Rhode Island veteran taxes

Military retired pay in Rhode Island

Exempttax year 2025Sources 1, 2, 3

Since tax year 2023 Rhode Island lets taxpayers subtract military service pension benefits included in federal adjusted gross income, with no income or age requirement (R.I. Gen. Laws § 44-30-12(c)(11); 2025 RI-1040 instructions, Schedule M line 1v). The Division of Taxation’s Publication 2026-01 for tax year 2025 says military service pensions are fully exempt; income used for this modification cannot also be used for the pension and annuity income modification.

Survivor Benefit Plan annuities

ExemptSource 4

The Division of Taxation says a surviving spouse who has received military pension benefits on behalf of a spouse who served in the armed forces is also eligible for the military service pension modification (Publication 2026-01, tax year 2025). The statute and the publication do not name the Survivor Benefit Plan or mention annuities paid to children.

Property tax relief for disabled veterans

Exemption or creditSources 5, 6

Rhode Island’s veteran property tax exemptions are set in R.I. Gen. Laws § 44-3-4 but granted by cities and towns, many by local ordinance, with amounts that differ by municipality. For a veteran the VA determines to be totally disabled through a service-connected disability, a city or town may by ordinance grant a $10,000 exemption on real or personal property, with other amounts set for some towns (for example up to $250,000 in Cranston) (§ 44-3-4(c)).

• A totally and permanently disabled service-connected veteran who owns a homestead acquired or modified with a VA special adaptive housing grant is exempt from all taxation on that homestead ($46,500 in Westerly) (§ 44-3-4(i)); a totally disabled veteran who received VA specially adapted housing assistance has a $10,000 exemption on the domicile, varying by town (§ 44-3-4(b)).
• These are in addition to the general veterans’ exemption for wartime and other listed service (generally $1,000, more in many towns) and an additional exemption for totally disabled veterans (generally $1,000, varying by town) (§ 44-3-4(a)).
• Evidence of eligibility goes to the local assessors by the deadline for sworn statements; the exemption is not allowed to a person who is not a legal resident of the state.

Vehicle registration for disabled veterans

Fee waiver or discountSources 7, 8

Rhode Island exempts from the annual registration fee, and from the fee for a license to operate that vehicle, a veteran honorably discharged from service in any of the wars or campaigns in which the United States has been engaged who lost or lost the use of one or both arms, hands, feet or legs, received a VA motor vehicle grant, or has VA documentation of a 100% combined service-connected rating or individual unemployability (R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-6-8). The Division of Motor Vehicles issues one set of Disabled Veteran plates for an automobile or a commercial vehicle of 12,000 pounds or less and says there is no charge for the plates or registration.

• Upon the veteran’s death the plates may be transferred to the surviving spouse for the spouse’s lifetime or until the spouse remarries.
• The DMV page describes eligibility as a 100% service-connected disability and accepts only an Executive Certification from the VA Providence Regional Office; plates renew every two years in December.