VA Compensation for Service-Connected Disabilities
If you are a veteran with a service-connected medical issue, you can file a VA disability claim with the Department of Veterans Affairs. Doing so makes you eligible for consideration for a VA disability rating, and you may be entitled to monthly compensation for your service-connected medical issues.
How to Apply for VA Disability Pay
You can apply for compensation or revise a claim to request more compensation in several ways.
- Apply directly to the VA
- Get the assistance of a Veteran Service Organization (VSO)
- You can also apply for benefits or get legal advice on applying using help from a third-party lawyer with expertise in VA claims
You need a VA.gov account to submit your VA forms online. You can also submit supporting evidence and other documentation. Once you file your claim, the VA will review it, and a VA claims examiner will identify any disability percentage rates it approves for your claim. If you mail your claim, you don’t need a VA.gov account, but using one is strongly encouraged.
Read more: What You Need to Know About VA Disability Benefits
How VA Disability Pay is Calculated
VA compensation rates for service-connected disabilities are listed on a percentage basis.
You can have multiple disabilities or medical issues in varying percentages, but the total of your VA disability rating typically never exceeds 100%. What does this mean? You can have two disabilities at once that both have a 100% rating, but you cannot be paid at a “200% level”; your VA compensation is maxed out at 100%.
Exceptions may apply for Special Monthly Compensation; your experience may vary. The percentage determines the dollar amount of your monthly disability payments.
- For example, if you have a 10% disability rating from the VA, you will receive a monthly payment subject to yearly adjustments for inflation and other factors. All VA disability payments are adjusted in this way.
- Listing VA payment amounts for a given year is helpful as a benchmark, but at press time, the numbers may differ later after the next round of adjustments.
- Consider the numbers listed here as a baseline, but check the current amounts offered based on your disability percentage.
Read more: What Forms do I Need to Apply for VA Disability?
VA Disability Payments May Be Increased Due to Qualifying Circumstances
The Department of Veterans Affairs may choose to increase your monthly payments if one of the following applies:
- You have a very severe disability or;
- You have a loss of limb or;
- You have a spouse with a qualifying disability which meets VA requirements.
- You have a 30% disability rating or greater and a spouse, child, or dependent parent.
VA Disability Payments May Be Decreased
Your VA compensation could be reduced in qualifying circumstances such as receiving military retirement pay, separation pay, or being jailed or imprisoned for 60 days or more for a felony. Much depends on your individual circumstances.
Where to Find VA Disability Payment Rates
While there isn’t space to list the payment amounts for every disability percentage (10% to 100% and the varying payment amounts for veterans with a spouse, one or more children, etc.), you will find all the VA payment rates for the current year at the Department of Veterans Affairs official site.
Related: How to File for a VA Disability Increase
>> Frustrated with your VA disability rating? Register for a free consultation for help with increasing your rating to get the compensation you deserve. Please go here.
About the author
Editor-in-Chief Joe Wallace is a 13-year veteran of the United States Air Force and a former reporter/editor for Air Force Television News and the Pentagon Channel. His freelance work includes contract work for Motorola, VALoans.com, and Credit Karma. He is co-founder of Dim Art House in Springfield, Illinois, and spends his non-writing time as an abstract painter, independent publisher, and occasional filmmaker.
