Veteran Benefits for Wyoming

Wyoming Does Not Tax Resident’s Income: The state of Wyoming does hereby preempt for itself the field of imposing and levying income taxes, earnings taxes, or any other form of tax based on wages or other income and no county, city, town or other political subdivision shall have the right to impose, levy or collect such taxes.

Wyoming Veterans Property Tax Exemption: Apply at your County Assessor’s Office between January 1st and the fourth Monday of May each year. Veterans must be residents of Wyoming for three or more years prior to claiming the tax exemption and must have a DD Form 214 or equivalent. Additionally, one of the following must apply:

• Served in the Armed Forces during World War II, Korean War, or Vietnam War
• Must have served overseas during an armed conflict and received an Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal or equivalent
• Be a disabled Veteran with a compensable service-connected disability as certified by VA
• Be the Surviving Spouse of a qualifying Veteran who resides in Wyoming and did not remarry

Sales Tax:

• Statewide: 4.0%
• Counties: can levy an additional sales tax of no more than 2% except on lodging, which can impose a tax of 2-4%
• Current average sales tax (with local taxes included): 5.39%

Recreation

Wyoming Fish, Bird and Game Licenses Free for 100% Disabled Veterans: The Game and Fish Department will issue without charge lifetime bird, small game, and fish licenses. The license is valid so long as the licensee remains a Wyoming resident.

Disabled Veteran Fishing License: Wyoming resident Veterans with at least a 50% disability rating can get a lifetime fishing license for free.

Disabled Veteran Hunting License: Wyoming resident Veterans with a 100% disability rating can get a lifetime game bird, small game, and fishing license for free.

Active Duty Hunting and Fishing Licenses: Any Wyoming resident deployed to a combat zone on active duty and is home on leave can get a free resident general elk, resident general deer, resident game bird/small game and resident daily fishing license. Any active duty member stationed in Wyoming for at least 90 days can get hunting and fishing licenses at the resident price.

Pioneer Veteran Bird, Small Game, and Fishing License: Any Wyoming Veteran who is 65 or older and has lived in Wyoming for 30 or more continuous years can receive a Pioneer bird, small game, and fishing license for free.

Free Wyoming Parks Pass: Veterans who have at least a 50% disability rating are eligible for a free lifetime day use and camping pass to all Wyoming state parks, recreation areas, archaeological sites, and historic sites.

Education Programs

Wyoming Tuition Assistance for Veterans and Surviving Dependents: Wyoming provides a Veteran’s tuition benefit in the form of free tuition and fees at community colleges or the University of Wyoming, for overseas combat Veterans, Surviving Spouses, and dependents. This program underwent a few changes during the 2018 legislative session. Current participants in the program will continue to be entitled to full payment of tuition and fees as well as the use of 10  semesters of education as long as those entitlements have been used by 31 Aug 2020. After that date, all participants currently enrolled and newly enrolled participants as of the summer 2018 semester will only be entitled to payment of tuition and will be limited to 8 semesters within an 8-year period.

Wyoming Interstate Compact on Educational Opportunity for Military Children: It is the purpose of this compact to remove barriers to educational success imposed on children of military families because of frequent moves and deployment of their parents by:

• Facilitating the timely enrollment of children of military families and ensuring that they are not placed at a disadvantage due to difficulty in the transfer of educational records from the previous school district or variations in entrance or age requirements.
• Facilitating the student placement process through which children of military families are not disadvantaged by variations in attendance requirements, scheduling, sequencing, grading, course content or assessment
• Facilitating the qualification and eligibility for enrollment, educational programs, and participation in extracurricular academic, athletic and social activities
• Facilitating the on-time graduation of children of military families
• Providing for the promulgation and enforcement of administrative rules implementing the provisions of this compact
• Providing for the uniform collection and sharing of information between and among member states, schools and military families under this compact
• Promoting coordination between this compact and other compacts affecting military children
• Promoting flexibility and cooperation between the educational system, parents and the student in order to achieve educational success for the student

Housing: The following are the sites for Veterans Homes

Wyoming State Veterans Home at Port Orchard

Eligibility for admission: 

• Must be unable to earn a living by reason of wounds, disease, old age or other infirmities; or have no adequate means of support or are already domiciled in this state.
• Must be a dependent of a qualified Veteran if admission is deemed proper.
• Valid in-state residence at the time of application, or the intent to permanently reside in the state if less than one year of state residence. The resident must not be in transit; temporary or seasonal residence is not acceptable.
• Persons who are not Veterans or dependents of Veterans may be admitted if less than 90 percent of the home’s capacity is occupied and a Veteran’s dependent application is not pending. Individuals must also be unable to earn a living with no adequate means of support and/or domiciled in this state.

Employment and Job Training: Veteran’s Preference

All honorably discharged Veterans can have 5 points added to any state employment examination scores. Those with a VA service-connected disability will get 10 points added to their score. Surviving spouses may also be eligible for this advantage.

Federal Veterans Hiring Preferences: By Federal law, Veterans who are disabled or who served on active duty in the United States Armed Forces during certain specified time periods or in military campaigns are entitled to preference over non-Veterans both in hiring into the Federal civil service and in retention during a reduction in force. Veterans may be entitled to 5 or 10 points included in any scoring process for examination or interviews.

Burials and Memorials

Please note that your preference regarding burial in a national cemetery and use of a headstone provided by VA should be documented and kept with your paperwork and medical records. Eligibility for interment in the State Veterans Cemetery follows National Cemetery Administration eligibility requirements. The Oregon Trail State Veterans’ Cemetery in Evansville is open to every veteran who receives any discharge other than dishonorable. There is no charge for any burial plot, spouses and dependent children may also be eligible for burial.

National Cemeteries include:

Grafton: Grafton National Cemetery

Grafton: West Virginia National Cemetery

Wyoming VA Benefit Resources

Wyoming provides Veterans with a Regional Benefits Office and VA Medical Centers.

Wyoming VA Regional Benefits Office

• Cheyenne: Cheyenne VA Medical / Regional Office Center

Wyoming VA Medical Centers

• Cheyenne: Cheyenne VA Medical
• Sheridan: Sheridan VA Medical Center

Important information for Wyoming Veteran Benefits:

For Veterans applying for VA benefits for the first time, you must submit a copy of your DD 214 (discharge paperwork). This will provide your discharge status, along with your full name, social security number, branch of service, and dates for which you served. Honorable and general discharges qualify a Veteran for most VA benefits.

You should always keep your paperwork, along with your medical records, in a safe place where you and your family can have access to them. It is imperative to have it in a location where it cannot be destroyed or tampered with, which includes a safe.

Your eligibility for most VA benefits is based upon discharge from active military service under other than dishonorable conditions. Active service means full-time service as a member of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, or as a commissioned officer of the Public Health Service, the Environmental Services Administration or the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Any Veteran discharged from the military under the conditions of “Dishonorable” due to bad conduct discharges issued by general courts-martial may bar VA benefits. Veterans in prison and parolees may be eligible for certain VA benefits. VA regional offices can clarify the eligibility of prisoners, parolees, and individuals with multiple discharges issued under differing conditions.

*This information is accurate as of December 2019

Wyoming Veteran Benefits

If you are a disabled Veteran in Wyoming and are VA rated 90% or less, you may be eligible for additional benefits. Contact Veterans Guardian for a free consultation with no obligation. Let us review your claim to determine if you are eligible for an increase in VA compensation and whether you qualify for additional benefits.