Alaska Veteran Benefits 2026: Property Tax Exemptions and Military Retired Pay Tax

The state benefits Alaska gives veterans and their surviving spouses: property tax exemptions, how the state taxes military retired pay, and other benefits, each with who qualifies, the amount, how to apply and the official source.

Alaska exempts the first $150,000 of assessed value of the primary residence of a resident veteran rated 50% or more service-connected disabled, and the exemption carries to a surviving spouse aged 60 or older who has not remarried. Municipalities may, with voter approval, exempt value above $150,000 and extend the exemption to younger surviving spouses and to surviving spouses of service members who died from a service-connected cause. Alaska has no individual income tax, so military retired pay is not taxed by the state; other benefits include a 5%/10% state hiring preference, a free permanent hunting, fishing and trapping ID card for 50%+ disabled veterans, registration and plate-fee breaks for some veterans, and the Alaska Veterans' Home in Palmer. (sources)

Official sources Checked against official sources on November 4, 2026. This page lists only benefits confirmed on an official state or federal page; counties and cities may offer more.

Property tax exemptions
Military retired pay tax
Other veteran benefits
Common questions

Property tax exemptions for veterans in Alaska

Alaska property tax benefits for veterans and surviving spouses (checked November 4, 2026)
Benefit	Who qualifies	Amount	How to apply	Source
Disabled veteran property tax exemption (mandatory, statewide)	Alaska resident veteran separated from U.S. military service under conditions that are not dishonorable, with a line-of-duty disability rated 50% or more by the branch of service or the VA. Also covers Alaska Territorial Guard members disabled 50% or more in the line of duty. The real property must be owned and occupied as the primary residence and permanent place of abode. There is no income limit. A municipality may by ordinance also require eligibility for the Permanent Fund Dividend.	Exempts the first $150,000 of assessed value of the residence (mobile homes included). Only one exemption is allowed per property.	Submit a written application to the local borough or city assessor with evidence of the disability rating. Each municipality sets its own procedures and deadlines by ordinance.	Alaska Statutes AS 29.45.030(e), (f), (i)
Surviving spouse (widow/widower) exemption	Resident widow or widower, not remarried, who is at least 60 years old and whose spouse qualified for the disabled veteran (or senior) exemption. The property must be owned and occupied as the primary residence.	Exempts the first $150,000 of assessed value.	Written application to the local assessor, including marriage and death certificates as the municipality requires.	Alaska Statutes AS 29.45.030(e)
Local-option exemption for surviving spouses under 60 and spouses of service members killed in service	Where a municipality adopts it by voter-approved ordinance: a widow or widower under 60 of a qualifying disabled veteran, or a resident widow or widower of someone who died from a service-connected cause while serving in the U.S. armed forces or National Guard.	Up to the first $150,000 of assessed value, in municipalities that have opted in.	Apply to the local assessor. Each municipality sets its own eligibility rules and application procedure for this optional exemption.	Alaska Statutes AS 29.45.030(e)
Local-option exemption of value above $150,000	Where a municipality adopts it by voter-approved ordinance: a resident disabled veteran (including Alaska Territorial Guard), or a widow or widower aged 60 or older of a qualifying person, who owns and occupies the property as a permanent place of abode.	Any amount up to the full assessed value above $150,000, as set by each municipality.	Apply to the local assessor, usually on the same senior citizen/disabled veteran application form.	Alaska Statutes AS 29.45.050(i)

Is military retired pay taxed in Alaska?

Alaska state income tax on military retired pay (checked November 4, 2026)
Treatment	Amount or limit	Source
Not taxed. Alaska has no individual income tax: the individual income tax provisions of AS 43.20.011 were repealed in 1980 (ch. 1 SSSLA 1980), and the remaining tax applies only to corporations. Military retired pay is therefore fully free of state income tax.	Fully exempt (no state individual income tax)	akleg.gov

For the dollars this treatment adds to (or saves on) a retiree’s state tax in 2026, see the military retirement tax by state study; for the pension itself, the military retirement pay calculator.

Paid tool Retired pay, VA compensation, property tax and your other income all land in one budget. Personal PRO runs it year by year on 10,000 market paths, with federal and Alaska tax, and shows the odds the money lasts, with a PDF you keep. A planning tool, not advice. Run my own retirement numbers — Personal PRO ($49) → See what is included, and every price →

Other Alaska veteran benefits

Vehicles and license plates

Alaska: vehicles and license plates for veterans
Benefit	Who qualifies	Amount	Source
Registration fee exemption	A vehicle owned by a Pearl Harbor survivor, a former prisoner of war, a Medal of Honor recipient, or the spouse, parent, guardian, sibling or dependent of a U.S. armed forces member killed in the line of duty.	No registration fee	akleg.gov
Veteran and military special request plates	Veterans, retired veterans, women veterans, retired women veterans and Lao veterans; Purple Heart recipients; recipients of the Bronze Star for valor, Silver Star, Navy Cross, Distinguished Service Cross, Air Force Cross, Coast Guard Cross or another valor award.	Purple Heart plates: no plate fee. Veteran/retired/women/Lao veteran and valor-award plates: $30 plate fee, charged only on first issuance and replacement. The normal biennial registration fee still applies ($100 for a non-commercial passenger vehicle up to 10,000 lb).	akleg.gov

Hunting, fishing and other licenses

Alaska: hunting, fishing and other licenses for veterans
Benefit	Who qualifies	Amount	Source
Free permanent sport fishing, hunting and trapping identification card	Alaska resident discharged under honorable conditions, eligible for a veterans' loan under AS 18.56.101, and certified by the VA as having a 50% or greater disability incurred during military service. Also covers Alaska Territorial Guard members disabled 50% or more.	Free permanent card used in place of the annual license (the resident hunting, trapping and sport fishing license is $75 under AS 16.05.340). Card holders are also exempt from the $10 waterfowl conservation tag and the $10 resident anadromous king salmon tag.	akleg.gov
Free resident hunting, trapping and sport fishing license for Guard and reserve members	Active members of the Alaska National Guard or the U.S. Army, Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps or Coast Guard reserves.	Free (normally $75)	akleg.gov

Employment

Alaska: employment for veterans
Benefit	Who qualifies	Amount	Source
State employment preference	Applicants who meet the minimum qualifications and are in active service, on furlough, or discharged under honorable conditions from the U.S. armed forces, a reserve unit, the Alaska Territorial Guard, the Alaska Army or Air National Guard, or the Alaska Naval Militia (5%); disabled veterans (anyone entitled to VA disability compensation) and former POWs (10%). In assessments without numerical ratings, consideration also goes to the spouse of a 5%-eligible person, and to a dependent child or unremarried surviving spouse of a disabled veteran or former POW who died within the previous 10 years. Only one preference category may be used, and it does not count in recruitments limited to current state employees.	Points equal to 5% of available assessment points added to a passing score, or 10% for disabled veterans and former POWs. Disabled veterans and former POWs are also guaranteed an interview in assessments that do not use numerical ratings.	akleg.gov

State veterans homes

Alaska: state veterans homes for veterans
Benefit	Who qualifies	Amount	Source
Alaska Veterans' Home (the Pioneers' Home in Palmer, the only Pioneers' Home that may operate as a Veterans' Home), administered by the Department of Family and Community Services (AS 47.55.010)	Alaska residents aged 60 or older with more than one year of continuous residency immediately before applying who need residential care because of physical disability or other reason. A spouse aged 60 or older with the same residency is also eligible. Admission conditions are set by regulation.	Residents pay income above $300 a month toward their care, capped at the set monthly or daily rates. Residents whose income and assets are insufficient cannot be evicted for that reason and qualify for state payment assistance (a debt to the state); residents with no income or resources receive $200 a month.	akleg.gov

Common questions

Does Alaska have a property tax exemption for disabled veterans?

Alaska lists 4 veteran property tax benefits. The main one: Disabled veteran property tax exemption (mandatory, statewide). Who qualifies: Alaska resident veteran separated from U.S. military service under conditions that are not dishonorable, with a line-of-duty disability rated 50% or more by the branch of service or the VA. Also covers Alaska Territorial Guard members disabled 50% or more in the line of duty. The real property must be owned and occupied as the primary residence and permanent place of abode. There is no income limit. A municipality may by ordinance also require eligibility for the Permanent Fund Dividend.. Amount: Exempts the first $150,000 of assessed value of the residence (mobile homes included). Only one exemption is allowed per property. (Alaska Statutes AS 29.45.030(e), (f), (i)).

How do I apply for the Alaska veteran property tax exemption?

Submit a written application to the local borough or city assessor with evidence of the disability rating. Each municipality sets its own procedures and deadlines by ordinance. (Alaska Statutes AS 29.45.030(e), (f), (i)).

Does Alaska tax military retirement pay?

Not taxed. Alaska has no individual income tax: the individual income tax provisions of AS 43.20.011 were repealed in 1980 (ch. 1 SSSLA 1980), and the remaining tax applies only to corporations. Military retired pay is therefore fully free of state income tax. Amount or limit: Fully exempt (no state individual income tax) (akleg.gov).

What other benefits do veterans get in Alaska?

State employment preference (akleg.gov); Free permanent sport fishing, hunting and trapping identification card (akleg.gov); Free resident hunting, trapping and sport fishing license for Guard and reserve members (akleg.gov); Registration fee exemption (akleg.gov); Veteran and military special request plates (akleg.gov); Alaska Veterans' Home (the Pioneers' Home in Palmer, the only Pioneers' Home that may operate as a Veterans' Home), administered by the Department of Family and Community Services (AS 47.55.010) (akleg.gov). Who qualifies and the amounts are in the tables above.

Sources

Every row above is copied from the official page linked beside it. Benefits change with new laws and local decisions, so confirm the amount and the deadline with the office that runs the program before you apply. QuantCalc is calculation software, not legal, tax or benefits advice. Last updated November 4, 2026.

Alaska senior property tax relief → Alaska state income tax for retirees → Veteran benefits in every state → Military retirement tax by state 2026 → Military retirement pay calculator → 2026 VA disability rates → Military retiree and VA COLA 2027 → VA loan limits 2026 →