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VetMusts

Data sources.

VetDecide is built on public information. We link to original sources so you can verify information yourself. Listing a source here does not imply endorsement by that source.

Public update sources

Public update sources.

Free, public sources we monitor to keep VetDecide current. Each entry shows reliability, last review, and the compare fields it informs.

VA News - state and territory veteran tax exemptions

High reliabilityVerified - 2026-01

Federal VA summary of veteran tax exemptions by state and territory.

Refresh cadence:
Quarterly; verify state links
Reliability:
Federal VA editorial summary, links back to state pages.

Informs compare fields:

State income taxMilitary retirementVA disabilityProperty tax relief
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MyArmyBenefits state and territory benefits

High reliabilityVerified - 2026-01

Official Army state benefit pages covering taxes, education, employment, health, parks, and resources.

Refresh cadence:
Monthly to quarterly review
Reliability:
Official US Army benefit library.

Informs compare fields:

Military retirementEducation benefitsEmployment supportVehicle and licenseRecreation and otherMedical access
Visit source

Tax Foundation 2026 state individual income tax rates and brackets

High reliabilityVerified - 2026-01

State income tax rate and bracket reference.

Refresh cadence:
Annual, plus legislative updates
Reliability:
Independent tax policy research, not a state tax agency.

Informs compare fields:

State income taxCivilian work incomeSpouse income
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Tax Foundation Facts and Figures 2026

High reliabilityVerified - 2026-01

Broader state tax context: sales, property, revenue, and business tax rankings.

Refresh cadence:
Annual
Reliability:
Independent research, useful for cross-state context.

Informs compare fields:

State income taxRental incomeProperty tax reliefHousing factors
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Federation of Tax Administrators - tax rates

High reliabilityVerified - 2026-01

Public state tax rate references and links to state tax administration.

Refresh cadence:
Annual
Reliability:
Directory of state revenue agencies.

Informs compare fields:

State income taxRental incomeCivilian work income
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VA Facilities API

High reliabilityVerified - 2026-01

VA facility locations, addresses, phone numbers, services, and hours.

Refresh cadence:
Weekly to monthly API refresh
Reliability:
Authoritative VA developer API.

Informs compare fields:

Medical access
Visit source

VA Facilities API - Open Data listing

High reliabilityVerified - 2026-01

VA Open Data catalog entry for the Facilities API.

Refresh cadence:
Annual source validation
Reliability:
Cross-reference for the live API.

Informs compare fields:

Medical access
Visit source

VA GI Bill school and program approval

High reliabilityVerified - 2026-01

Explains State Approving Agencies for VA education and training programs.

Refresh cadence:
Annual
Reliability:
Federal VA education benefits authority.

Informs compare fields:

Education benefits
Visit source

NASAA state contacts

Medium reliabilityNeeds review - 2026-01

State Approving Agency contacts for GI Bill education and training approval.

Refresh cadence:
Quarterly
Reliability:
Association directory, verify against the state agency directly.

Informs compare fields:

Education benefits
Visit source

U.S. Census cartographic boundary files

High reliabilityVerified - 2026-01

State and county map boundary files for visual map overlays.

Refresh cadence:
Annual
Reliability:
Authoritative federal geography source.

Supporting reference. Does not feed a specific compare field.

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U.S. Census TIGER/Line shapefiles

High reliabilityVerified - 2026-01

Authoritative map boundary data for state and county joins.

Refresh cadence:
Annual
Reliability:
Authoritative federal geography source.

Supporting reference. Does not feed a specific compare field.

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IRS veterans tax information and services

High reliabilityVerified - 2026-01

Federal tax guidance for veterans.

Refresh cadence:
Annual and tax season
Reliability:
Authoritative federal tax authority.

Informs compare fields:

State income taxMilitary retirementVA disabilitySurvivor Benefit Plan
Visit source

Authority tiers.

Tier 1 sources are official federal or state sources. Tier 2 sources are public research, official association, or policy sources used for cross-checking. Tier 3 sources are secondary summaries used for discovery only.

Federal and USG

Federal and USG

VA benefits

Tier 1 - Official

Federal VA benefits information and benefit context.

Data type:
Federal benefits information
Refresh cadence:
Quarterly
Last verified:
2026-05-16

Used as a starting point for federal VA benefit context.

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VA facilities directory

Tier 1 - Official

VA facility locations and services.

Data type:
Facility locations and services
Refresh cadence:
Quarterly
Last verified:
2026-05-16

Used for VA medical access references.

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VA News state tax exemptions summary

Tier 1 - Official

Federal VA public summary of state tax exemptions for veterans.

Data type:
Federal summary
Refresh cadence:
Quarterly
Last verified:
2026-05-16

Seed source for cross-state tax exemption context.

Visit source

VA Facilities API

Tier 1 - Official

Official VA API for active VA facilities, including health facilities, benefits facilities, cemeteries, and Vet Centers.

Data type:
API
Refresh cadence:
Quarterly
Last verified:
2026-05-16

Use for medical access and facility mapping. Treat as a location/access layer, not a benefits eligibility source.

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VA Education and Training Benefits

Tier 1 - Official

Official VA education benefits resource for Veterans, service members, and qualified family members.

Data type:
Federal education benefits
Refresh cadence:
Quarterly
Last verified:
2026-05-16

Use for federal education context. State-specific education benefits still require state agency verification.

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Veterans Benefits Administration

Tier 1 - Official

Official VA benefits resource for Veterans, dependents, survivors, and caretakers.

Data type:
Federal benefits portal
Refresh cadence:
Quarterly
Last verified:
2026-05-16

Use as a federal baseline. Do not use this alone for state-specific claims.

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VA API Platform

Tier 1 - Official

Official VA developer platform for APIs that can support Veteran-facing tools.

Data type:
Developer platform
Refresh cadence:
Quarterly
Last verified:
2026-05-16

Use for future integrations. VetMusts should document which VA APIs are actually used.

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Military / government benefit

Military / government benefit

MyArmyBenefits state pages (legacy ID)

Tier 2 - Research / association

State and territory benefit summaries for military families. Superseded by `myarmybenefits_state_territory`.

Data type:
State benefit summaries
Refresh cadence:
Twice yearly
Last verified:
2026-05-16

Retained for seeded state record references.

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MyArmyBenefits State/Territory Benefits

Tier 2 - Research / association

Official Army benefits fact sheets covering state and territory benefits.

Data type:
State benefit summaries
Refresh cadence:
Monthly
Last verified:
2026-05-16

Strong source for state benefit discovery. Verify high-impact tax and eligibility claims against state agencies.

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MyArmyBenefits Federal Benefits

Tier 2 - Research / association

Official Army benefit fact sheets for federal benefits by category, component, and life event.

Data type:
Federal benefit summaries
Refresh cadence:
Monthly
Last verified:
2026-05-16

Use for federal context and life-event planning. State rules still need state-level verification.

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Military Licensing Relief Act Overview

Tier 2 - Research / association

Policy background on military and spouse occupational license recognition under SCRA updates.

Data type:
Licensing policy background
Refresh cadence:
Annual
Last verified:
2026-05-16

Use as background only. Verify rules by state licensing board and occupation.

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State veterans agency

State veterans agency

National Association of State Directors of Veterans Affairs (legacy ID)

Tier 2 - Research / association

Directory and reference point for state veterans agencies. Superseded by `nasdva_about` and `nasdva_resources`.

Data type:
State veterans agency directory
Refresh cadence:
Twice yearly
Last verified:
2026-05-16

Retained for seeded state record references.

Visit source

State Department of Veterans Affairs

Tier 1 - Official

Per-state veterans agency page. Specific URL per state is on the StateRecord.urls.stateDva field.

Data type:
State veterans agency
Refresh cadence:
Quarterly
Last verified:
2026-05-16

Authoritative state-level reference. Always render the per-state URL when available.

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NASDVA State Veterans Agency Resources

Tier 2 - Research / association

Directory of state and territory veterans agency webpages.

Data type:
State agency directory
Refresh cadence:
Quarterly
Last verified:
2026-05-16

Use to route users to official state agencies. NASDVA is a directory, not the maintainer of each state page.

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NASDVA

Tier 2 - Research / association

National association representing state directors of veterans affairs across states, DC, and territories.

Data type:
State veterans agency network
Refresh cadence:
Annual
Last verified:
2026-05-16

Use for directory context, not as final authority for individual state benefits.

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State tax agency

State tax agency

Federation of Tax Administrators State Tax Agencies Directory

Tier 2 - Research / association

Directory linking directly to each state's tax agency website.

Data type:
State tax agency directory
Refresh cadence:
Quarterly
Last verified:
2026-05-16

Use to route users to official state tax agencies. State agency pages remain the final source.

Visit source
Tax research

Tax research

Tax Foundation state tax data (legacy ID)

Tier 2 - Research / association

State tax research and state tax structure summaries. Superseded by the 2026 Tax Foundation entries.

Data type:
State tax research
Refresh cadence:
Annual
Last verified:
2026-05-16

Independent tax policy research, not a state tax agency.

Visit source

Federation of Tax Administrators state tax agency directory (legacy ID)

Tier 2 - Research / association

Directory of state tax and revenue agencies. Superseded by `fta_state_tax_agencies`.

Data type:
State tax agency directory
Refresh cadence:
Annual
Last verified:
2026-05-16

Retained for seeded state record references.

Visit source

Tax Foundation State Individual Income Tax Rates and Brackets, 2026

Tier 2 - Research / association

State individual income tax rates and brackets for 2026.

Data type:
State income tax rates
Refresh cadence:
Annual
Last verified:
2026-05-16

Use for broad state income tax structure. Verify military-specific treatment against state tax agencies.

Visit source

Tax Foundation Facts and Figures 2026

Tier 2 - Research / association

State tax data resource covering state debt, revenue, tax collections, and related comparisons.

Data type:
State tax comparison data
Refresh cadence:
Annual
Last verified:
2026-05-16

Use for broad tax context, not as sole authority for military or veteran-specific benefits.

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Council On State Taxation Useful Links

Tier 2 - Research / association

Compiled links for state and local taxation research.

Data type:
Tax research links
Refresh cadence:
Annual
Last verified:
2026-05-16

Use as a research directory only. Do not treat as final authority for user-facing state rules.

Visit source
Education

Education

U.S. Department of Education Veterans and Military Families

Tier 1 - Official

Federal education resources for Veterans, military personnel, and families.

Data type:
Education benefits context
Refresh cadence:
Annual
Last verified:
2026-05-16

Use for federal education context. State tuition waivers require state-source verification.

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Education Commission of the States Academic Credit for Military Experience

Tier 2 - Research / association

State profiles and 50-state comparison on academic credit for military experience.

Data type:
Education policy comparison
Refresh cadence:
Archive / discovery
Last verified:
2026-05-16

Use for research discovery only unless current state law is verified.

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Employment and licensing

Employment and licensing

DOL Military Spouse License Recognition

Tier 1 - Official

Federal resource for military spouse interstate license recognition and state-specific occupational licensing information.

Data type:
Spouse licensing and employment
Refresh cadence:
Quarterly
Last verified:
2026-05-16

Use for spouse employment and licensing portability context. Verify occupational rules by state board.

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Legislation tracking

Legislation tracking

NCSL Military and Veterans Legislation Database

Tier 2 - Research / association

State legislation tracking for military and veterans affairs topics.

Data type:
State legislation tracking
Refresh cadence:
Monthly
Last verified:
2026-05-16

Use to identify changes requiring review. Do not treat introduced legislation as current law.

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Geography and maps

Geography and maps

U.S. Census Cartographic Boundary Files

Tier 1 - Official

Official Census Bureau cartographic boundary files for geographic display.

Data type:
Geographic boundary files
Refresh cadence:
Annual
Last verified:
2026-05-16

Use for map rendering and future county overlays. Not a benefits source.

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U.S. Census Mapping Files

Tier 1 - Official

Census Bureau mapping files and geographic reference resources.

Data type:
Geographic reference
Refresh cadence:
Annual
Last verified:
2026-05-16

Use as a fallback or reference source for geographic display layers.

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