Ohio veteran taxes

Military retired pay in Ohio

Exempttax year 2025Sources 1, 2, 3

Ohio lets taxpayers deduct retired personnel pay for service in the uniformed services, their reserve components or the National Guard, to the extent it is included in federal adjusted gross income, with no age, cap or income test (R.C. 5747.01(A)(23)); the 2025 IT 1040 instructions carry the deduction on Schedule of Adjustments line 34. When a federal civil service pension is based partly on uniformed service, only the share attributable to that service is deductible.

Survivor Benefit Plan annuities

ExemptSources 4, 5, 6

The same deduction covers amounts received under the Survivor Benefit Plan by the surviving spouse or former spouse of a deceased member of the uniformed services, to the extent included in federal adjusted gross income (R.C. 5747.01(A)(23); 2025 IT 1040 instructions, line 34). The statute and the Department of Taxation’s answer name only a surviving spouse or former spouse.

Property tax relief for disabled veterans

Exemption or creditSources 7, 8, 9, 10, 11

Ohio’s enhanced homestead exemption reduces property taxes on the home of a disabled veteran, defined as a person discharged under honorable conditions who has a total disability rating, or a total disability rating based on individual unemployability, for service-connected disabilities (R.C. 323.151(F)). The reduction equals the taxes on $50,000 of the home’s true value, adjusted for inflation, with no income test (R.C. 323.152(A)(2)); the Department of Taxation lists $58,000 for tax year 2025 and $59,400 for tax year 2026 real property.

• It applies to one homestead the veteran owns and occupies as a principal place of residence, including up to one acre of surrounding land, and replaces the regular homestead reduction.
• Veterans apply on form DTE 105I with the county auditor; once approved, there is no yearly reapplication unless eligibility changes.

Vehicle registration for disabled veterans

Fee waiver or discountSources 12, 13, 14

Ohio charges no registration fee, service fee, local motor vehicle tax, fee under R.C. 4503.19 or registration transfer fee for the personal vehicle of a disabled veteran whose service-connected disability is rated or compensated at 100% by the VA, or who was awarded VA funds toward a motor vehicle under the Disabled Veterans’ and Servicemen’s Automobile Assistance Act of 1970 (R.C. 4503.41). The plates are red, white and blue, inscribed “veteran” and imprinted with the international wheelchair symbol; the BMV calls them Veteran with Disabilities plates.

• The exemption covers the first registration; for each additional vehicle registered under the section the usual fees and local motor vehicle tax are collected (R.C. 4503.41(C), as amended by House Bill 96, effective September 30, 2025).
• A qualifying veteran may take one or two military license plates of any variety the veteran is eligible for instead of the Veteran with Disabilities plate.
• Purple Heart Disability plates (R.C. 4503.571) are issued to Purple Heart recipients with a 100% service-connected rating or a VA vehicle allowance; the BMV lists a $1.00 fee for transfer transactions and no other fees.