The Va Disability Rating Percentage Scale
Disability ratings and pay are scaled by percentages. One veteran may be listed as 10% disabled, while another one is rated at 100%, depending on the conditions and circumstances. But high percentages do not necessarily mean a veterans disability percentage impacts their ability to work or perform self-care.
The VA may assign a percentage to a single condition, or a disability rating might be made up of smaller percentages assigned to multiple conditions.
If one type of injury results in a 60% disability rating, and another injury results in a 25% rating, the VA would recognize the veterans total percentage of disability at 70% .
Thats because the second disability rating is calculated by how much it affects the veterans non-disability percentage. To the VA, a veteran with a 60% disability has a 40% ability percentage. The combined percentage rating is calculated by the effect the new 25% disability rating has on the 40% ability percentage. One-fourth of 40% is 10%. So the veterans combined disability score is 70% instead of 95%.
How To Apply For Tdiu
To apply for TDIU, VA requires that veterans complete VA Form 21-8940. The purpose of this form is to provide VA with additional information about the veteran, such as their level of education and employment history, to supplement the request for TDIU.
VA Form 21-8940 can be submitted to VA in the following ways:
- Online using VAs eBenefits platform
- directed to the Department of Veterans Affairs, Evidence Intake Center, PO Box 4444 in Janesville, WI 53547-4444
- In person bringing a completed VA Form 21-526EZ to a VA Regional Office near you
- With a legal representative completing the form with a Veterans Service Organization or a VA accredited agent or attorney
Consult A Va Disability Lawyer For Help
If youre uncertain whether your employment is consideredsubstantially gainful or marginal, or if your income exceeds the povertythreshold, speak to a VA disability lawyer.
A skilled VA disability lawyer can help you understand yourdisability rating, your employment, and your eligibility. A lawyer can alsohelp you appeal adenied claim or changeyour rating if your condition worsens.
The Law Offices of Michael Hartup represents VA disability clients throughout Tennessee. If you need assistance with a Veterans disability claim, schedule a free consultation by calling our office at . You may also contact us by liking and following our , or filling out an online form.
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How To Get Tdiu
TDIU ratings can be awarded as part of the VA disability benefits process. The VA generally refers to a claim as a TDIU claim when two conditions are met: the veteran has one service-connected disability with a 60% or more disability rating or has two or more service-connected disabilities with a combined rating of 70% or more, and there is medical evidence of unemployability.
If the veteran satisfies these two conditions, they will be entitled to a 100% disability rating.
A second method of reaching the same TDIU result is an extra-schedular rating. An extra-schedular rating applies to veterans who are unemployable due to their service-connected disability but whose disability does not meet the percentage requirements previously discussed.
Medical evidence of unemployability refers to medical findings of conditions or symptoms that tend to interfere with maintaining regular, full-time employment. Examples could be ongoing panic attacks, social anxiety, frequent emotional outbursts resulting from PTSD, etc.
Exceptions To Wage Threshold
Although the wage guideline provides a starting point in determining TDIU eligibility, there are two primary exceptions: sheltered employment and self-employment. The following is a brief overview:
- Sheltered employment. Sheltered employment means a Veteran works for someone who is making special accommodations related to their disability. This might include reduced productivity requirements, frequent breaks, scheduling flexibility for medical needs, or other accommodations not routinely provided to all workers and unlikely to be available from a private employer in the competitive marketplace. Often, sheltered employment occurs at a family-owned business. When a Veteran has sheltered employment, their work may not be considered substantially gainful employment even though their earnings exceed the poverty threshold.
- Self-employment. If a Veteran has self-employment income, earnings alone cant be used to approve a TDIU application. This is because self-employed people can control the wages they receive. The VA will want to see evidence that a Veteran would be unable to earn more than a poverty-level income in a private, competitive work environment.
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What Is My Tdiu Effective Date
This is the date on which your award of TDIU benefits will start. Establishing the effective date of your TDIU claim can be difficult, and is often a sticking point. This is due to the nature of TDIU benefits.
Veterans can apply for TDIU benefits by submitting VA Form 21-8940. If you have submitted this form to the VA, you might think the TDIU effective date is associated with that form. But this is not correct. Why? Because your TDIU is all about an additional VA rating that will pay 100% compensation for an already-service-connected condition. It is not a separate claim for compensation.
Individual unemployability is often at the very root of a veterans claim for VA compensation. Unemployability can also become evident over time in a service-connected condition. Accordingly, your effective datethe date on which you become unemployablemay be determined by:
- the date VA received your initial claim for service connection, or
- the date you first became unemployable due to service-connected disabilities
- the date of your claim to increase a VA rating, or
- from facts that exist in your record that is under adjudication.
We explain various scenarios below.
TDIU Effective Date Stems from Claim for Service Connection:
the date VA received your claim for SC , or
the date you were first determined to be unemployable.
TDIU Effective Date Stems from Claim for Increased VA Rating:
The date VA received your claim for rating increase, or
Incorrect Consideration Of A Veterans Age
Very commonly, the VA will wrongly deny IU benefits based on a Veterans age. The representative in charge of the case may state that a Veteran is unemployed because of age rather than service-connected disabilities. However, the VA is not allowed to deny claims based on age. Even if a Veteran has reached retirement age, they should be entitled to TDIU benefits if they can prove their service-connected condition prevents them from working.
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A Veterans Benefits Lawyer Can Help You Qualify For Tdiu
Unfortunately, poorly trained or overworked VA employees often make errors when deciding TDIU claims. Sometimes, they will only look at your earnings, and assume that if you are above the poverty level, you do not qualify for TDIU. These decisions are wrong, and can and should be appealed. At Jackson & MacNichol, we are ready to help you stand up to the VA and get the compensation you need. If you want to appeal the denial of your TDIU claim, call us today at 1 492-2941 and well help you get justice.
Faulty Examination And Ignoring Facts
The VA often fails to consider factors such as functional loss and flare-ups in service-connected disabilities, which should entitle a Veteran to a higher disability rating. It could be helpful for a Veteran to ask for a copy of the C& P exam and review it to better understand how the examiner had answered the questions.
The exam must include information about flare-ups and loss of function. If it does not, it is possible to claim that the exam is inadequate to determine whether a Veteran is unemployable. VA reports must also accurately represent the severity of symptoms as the Veteran described.
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What Are The Income Limits For Tdiu Benefits
I hope you enjoy reading this blog post.
If you want to learn how to implement these strategies to get the VA benefits you deserve, to speak with a VA claim expert for free.
In this article well explore the income limits for TDIU benefits. Former service members may require assistance from the VA if you have a service-connected disability and are unable to find gainful employment. For this the VA has instituted the individual unemployability compensation program .
In order to qualify for this program, the VA requires proof of the service-connected disability along with proof that your income falls below certain limits.
If approved, the TDIU can provide you with 100% compensation even if the disability is rated less than 100%.
Does Working Prevent Me From Receiving Va Tdiu Benefits
TDIU benefits qualify veterans for a 100 percent rating. It is very difficult to reach a 100 percent rating without TDIU. A 100 percent rating provides a large increase in the monthly disability benefit compared to a 90 percent or lower rating.
But, can you get a 100 percent TDIU rating if you are still working? Since TDIU focuses on unemployability, you might think that you could not.
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What If Im Self
Self-employment can be tricky when it comes to VA disability benefits. Thats because if you own your own business or work as a freelancer, you have control over the amount of wages you receive.
However, the VA still decides if your work is substantially gainful employment by comparing it to your work before your condition, not solely based on current wages.
What Do Va Medical Benefits Cover
VA medical benefits cover preventative care, such as annual physical exams and immunizations. Inpatient treatments including surgeries, acute care, and kidney dialysis are also covered, along with emergency and walk-in services at some VA health facilities and VA-approved health clinics. Some veterans may additionally qualify for vision care, dental care, caregiver support, prescription drugs, some mental health services, help with transportation to and from medical appointments, and assisted living and home health care.
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We Wouldnt Miss Your Retirement Party
When most people think of Social Security, they think of retirement benefits with good reason. But we are more than retirement benefits we offer many online tools to help you plan for your future.
to verify your earnings and see an estimate of future benefits throughout your career and into retirement.
With a mySocial Security account, you can estimate your future benefits at different ages when you may want to start receiving benefits.
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If I Work And Receive Tdiu Are There Any Va Unemployability Income Limits
I often hear this question from a veteran who does not know the rules pertaining to VA unemployability income limits:
I would apply for TDIU benefits, but dont want to stop earning an income.
Veterans, like anyone else in American society, really just want the opportunity to work to thrive in American society. The VAs TDIU benefit exists to help the veteran who is unable to participate in substantially gainful activity due to his or her service-connected disabilities. Well talk more about the term substantially gainful activity in other posts in this post, I want to focus on some exceptions to the VA unemployability income limits.
But first, to find out what you can recover when you receive TDIU the formal name for the VA unemployability benefit you need only look at what a veteran with your family size will receive with a 100% disability rating.
Here are the VA Disability Ratings Tables showing the amounts the VA pays for 100% disability in 2018 first without children, then with children:
Those numbers seem big but when compared with what many of us made in the military, they are not altogether unreasonable.
What these charts do not tell us, however, is what the VA unemployability income limits are or, said another way, whether you earn too much money to be eligible for VA TDIU.
Many veterans will not take that job, though, because they are told that they would exceed the VA unemployability income limits and lose their TDIU benefits.
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What Does Substantially Gainful Employment Mean When Youre Applying For Tdiu Benefits
Total Disability Individual Unemployability benefits provide enhanced cash assistance for Veterans with conditions that make it impossible to maintain substantially gainful employment. Substantially gainful employment is sometimes referred to as substantial gainful activity or substantially gainful occupation in the disability benefits application process.
% Va Disability And Working Vs Tdiu And Working
Under VA regulations, however, the benchmark for IU claims is not whether or not the veteran is capable of working it is whether or not the veteran can engage in substantially gainful occupation. According to the VAs procedural manual, substantially gainful occupation refers to an occupation that is ordinarily followed by the non-disabled with earnings common to the particular occupation in the community where the veteran resides.
In other words, a substantially gainful occupation is a job that a non-disabled person can perform, with earnings above the poverty threshold. For example, substantially gainful might include a job as an office clerk, a bookkeeper, a flight attendant, or a sales associate. A substantially gainful occupation would require the employee to be competent, efficient, able to maintain a client relationship, and reliable.
This is important, because substantially gainful is not the standard that the regional office raters use. Instead, they tend to drift toward the Social Security mindset, where the veteran has to prove that he or she is completely unable to work.
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Tdiu Is Not Social Security Disability
It is easy to equate the VAs version of total disability with the Social Security Administrations version. The important thing to remember is that veterans claims and TDIU veterans benefits are not structured in the same way as Social Security Disability . In many ways, the requirements to obtain IU benefits are more lenient than those of Social Security.
In order to qualify for SSD, you must be found to be completely unable to work, under any conditions or circumstances. Typically, this finding is backed by the opinion of a vocational expert and/or a medical professional.
Why Choose Berry Law
When you are fighting for your legal rights as a Veteran, you need an attorney who knows where you are coming from. Berry Law is a firm run by Veterans who have served in the jungles of Vietnam, the mountains of Afghanistan, and the deserts of Iraq.
We come from the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force, and have a singular mission: helping our fellow Veterans obtain the maximum potential of their IU benefits and other legal rights.
We have you covered in every VA unemployability claim and will be there by your side to appeal VA decisions.
Berry Law was established in 1965. Over the decades, we have served thousands of Veterans from across the country. to learn more about your rights as a Veteran.
Berry Law
The attorneys at Berry Law Firm are dedicated to helping injured Veterans. With extensive experience working with VA disability claims, Berry Law can help you with your disability appeals.
This material is for informational purposes only. It does not create an attorney-client relationship between the Firm and the reader, and does not constitute legal advice. Legal advice must be tailored to the specific circumstances of each case, and the contents of this blog are not a substitute for legal counsel.
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Based On Income Year 2021
Veteran with: VA Pension with Aid and Attendance Threshold VA Pension Threshold Medical Expense Deductible Child Earned Income Exclusion: $12,950
For certain Veterans the VA National Income Threshold and/or net worth, is used to determine eligibility for Priority Group 5 assignment and cost-free VA health care. Applicable VA pension income thresholds are used to determine eligibility for cost-free medications and/or beneficiary travel benefits.
For Geographic-Based financial assessment information refer to
Note: Unreimbursed Medical expenses may be deducted from your total gross household income. Unreimbursed medical expenses include: travel expenses, cost of a long term care institution or assisted living, health related insurance premiums , diabetic supplies, private caregivers, incontinence supplies, prescriptions and dialysis not covered by any other health plan. Only the portion of the unreimbursed medical expenses that exceed 5% of the basic pension may be deducted .
Additional information is available at
Assigning The Wrong Effective Date
An effective date refers to the date when the entitlement to the benefit arose, and it will determine the amount of retroactive pay the Veteran will receive once their application is approved. Sometimes, the VA will base the effective date on the date the Veteran filed their claim, or when they underwent their C& P examination, rather than when the disability began impairing employment.
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Va Requirements For Extra
If you dont qualify for schedular TDIU based on your VA rating, you could still be eligible for TDIU under a catch-all provision: extra-schedular TDIU.
Extra-schedular TDIU is designed to compensate you at the 100 percent level even when you arent rated at the minimum rating requirements
In other words, this type of rating is designed to allow you this rating when the standard VA disability rating schedule doesnt capture the degree to which your disability impacts your ability to function, work, and live a normal life.
Extra-schedular TDIU is harder to qualify for. You must prove that your service-connected disability prevents you from holding a job that supports you above federal poverty levels, even though your rating doesnt meet the minimums above.
Regardless of what type of TDIU youre seeking, the critical piece is that youre unable to maintain substantially gainful employment with earnings above the federal poverty level. Below we cover when and how much you can work and still be eligible for TDIU.
Can Tdiu Payments Be Taken Away
The VA reserves the right to reduce or terminate unemployability benefits under certain circumstances. In particular, this may happen if the VA determines the Veterans disability rating and impact on life has become low enough to enable them to earn a living above the federal poverty level without special accommodations.
For this reason, Veterans who receive VA unemployability benefits must complete VA Form 21-4140 every year to verify there have been no substantial changes in their VA disability rating or ability to work. Veterans must submit the form within a set 60-day deadline, or they risk having their benefits reduced automatically.
However, an individual employability rating can become permanent with time. If a Veteran has been receiving Total Disability based on Individual Unemployability for 20 years or more, their benefits will usually become permanent. They will not need to file the form to verify their disability rating again as long as they have kept their records up to date.
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