The State of Iowa provides benefits for injured veterans, a trust fund for certain expenses, a property tax exemption, and a homeownership grant.
The Iowa Department of Veterans Affairs administers a grant for injured veterans and a trust fund for unemployed veterans.
This program provides a cash grant to family members of injured service members or veterans so that they can be with the injured veteran during the recovery period (when the veteran is not able to recover in his own home). The amount of the grant starts at $2,500 when a veteran is medically evacuated from a combat zone (or hazardous duty zone). If the veteran remains hospitalized for 90 days, the grant can go up to $10,000.
To be eligible, the veteran must have served on active duty and been discharged under honorable conditions, and the veteran must live in Iowa. The veteran must also have suffered a combat-related injury in a combat zone or hostile fire zone and either needs to be hospitalized for 30 days or was medically evacuated to a military hospital.
You can find a grant application here.
Iowa's trust fund for veterans provides assistance for unemployment due to service-related causes, counseling and substance abuse services, assistance with vision, hearing, dental care, medical equipment, and prescription drugs, housing repair, and emergency housing. The Iowa Veterans Commission administers the program. To apply, file a trust fund assistance request with the Iowa Department of Veterans Affairs.
Iowa offers seveal housing-related benefits for its veterans.
Service members who have served on active duty (after September 11, 2001) may be eligible for a $5,000 grant to buy a home in the state of Iowa for use as a principal residence. To be eligible, service members must have served at least 90 days on active duty (or be an injured service person with federal status who was on active duty) and must have a other than honorable discharge. The grant is through the Iowa Financing Authority. You can get more information on the homeownership assistance program here.
Certain service members can receive a military exemption on up to $1,850 of their assessed home value. To be eligible, a service member must have served on active duty during a period of war (or for a minimum of 18 months during peacetime) and must have been honorably discharged. You can find a military exemption application here.
Honorably discharged veterans and their spouses who are residents of Iowa may be eligible for a spot in the state veterans home in Marshalltown if they are edible for treatment at VA facilities. For more information, visit the Iowa veterans home website.
The Iowa State Veterans Cemetery near Des Moines is available to all veterans and their spouses and dependent children. Eligibility is the same as for burial at national cemeteries. There is no charge for burying an honorably discharged veteran; family members are buried for a $300 fee. You can find a burial determination application here for pre-registration.
Veterans with a service-connected disability or who are former POWs can receive a lifetime hunting or fishing license for $7.00. You can find a DNR application here.
Veterans with honorable discharges are eligible for veteran-designated license plates for their vehicle. The following plates are available through the Iowa Department of Transportation:
The Iowa Department of Veterans Affairs provides benefit specialists to help you gain VA benefits and Iowa state veterans benefits. For help, call the IDVA at 800-838-4692 and ask for a benefit specialist.
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