried spouses of eligible veterans. The veteran must have died of a service-related disability or have a 100-percent permanent and total disability. Dependents of prisoners of war and those missing in action may also qualify.
Purple Heart Recipient Waiver
The Purple Heart Waiver is available to Florida veterans who have received a Purple Heart or other combat decoration that is “superior in precedence.” Those decorations include:
- Medal of Honor
- Distinguished Cross of Service
- Distinguished Service Medal with Combat “V Device”
- Silver Star
- Legion of Merit with Combat “V Device”
- Distinguished Flying Cross
- Bronze Star with Combat “V Device”
- Purple Heart
Eligible veterans may receive tuition waivers for up to 110 percent of the required credit hours in a degree or certificate program.
Financial Assistance
The VA offers financial benefits to all veterans with service-connected disabilities. Your benefit amount depends on your disability rating, which measures your disability’s impact on your health and level of function.
If you have multiple disabilities, the VA will weigh each condition to determine your overall rating. You can estimate your benefits using our VA disability calculator.
In addition to these benefits, Florida veterans may be eligible for additional support.
Death Benefits
A 2023 law makes Florida veterans’ families eligible for death benefits:
- A $75,000 uniform death benefit for service members killed while on active duty and while performing official function
- A $25,000 benefit for service members killed on active duty from a cause unrelated to their official duties
To qualify for the larger death benefit, the veteran must have died from a condition related to military service. Self-inflicted deaths are ineligible.
Employment Preferences
Eligible veterans receive hiring preference for select executive branch appointments. Preference comes via additional points on civil service exams. The National Labor Relations Board lists the preferences as follows:
- 5 points for veterans who served during certain periods of conflict
- 10 points for veterans who have a service-connected disability rating, are receiving selected benefits, or have received a Purple Heart
- 10 points for parents, spouses, widows, or widowers of veterans who are deceased or not qualified for federal employment
Eligible veterans must have an honorable discharge to receive the 10-point preference.
Employ Florida Vets
The Employ Florida Vets program, or EVF, helps to connect veterans with employment opportunities across the state.
You can use the EVF website to search for veteran-friendly employers and jobs or locate the nearest Career Center. At a Career Center, you can connect with Disabled Veterans Outreach Program Specialists and Local Veterans Employment Representatives. These professionals can help you take advantage of Veterans’ Opportunity to Work and Veterans’ Preferences in Services, which place eligible veterans ahead of non-veterans for specific work, employment, and training opportunities.
Florida law gives veterans precedence for state jobs, including those in public utilities and school districts. The state also waives health professions licensure fees and offers expedited licensure processes for veterans and spouses seeking health care jobs. You must have an honorable discharge and otherwise qualify for the license.
Housing Benefits
The VA home loan program makes home loans more accessible to eligible service members, veterans, and surviving spouses. The VA guarantees a mortgage from a private lender, such as a bank or credit union, allowing those lenders to offer better terms.
VA loans typically have lower down payment and credit score requirements than standard private loans. These allowances make it easier for veterans to qualify for mortgages and buy homes.
Florida also maintains state-sponsored assisted living and skilled nursing facilities for veterans. The state’s assisted living facility is Robert H. Jenkins Jr. Veterans’ Domiciliary Home in Lake City, which offers supportive daily services and primary medical care. Skilled nursing facilities include:
- Emory L. Bennett State Veterans’ Nursing Home in Daytona Beach
- Baldomero Lopez State Veterans’ Nursing Home in Land O’Lakes
- Alexander “Sandy” Nininger Veterans’ Nursing Home in Pembroke Pines
- Clifford C. Sims State Veterans’ Nursing Home in Panama City
- Douglas T. Jacobson State Veterans’ Nursing Home in Port Charlotte
- Clyde E. Lassen State Veterans’ Nursing Home in St. Augustine
- Ardie R. Copas State Veterans’ Nursing Home in Port St. Lucie
- Alwyn C. Cashe State Veterans’ Nursing Home in Orlando
Qualifying veterans must have an honorable discharge, existing Florida residency, and certification of the need for assisted living or skilled nursing care. If space allows, most facilities can accommodate residents with dementia.
Recreational and Leisure Benefits
Florida also offers quality-of-life benefits to help veterans enjoy time outdoors. These are state-run programs.
Hunting and Fishing
Florida veterans with a 50 percent or higher disability rating are eligible for the state’s Resident Persons With Disabilities Hunting and Fishing License. The five-year license includes saltwater fishing, freshwater fishing, and hunting, with select permits including deer, turkey, and Florida waterfowl.
Florida veterans and active duty service members also qualify for the Military Gold Sportsman’s License, regardless of their disability status. This reduced-fee $20 license is the equivalent of the standard $100 license and includes all permissions that the Persons With Disabilities license covers.
Operation Outdoor Freedom
This program offers outdoor recreation opportunities to wounded Florida veterans. Eligible candidates must be honorably discharged and have a Purple Heart or a disability rating of at least 30 percent.
Operation Outdoor Freedom offers guided and unguided events. Guided events include guide services, housing, meals, and disability accommodations. Unguided events provide campsites and recreation facilities. Veterans may bring supplies and personal assistance.
State Park Discounts
Florida Parks Service offers free lifetime passes to veterans with service-related injuries. Surviving spouses and parents of veterans killed in combat are also eligible.
All current and retired service members receive a 25 percent discount on annual state park entrance passes.
Tax Exemptions
The nonprofit organization SmileHub has ranked Florida as the second most veteran-friendly state in the U.S. In addition to the numerous benefits the Sunshine State offers veterans, it also provides multiple tax advantages for military service members.
Business Tax Exemption
Florida offers an exemption from business taxes and fees to all honorably discharged veterans. The same exemption is also available to the following:
- Spouses and un-remarried surviving spouses of eligible veterans
- Spouses of active duty service members who have relocated to the area due to a permanent change of station order
This exemption also applies to qualifying civilians receiving public assistance.
Deployed Military Property Tax Exemption
Florida service members deployed on active duty receive a property tax exemption for the length of their deployment. The exemption applies to the following calendar year. For example, if you deployed for six months in 2023, you would receive a 50 percent exemption in the 2024 tax year.
Property Tax Exemptions
Honorably discharged veterans with disabilities may be eligible for property tax exemptions:
- Veterans with 10 percent or higher VA disability ratings: $5,000 reduction in the assessed values of their properties
- Veterans with total and permanent service-related disabilities: Full exemption from property tax requirements
- Veterans requiring the use of a wheelchair: Full exemption from property tax requirements
- Veterans aged 65 and older with disabilities: Property tax exemption equal to their disability rating
For example, a 70-year-old veteran with a 20 percent disability rating would receive a 20 percent exemption from their property taxes. Surviving spouses may be eligible to receive these exemptions after the service member’s death.
Property Tax Exemptions for Surviving Spouses
The surviving spouse of an honorably discharged service member is exempt from property taxes, provided the veteran was a permanent Florida resident on January 1 of their year of death. The spouse must hold legal title on the property and use it as their permanent residence.
The spouse retains their exemption until they remarry or dispose of the property. They may transfer the exemption to their new permanent residence if they sell the property. The amount they transfer may not exceed the exemption they received in the previous tax year.
Vehicle and DMV Benefits
The Florida Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles Department offers certain initiatives for veterans, from official veterans designations to disability support.
Identification Cards
Florida veterans can add the “veteran” designation to their driver’s licenses or ID cards. This designation serves as proof of veteran status for discounts at qualifying businesses. To qualify, veterans must show a DD-214 indicating an honorable discharge.
Veterans with 100 percent permanent and total disability can receive a no-fee license with the veteran’s designation. You must present a valid ID card from the VA indicating the 100 percent rating.
Unhoused veterans and their spouses and children may receive a free Florida ID card.
License Plates
Florida veterans with 100 percent disability ratings can receive Disabled Veteran license plates at no charge. To qualify, you must have obtained your vehicle using federal financial assistance for veterans. You must also submit proof of your disability rating.
You will also receive a validation sticker indicating your birth month and the year the plate expires. To renew the plate, you must provide documentation of your continued eligibility.
Tolls
Disabled veterans with upper limb impairments may receive Florida’s Disabled Toll Permit, which allows you to pass toll-free through staffed toll lanes.
To receive this pass, you must have the following:
- A severe and permanent upper limb disability
- A substantially impaired ability to deposit coins in toll baskets
- A valid driver’s license
- A specially equipped vehicle for the driver’s exclusive use
- A vehicle registered to you or a registered vehicle on which you are insured
This allowance is also available to non-military and non-veterans who meet these qualifications.
Need Help With Your VA Benefits Claim?
Non-VA benefits can enrich your life and save you money, but there’s no substitute for the support of VA disability benefits. The VA process can sometimes be confusing and intimidating, but you’re not alone. Veterans Guide is here to do the heavy lifting and help you receive the benefits you’ve earned.
We focus primarily on securing disability benefits for eligible veterans. Whether you need to apply for the first time or increase your disability rating, we provide knowledgeable and compassionate advice.
Learn how to apply or call us at (888) 982-1009 to learn more about your options.
Client Reviews
SHELLY DONNETT'E MILTON DAVIS Want to Increase Your VA Rating?
