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.
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
No matter which option you choose, you need a VA.gov account to submit your VA forms, supporting evidence, and other documentation.
Once you have filed your claim, your case will be reviewed, and a VA claims examiner will identify any disability percentage rates the VA approves for your claim.
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 will never exceed 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%.
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 the VA payment amounts for a given year is helpful as a benchmark, but at press time, the numbers may be different than later down the line after the next round of adjustments.
- Consider the numbers listed here as a baseline, knowing you should check the current amounts offered based on the disability percentage.
Read more: What Forms do I Need to Apply for VA Disability?
>> 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.
VA Disability Payment Amounts
At the lowest levels, the VA offers a flat compensation rate to veterans without additional consideration for dependents or a spouse.
- For example, a veteran with a 10% VA disability rating in 2023 would receive $165.92 a month.
- Those with a 20% disability rating are paid $327.99. There are two “tiers” where the veteran is paid the flat rate with no added consideration for having a spouse or dependents.
- You may be paid more at the 30% level and higher if you have a spouse or dependents.
- The veteran alone would be paid $508.05 in 2023, while a veteran with dependents with the same 30% disability rating would be paid depending on whether the veteran has a spouse but no children ($568.05 in 2023) or up to two children ($664.05 in 2023).
Additional payments are also possible for those caring for one or both parents.
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 disability
- You have a 30% disability rating or greater, and you have 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 you have been jailed or imprisoned for 60 days or more for a felony.
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.
