Veteran taxes by state
Iowa veteran taxes
How Iowa treats military retired pay and Survivor Benefit Plan annuities in its income tax, and its property tax and vehicle registration relief for disabled veterans — from the state’s own pages.
On this page5 sections
- Military retired pay
- Exempttax year 2025
- SBP annuities
- Exempt
- Property tax
- Exemption or credit
- Vehicle registration
- Fee waiver or discount
Military retired pay in Iowa
Exempttax year 2025Sources 1, 2
Iowa excludes military retirement benefits from individual income tax at any age, to the extent included in federal adjusted gross income, for tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2014 (Iowa Code § 422.7(31A) and (31B)). The 2025 IA 1040 Schedule 1 instructions subtract military retirement benefits on line 4.
Survivor Benefit Plan annuities
ExemptSource 3
The Department of Revenue states that the military retirement exclusion also applies to military survivor benefits received under 10 U.S.C. 1447, with no age limit.
Property tax relief for disabled veterans
Exemption or creditSources 4, 5
Iowa’s Disabled Veteran Homestead Property Tax Credit equals the entire amount of the tax levied on the homestead. It is for owners who qualify for the homestead exemption and are veterans with a permanent service-connected disability rating of 100%, or a permanent and total rating based on individual unemployability paid at the 100% rate, as the VA certifies; veterans who acquired the homestead with a VA specially adapted housing grant; certain former National Guard members with the same ratings; or a surviving spouse or child receiving dependency and indemnity compensation (Iowa Code § 425.1(2)(b) as amended by 2026 Iowa Acts, SF 2472, which repealed § 425.15, applying to assessment years from January 1, 2026). There is no income limit; applications go to the assessor by July 1, with no annual reapplication.
- For applications made on or after July 1, 2026, the credit covers the dwelling and up to one-half acre, without appurtenances; earlier applicants keep up to one-half acre in a city or 40 acres outside city limits.
- A person who takes this credit is not eligible for any other real property tax exemption for veterans of military service.
Surviving spouse
The credit continues to the estate of a deceased owner or to the surviving spouse and any child who are beneficiaries of the deceased owner, so long as the surviving spouse remains unmarried (Iowa Code § 425.1(2)(a) as amended by SF 2472); a surviving spouse or child receiving dependency and indemnity compensation qualifies on their own, even after remarriage, until that compensation ends.
Vehicle registration for disabled veterans
Fee waiver or discountSources 6, 7
Under Iowa Code § 321.105(5), a seriously disabled veteran who has been provided with an automobile or other vehicle by the U.S. government under 38 U.S.C. §§ 3901–3904 is exempt from the registration fee for that vehicle and receives, without fee, one set of regular plates or one set of special plates associated with service in the armed forces for which the veteran qualifies. The veteran must be an Iowa resident.
- Instead of the fee-free set, the veteran may choose nonmilitary special or personalized plates by paying the additional fees for those plates.
- The Department of Transportation lists a Disabled Veteran plate among military service plates; its page read today does not state that plate’s fees.
Sources
Each source was read on October 28, 2026 on the state’s own site, the normal way. The numbers in the sections above point here.
- Military Tax Information
- IA 1040 Schedule 1 (1040 Expanded Instructions)
- Military Tax Information (Military Retirement Benefits Exclusion From Iowa Income Tax)
- Disabled Veteran Homestead Property Tax Credit
- Senate File 2472 (enrolled), 2026 Iowa Acts
- 321.105 Annual registration fee required.
- Personalized and Specialty Plates