As of January 1, millions of disabled Veterans nationwide are eligible to shop at stores on military bases. A new law passed in 2018 and went into effect last month expands in-person and online shopping privileges to new categories of Veterans.
The Purple Heart and Disabled Veterans Equal Access Act allows for Purple Heart recipients, former prisoners of war, Veterans with any service-connected disability, and caregivers of qualifying Veterans to shop at exchange stores and commissaries.
The commissaries are essentially grocery stores, whereas exchange stores are similar to department stores. The merchandise is tax-free, though a fee is added at checkout.
In the past, only active-duty servicemembers, Veterans with 100% service-connected disabilities, and Veterans who retired after 20 years of service were allowed to shop at the stores. Qualifying Veterans may now also shop at the stores online, where the merchandise is also tax-free.
In addition, the new categories of Veterans may now also make use of morale, welfare and recreation centers at military bases. Additional information on who is eligible may be found here.
For more information on filing a Veterans’ Disability claim, please feel free to give us a call anytime at 877.526.3457. One of our representatives will be happy to answer your questions. Or if you’d prefer to contact us online, please fill out this form.
