Indiana 100% P&T Playbook – Federal & State Benefits

📌 Big picture

What 100% P&T + Indiana really unlocks

A 100% Permanent & Total rating isn’t just a monthly check – it’s a platform. When you layer federal benefits with Indiana’s state programs, you can:

Provide tax-free income for life through VA disability compensation.
Cover healthcare for your spouse and kids through CHAMPVA, with optional dental via VADIP, while you use VA health care yourself.
Unlock tuition and fee coverage at Indiana public colleges via CVO (tuition & fee exemption), with DEA stipends on top.
Get serious property-tax relief on your primary home as a disabled veteran.
Stack Indiana’s 529 tax credit, federal 529 tax-free growth, and newer 529 → Roth IRA rollovers for your kids.

This page assumes: you’re rated 100% P&T by the VA, you live in Indiana, and your goal is to coordinate benefits so your family is covered on health, education, and long-term wealth.

Not legal/tax advice. Everything here is educational only. Rules change, and details like income, assets, and timing matter. Run your specific plan by a qualified tax professional, financial planner, and (for school benefits) the Indiana Department of Veterans Affairs plus the college itself.

🏛️ Federal layer

Core federal benefits for a 100% P&T family

1. VA disability compensation: your baseline paycheck

At 100% P&T, you receive monthly, tax-free VA disability compensation. The amount depends on your dependents (spouse, children, parents). It’s exempt from federal income tax and Indiana state income tax, which makes it a powerful “floor” in your family budget.

If you qualify for Special Monthly Compensation (SMC), you may receive additional, tax-free amounts for certain severe conditions or needs.
P&T status greatly reduces the risk of future rating reductions, but always read and respond to any VA mail.

2. VA health care for you

A 100% service-connected rating puts you in a top priority group for VA health care. In practice:

Most care is provided with no or very low copays.
Many 100% P&T veterans qualify for full VA dental care (Class IV eligibility), plus vision, prosthetics, mental health, and specialty clinics.
VA care for you is a key piece of the later HSA strategy, because it allows you to design the family’s civilian coverage around tax efficiency rather than just risk.

3. CHAMPVA: medical for spouse and kids

If you’re 100% P&T and your dependents are not eligible for TRICARE, your spouse and children usually qualify for CHAMPVA:

Works like a civilian PPO-style plan with deductibles and cost-shares.
Can coordinate with other health insurance (e.g., your spouse’s employer plan) – the employer plan pays first, CHAMPVA can pick up part of the remainder.
Kids typically remain eligible into their early 20s if they’re still in school (similar to other health plans – always check current CHAMPVA rules).

Don’t drop CHAMPVA lightly. It’s an unusually generous benefit. Even if your spouse gets job-based coverage, keeping CHAMPVA as a secondary payer is often worth it. If you cancel it outright, re-enrolling later usually means a new application and wait time.

4. VADIP: dental for CHAMPVA dependents

CHAMPVA doesn’t include standard dental, but your spouse and kids can often enroll in the VA Dental Insurance Program (VADIP) through carriers like Delta Dental and MetLife.

Available to CHAMPVA beneficiaries and certain enrolled veterans.
You pick a plan level (higher premium vs. lower out-of-pocket, etc.).
Pairs nicely with VA dental for you, so the whole family can have dental coverage without buying a separate marketplace plan.

5. DEA (Chapter 35): stipends for your dependents’ schooling

Because you’re 100% P&T, your spouse and children may qualify for Dependents’ Educational Assistance (DEA, Chapter 35).

DEA pays a monthly stipend directly to your dependent while they’re in approved education or training (college, certain trade programs, apprenticeships).
It doesn’t pay the school – it’s cash they can use for rent, food, books, transportation, etc.
There are time windows and month caps (e.g., for kids, often between 18–26), so you want to plan usage intentionally.

6. Other federal “quality-of-life” perks

VA home loan funding fee waiver – usually saves thousands every time you use a VA mortgage for purchase or refinance.
Commissary / Exchange / MWR access on many military installations for you and eligible dependents, plus online exchanges in some cases.
Potential access to Space-Available (Space-A) travel on military flights for leisure, depending on the current DoD rules.

Tip: For anything that involves physical access (base, commissary, Space-A), check your DoD ID card category and the installation’s latest policy before driving a few hours to the gate.

🌽 Indiana layer

Key Indiana benefits for 100% P&T veterans

1. Disabled veteran property-tax deductions

Indiana offers strong property-tax deductions for disabled veterans and some surviving spouses. If you own your primary residence in Indiana and meet the disability criteria, you can subtract a chunk of assessed value from your home – which directly lowers your yearly property-tax bill.

Deductions scale with your service-connected rating (10%+, 100%) and the value of your home.
A 100% P&T veteran often qualifies for one of the highest deduction tiers.
You apply through your county auditor using your VA award letter, DD214, and any forms the county requires.

Think long-term. Over 20–30 years, veteran property-tax deductions can add up to tens of thousands of dollars. That’s a major reason to plan around a “forever home” in Indiana if it fits your family.

2. CVO: tuition & fee exemption for children

Indiana’s Tuition and Fee Exemption program (often called CVO) is the crown jewel for your kids. It can cover up to 100% of tuition and regularly assessed fees at Indiana public colleges and universities for eligible children of disabled veterans, up to 124 credit hours.

Works at schools like IU, Purdue, Ball State, etc., at the in-state rate.
Also provides a capped benefit at some Indiana private non-profit schools.
Covers tuition and “regular” fees – not housing, meal plans, or extras.

Kid eligibility (high level) Biological or adopted child (before age 18), approved by IDVA, and generally using the benefit before their early 30s (exact age/timing rules matter).

Residency Your child must qualify for Indiana resident tuition at the school – that means paying attention to where they live and how the college classifies them.

3. Indiana 529: CollegeChoice / Indiana529

Indiana’s 529 plans are quietly one of the best deals in the country:

You can get a 20% Indiana state tax credit on your contributions, up to a maximum credit amount each year (based on current law).
Investments grow tax-deferred and can be withdrawn tax-free for qualified education expenses.
Grandparents and others can open accounts or contribute and may qualify for their own Indiana credit if they’re Indiana taxpayers.

Watch the fine print. If you roll your Indiana 529 to another state, take non-qualified withdrawals, or use certain newer options like 529 → Roth IRA rollovers, Indiana can recapture some of the state tax credit. Before moving big balances, have a tax pro walk you through the math.

4. Other Indiana perks

Special license plates and some BMV fee reductions.
State park / hunting / fishing benefits for certain disabled veterans.
Indiana Veterans Homes and, in some cases, the Military Family Relief Fund.

These programs shift over time with new legislation, so it’s worth checking the Indiana Department of Veterans Affairs site every year or two.

🧾 Health stack & HSA

VA + CHAMPVA + VADIP + HSA: designing a smart health stack

One of the most interesting 100% P&T setups looks like this:

You use VA health care (and VA dental if eligible) for your own needs.
Your spouse and kids are on CHAMPVA for medical and VADIP for dental.
You (or your spouse) enroll in a qualifying High-Deductible Health Plan (HDHP) through work and open a Health Savings Account (HSA).

The idea: because VA + CHAMPVA can keep real-world medical spending relatively low, the HSA can behave like a long-term, tax-advantaged investment account for health costs later in life.

HSA basics (why they’re so strong)

An HSA has a “triple tax advantage” when used correctly:

Contributions are generally pre-tax or tax-deductible.
Growth inside the account is tax-free.
Withdrawals are tax-free for qualified medical expenses at any age; after 65 you can take non-medical withdrawals without penalty (but they’re taxed like a traditional IRA).

Eligibility is individual. To contribute to an HSA, a person must be covered by an IRS-qualified HDHP and not have disqualifying other coverage or Medicare. VA and CHAMPVA can interact with these rules in non-obvious ways. Your situation is specific – have a tax pro confirm who in your household is truly HSA-eligible.

Why this can be a win–win

Your family has strong coverage from VA + CHAMPVA/VADIP.
You can max out a family HSA contribution every year and invest most of it in long-term assets (index funds, etc.) inside the HSA.
By retirement, the HSA can be a dedicated, tax-favored bucket for Medicare premiums, long-term care insurance (up to IRS limits), and out-of-pocket medical/dental/vision.

Mini case study: A 35-year-old 100% P&T vet uses VA; spouse and child use CHAMPVA + VADIP. The spouse’s job offers an HDHP + HSA, so they max the HSA every year and invest it. They pay small medical bills with regular cash and leave the HSA untouched. By their 60s, they have a six-figure HSA balance dedicated to healthcare in retirement.

🎓 Education & 529 strategy

Using CVO, DEA, and 529 together – and feeding a Roth IRA

Step 1: Treat CVO as the “default payer” for tuition

For an eligible child of a 100% disabled Indiana veteran, CVO can make in-state undergrad tuition at a public school effectively free (up to 124 credit hours). That changes how you think about 529 savings – your 529 doesn’t have to cover four full years of tuition anymore.

Step 2: Layer DEA as a living-expense stipend

When your child uses DEA while in school, they receive a monthly stipend directly in their name. Combined with CVO:

CVO covers tuition and required fees.
DEA helps with rent, groceries, transportation, and books.
A part-time job + basic budgeting can make it realistic to graduate with little or no debt.

Let them own some of the budget. A nice structure is: DEA stipend + summer work + your guardrails. Your 529 can then fund special things (study abroad, internships, extra certifications) instead of just plugging holes.

Step 3: Use the Indiana 529 for flexibility and the state credit

Indiana’s 529 plans reward you for contributing, even if CVO is covering tuition:

Aim, when possible, to contribute enough each year to capture the full Indiana state tax credit on 529 contributions.
Use 529 funds for qualified costs: room and board (up to IRS limits), books, required technology, some apprenticeships, and other approved expenses.
If your child ends up not needing all of it, that’s where the Roth IRA angle comes in.

Step 4: 529 → Roth IRA rollovers (SECURE 2.0 era)

Under newer federal rules, certain leftover 529 money can be rolled into a Roth IRA for your child, tax-free, up to a lifetime cap and subject to the annual Roth contribution limit and earned-income rules.

The 529 typically must have been open at least 15 years.
Only older contributions and associated earnings are eligible (contributions from the last few years are usually excluded).
Each year’s rollover counts toward the child’s Roth IRA contribution limit and requires them to have at least that much earned income.
There’s a lifetime dollar cap per beneficiary on 529 → Roth rollovers.

Indiana twist: credit recapture. Rolling 529 money into a Roth IRA can trigger give-back of some Indiana 529 credits. That doesn’t automatically make the move a bad idea – but it does mean you want a side-by-side comparison of “pay back some credit now” vs. “Roth IRA growth for decades.”

Putting it together: a sample “IU/Purdue + Roth boost” timeline

1

Birth → middle school

You open an Indiana 529 and throw in what you can. Some years you hit the amount needed to max the state credit, some years you don’t – that’s okay. The important part is: the account exists, the clock is ticking, and money is growing.

2

College years

Your child goes to an Indiana public university. CVO covers tuition and mandatory fees. DEA pays your child a monthly stipend. You use 529 funds for on-campus housing and extras, but you don’t drain the account if you don’t have to.

3

Early working years

After graduation, your child has a job and earned income. There’s still money in the 529. Over several years, you roll eligible 529 dollars into a Roth IRA in their name, staying under the annual Roth limit and the lifetime rollover cap, and accounting for any Indiana credit recapture.

Result: your kid received heavily subsidized college and walks into adult life with a jump-started Roth IRA that can compound for 40+ years.

📋 Checklist

Quick checklist for an Indiana 100% P&T family

1. Lock in your status Keep copies of your VA rating letter showing 100% P&T, your DD214, marriage certificate, and kids’ birth/adoption records in one “benefits binder.”

2. Turn on federal family benefits Apply for CHAMPVA for spouse/kids, consider VADIP for dental, and make sure everyone understands the basics of DEA (who can use it, when, and for how long).

3. Claim Indiana benefits File for disabled veteran property-tax deductions with your county auditor, and learn the CVO rules early so you’re ready when your child approaches college.

4. Design your health stack Decide how VA, CHAMPVA, and any employer plans fit together. If an HSA is on the table, confirm exactly who is HSA-eligible before you start making contributions.

5. Build a 529 + Roth game plan Open an Indiana 529 for each child, contribute what you can (aiming for the state credit when feasible), and keep the account open long enough for possible 529 → Roth rollovers later.

6. Document it for your family Create a one-page “benefits map” showing who has what (VA, CHAMPVA, CVO, DEA, etc.), key logins, and where documents live. Update it once a year or after big life changes.

Mindset shift: You paid for these benefits with your service. The goal now is not just to “use” them, but to coordinate them into a simple, repeatable system your spouse and kids can run even if you’re not the one pushing all the buttons.

Maxing Out Federal, State, and Family Benefits

Build a “family benefits stack” once, reuse it for decades.