Yes, the VA will award back pay all the way back to your effective date. That means when you receive a favorable decision on your appeal the VA will owe you the difference between the amount you were paid and how much you were owed.
For example, if you were rated at 30% with an effective date of June 1, 2021, appealed, and then received a rating decision of 70% on June 1, 2022, you would have received $14,386.28 in back pay.
| Compensation at 30% (received) | $6,593.87 |
| Compensation at 70% (should have received) | $20,980.15 |
| Back pay amount (the difference between the two) | $14,386.28 |
Your effective date will either be the date you filed a claim or your date of entitlement (the date your service-connected injury otherwise arose). In most cases, it will be the date that you filed your claim. If that claim is denied, you will have one year to file an appeal and keep that effective date. If you don’t file an appeal within a year but decide to pursue a different rating decision you will have to file a new claim which means a later effective date. That would result in losing a large percentage of your potential back pay.
You can use our VA back pay calculator to see how much you could receive.
