VA Disability Compensation
VA Disability Compensation
What Is VA Disability Compensation and Who Gets It?
VA disability compensation is a tax-free monthly payment for veterans whose illness or injury was caused or made worse by military service. The amount depends on your VA disability rating, from $180.42 a month at 10% to $3,938.58 at 100% for a veteran alone, using the rates effective December 1, 2025. At 30% and above, VA pays more if you have a spouse, children or dependent parents. See the full 2026 pay tables or estimate your rating with the combined rating calculator.
What VA Disability Compensation Pays for
VA disability compensation is a monthly payment from the Department of Veterans Affairs for a health condition linked to your military service. VA calls it tax-free. It pays you because a condition linked to your service affects your body or mind.
The amount depends on one number: your VA disability rating. VA rates each condition in steps of 10%, from 0% to 100%, then combines them into one rating. Your combined rating and your family situation set your monthly check. The guide to VA disability ratings explains how VA picks each percentage.
Social Security disability is a separate program with separate rules. If you’re also thinking about SSDI, read what SSDI is and who qualifies or compare the two Social Security programs on the SSDI vs SSI page.
Who Qualifies for VA Disability Compensation
VA lists three requirements. You need all three:
- Service. You served on active duty, active duty for training, or inactive duty training.
- A current condition. You have a current illness or injury that affects your mind or body.
- A link to service. At least one of these is true:
- you got sick or injured while serving and can link your current condition to it;
- you had the condition before you joined, and service made it worse;
- you have a disability related to active-duty service that didn’t appear until after you left.
VA’s own examples include chronic back pain with a diagnosed back disability, severe hearing loss, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and traumatic brain injury (TBI).
Your discharge matters. With an other than honorable, bad conduct or dishonorable discharge, you may not qualify. VA says you can still apply for a discharge upgrade or ask for a Character of Discharge review.
How Your Rating Sets Your Monthly Payment
These are the monthly amounts for a veteran with no dependents, effective December 1, 2025. VA labels them the 2026 rates.
| Combined rating | Monthly payment, veteran alone |
|---|---|
| 10% | $180.42 |
| 20% | $356.66 |
| 30% | $552.47 |
| 40% | $795.84 |
| 50% | $1,132.90 |
| 60% | $1,435.02 |
| 70% | $1,808.45 |
| 80% | $2,102.15 |
| 90% | $2,362.30 |
| 100% | $3,938.58 |
Source: VA, veterans disability compensation rates effective December 1, 2025.
Notice the jump between 90% and 100%. A veteran alone gets $2,362.30 at 90% and $3,938.58 at 100%, and a 100% rating opens extra benefits for you and your family. The 100% rating benefits guide covers them.
VA doesn’t add your ratings together. A 50% rating and a 30% rating combine to 65, which rounds to 70%, not 80%. To see your likely combined rating before you file, use the VA combined rating calculator.
VA raises these rates each year by the same percentage as the Social Security cost-of-living adjustment, which is 2.8% for 2026.
Extra Pay for Your Family and Special Needs
Once your combined rating reaches 30%, VA pays more if you have a spouse, a child or a dependent parent. At 30%, a veteran with a spouse gets $617.47 a month instead of $552.47. At 100%, a veteran with a spouse and one child gets $4,318.99. Each extra child under 18 adds more, and so does a child over 18 in a qualifying school program.
To add a family member, file VA Form 21-686c. Filing it is how VA learns about your family and adds the higher rate. The 2026 pay rates page has every dependent row and the added amounts.
Some veterans qualify for Special Monthly Compensation (SMC), a higher rate for certain needs or disabilities. The SMC-K rate is $139.87 a month, effective December 1, 2025, and VA adds it to your basic rate at any rating from 0% to 100%.
If your service-connected conditions keep you from holding a steady job, you may be paid at the 100% rate even with a lower rating. That’s Individual Unemployability, explained on the TDIU page.
How to File for VA Compensation
You file with VA Form 21-526EZ, the Application for Disability Compensation and Related Compensation Benefits. VA accepts it five ways: online, by mail, in person at a VA regional office, by fax, or with help from an accredited representative.
Before you file, you can submit an intent to file. It gives you 1 year to finish your claim. If you start your application online, VA treats the day you started as your date of claim, as long as you finish within 365 days. After you file, you have up to 1 year from the date VA receives your claim to turn in evidence. VA reported an average of 68.4 days to complete disability-related claims in August 2026.
The step-by-step guide to filing a VA disability claim covers the evidence to gather, the claim exam and what happens after you file.
When Your Payments Start and How to Get an Increase
Your effective date decides how far back VA pays you. For a condition caused or made worse by service, it’s whichever comes later: the date VA gets your claim, or the date your condition first started. There’s one big exception for new veterans. If VA gets your claim within 1 year of the day you left active service, the effective date can be as early as the day after separation. Filing in that first year can mean months of back pay.
VA sets your rating from the evidence you send, the results of a VA claim exam if VA decides you need one, and records from other sources such as federal agencies. Ratings can change. If a rated condition gets worse, file a claim for increased compensation. VA dates an increase back to the earliest date you can show the condition got worse, as long as VA gets your request within 1 year of that date. Otherwise the increase starts on the date VA gets the claim.
When VA rates a new condition, it combines that rating with your existing ones using the same combined ratings table, so your total rating rises by less than the new percentage.
Conditions VA Presumes Are Connected to Service
For some conditions, you don’t have to prove that service caused them. VA calls these presumptive conditions. If you have one, you only need to meet the service requirements for the presumption.
The PACT Act added more than 20 presumptive conditions for burn pits, Agent Orange and other toxic exposures. They include:
- Burn pit and airborne hazard cancers: among them brain cancer, kidney cancer, melanoma, pancreatic cancer and lymphoma of any type.
- Burn pit illnesses: among them asthma diagnosed after service, COPD, chronic bronchitis, chronic sinusitis, emphysema and pulmonary fibrosis.
- New Agent Orange conditions: high blood pressure (hypertension) and monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS).
The burn pit presumptions cover service in places such as Iraq, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia on or after August 2, 1990, and Afghanistan, Syria and Yemen on or after September 11, 2001. The Agent Orange additions cover locations such as bases in Thailand and parts of Laos and Cambodia during set dates. Check the full lists on the VA PACT Act page and the hazardous materials exposure page.
If VA denied a claim before and the PACT Act now covers your condition, you can file a Supplemental Claim based on the change in law.
If You Disagree With VA’s Decision
You have three decision review options:
| Option | What it is | Deadline |
|---|---|---|
| Supplemental Claim (VA Form 20-0995) | You add new and relevant evidence VA didn’t consider | None listed by VA |
| Higher-Level Review (VA Form 20-0996) | A senior reviewer looks at the same evidence; no new evidence | 1 year from the date on your decision letter |
| Board Appeal (VA Form 10182) | The Board reviews your case by Direct Review, Evidence Submission or a Hearing | 1 year from the date on your decision letter (60 days for a contested claim) |
VA’s goal for Supplemental Claims and Higher-Level Reviews is an average of 125 days. If a condition you’re already rated for has gotten worse, don’t use a review. File a claim for increased compensation instead.
Social Security appeals work differently. If you’re also appealing an SSDI or SSI denial, see how to appeal a disability denial.
Free Help and How to Avoid Claim Scams
You don’t have to file alone, and you don’t have to pay to file. VA accredits three kinds of representatives: Veterans Service Organization (VSO) representatives, attorneys and claims agents.
- VSO representatives help for free. VA says their services on your claim are always free.
- Accredited attorneys and claims agents can charge fees only after VA has decided your initial claim, VA has a fee agreement signed by you and them, and VA has your VA Form 21-22a appointing them.
So anyone who asks for money to file your first claim is not following VA’s rules. Check that a helper is accredited with VA’s find a representative tool. If someone who isn’t accredited tries to help with your claim, VA says you can file a complaint. This page explains the rules; for advice about your own case, talk to an accredited representative.
VA compensation can sit alongside other help. Many states have their own veterans benefits; start with your state disability benefits page. If a family member helps with your daily care, see how family caregivers can get paid.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is VA Disability Compensation Taxed?
No. VA describes disability compensation as tax-free monthly payments.
Can I Get VA Compensation for a Condition I Had Before I Joined?
Yes, if military service made it worse. VA lists a condition that existed before service and was worsened by it as one of the ways to connect a disability to service.
Can I Get Compensation if My Condition Showed Up Years After Discharge?
Yes. VA covers disabilities related to active-duty service that didn't appear until after service ended. For some exposures, such as burn pits and Agent Orange, VA presumes the connection, so you only have to meet the service requirements.
Do Family Members Raise My Payment at 10% or 20%?
No. VA says that with a 10% to 20% rating you won't receive a higher rate even if you have a dependent spouse, child or parent. Dependents add to your payment once your combined rating is at least 30%.
Does It Cost Anything to Get Help With My Claim?
Not from a Veterans Service Organization. VA says the services an accredited VSO representative provides are always free. Accredited attorneys and claims agents can charge fees only after VA decides your initial claim and a signed fee agreement is on file.
What if I Have an Other Than Honorable Discharge?
You may not qualify with an other than honorable, bad conduct or dishonorable discharge, but VA says you can apply for a discharge upgrade or ask VA for a Character of Discharge review.
More on VA Disability Compensation
- VA RatingsHow VA assigns ratings, combines them with its table and rounds the result
- 2026 VA Pay Rates2026 VA compensation rates by rating, with spouse, child and parent amounts
- Filing a VA ClaimFiling a VA disability claim, the intent to file, evidence, and options after a decision
- TDIUTotal Disability Individual Unemployability: the rating requirements and how to apply
- 100% Rating BenefitsWhat a 100% VA rating brings: 2026 pay and the related federal benefits
- SSDIHow Social Security Disability Insurance works: work credits, the disability test, the waiting period, amounts and Medicare
This guide explains official rules in plain language. It isn't legal advice, and only the agency that runs a program can decide your case.