Get full VA disability without a 100% rating — learn about TDIU benefits
You’ve always provided for your family, but service-connected conditions have changed that.
Chronic pain, fatigue, migraines, anxiety, or depression may make it impossible to work.
If you can’t work, the VA may owe you total disability based on individual unemployability (TDIU) benefits, paying you at the 100% disability rate.
You earned it. Your family deserves it. Read on to discover how VA TDIU works, TDIU eligibility requirements, and how to get started on your claim.
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What you need to know about TDIU VA benefits
What do you do if your service-related conditions keep you from working enough to earn a living, but you don’t have a 100% disability rating? Total disability based on individual unemployability (TDIU) may be your answer.
This type of VA unemployability benefit recognizes that you can’t work enough to make ends meet, and provides you with the same monthly compensation as a 100% rating.
What is TDIU?
TDIU, also known as VA individual unemployability benefits, are awarded to veterans who can’t work because of a service-connected condition or a combination of service-connected conditions, but the VA doesn’t compensate you at a 100% rate based on your ratings.
An award of TDIU pays the same monthly compensation as a 100% rating for the disorder in question without your conditions being rated at that level. You can apply for TDIU if you can’t work because of a service-related mental or physical medical condition or multiple service-connected conditions and their side effects. TDIU can be permanent, but it’s not always. It depends on your situation and whether your condition can improve.
While veterans receiving TDIU benefits can’t work full-time, certain situations allow veterans to earn income while receiving these benefits.
Common misconceptions veterans have about TDIU VA disability benefits
1. They don’t know their conditions were caused by service.
Many veterans simply aren’t aware that their conditions may be service-connected. A VA TDIU lawyer may be able to connect your chronic medical issues directly to your military service, even if not combat-related. For example, a Vietnam War veteran who was exposed to Agent Orange and later developed lung cancer after smoking for years may still qualify for TDIU benefits because of that exposure.
2. Veterans may think their injuries have to be combat-related to receive benefits.
A severe back injury sustained from a fall in basic training may qualify just as much as combat-related injuries under VA regulations. If your health condition could be related to your service in any way, you may qualify for TDIU benefits.
3. Many veterans don’t know they can receive TDIU and SSDI at the same time.
It’s a common misconception that you can’t receive TDIU benefits and Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) at the same time, but you can. Receiving TDIU won’t affect your eligibility or potential monthly benefit amount for SSDI, and vice versa.
4. Veterans often believe that receiving TDIU bars them from receiving additional income.
Passive income, such as rental property revenue or stock dividends, won’t affect your eligibility for TDIU benefits.
5. Veterans are often unaware of VA employment exceptions.
Under VA regulations, veterans may be able to receive TDIU and work through what the VA defines as marginal and sheltered employment. Marginal employment means the veteran’s income is below the federal poverty line, while sheltered employment refers to when an employer adapts a job’s expectations or makes exceptions to rules to better accommodate the working veteran.
6. Some veterans think VA benefits are government handouts.
VA benefits aren’t a handout; they’re owed to you as part of your military service. It’s no different than programs such as worker’s compensation.
7. Many veterans think they should wait to file for TDIU only after they stop working.
Veterans can file for TDIU at any time. Applying earlier may also potentially lead to more backpay.
TDIU eligibility requirements for veterans
A variety of factors determine your VA TDIU eligibility and whether you qualify for benefits.
Qualifying for TDIU is a three-step process:
- First, you have to service connect your condition(s), which means you must prove that the medical issue you’re experiencing relates to your military service.
- Then, your ratings for those conditions need to meet specific rating levels, as explained below.
- Finally, you must prove you’re unemployable because of the service-connected conditions.
TDIU rating criteria
Qualifying for schedular TDIU requires you to have at least one service-connected disability rated at least 60% OR two or more service-connected disabilities, at least one disability ratable at 40% or more, with a combined rating of 70% or more.
For the above purpose of one 60% disability, or one 40% disability in combination, the VA considers the following as one disability:
- When one or both upper extremities or one or both lower extremities are affected (including the bilateral factor)
- If the same condition or incident caused multiple disabilities (called a common etiology)
- Multiple disabilities that affect a single body system (orthopedic, digestive, respiratory, cardiovascular-renal, neuropsychiatric)
- Multiple injuries incurred in action
- Multiple disabilities incurred as a prisoner of war
Extraschedular TDIU
If you don’t meet the rating criteria, you might still receive TDIU under extraschedular TDIU. The VA awards extraschedular TDIU in exceptional or unusual disability cases. The VA regional office is instructed to submit all cases of veterans who are unemployable because of their service-connected conditions but who fail to meet the percentage standards discussed above, to the Director of Compensation Service. This special procedure exists because these types of cases are so rare.
Veterans’ unemployability
Veterans are eligible for TDIU benefits if they can’t maintain what the VA calls substantially gainful employment as a result of service-connected physical or mental conditions.
Maybe you have lost job after job because of frequent absences. Perhaps the work you are used to doing is too physically taxing. You may even have trouble getting a job because of your mental state. If you believe your unemployment is related to conditions from service, you may qualify for monthly compensation.
How much does VA TDIU pay?
A veteran’s monthly TDIU compensation depends on whether or not they have dependents.
| Dependents | Amount |
|---|---|
| Veteran alone | $3,938.58 |
| Veteran with spouse | $4,044.91 |
| Veteran with spouse and one parent | $4,216.35 |
| Veteran with spouse and 2 parents | $4,387.79 |
| Veteran with 1 parent | $4,002.74 |
| Veteran with 2 parents | $4,174.18 |
| Additional for spouse receiving A/A | $195.92 |
| Dependents | Amount |
|---|---|
| Veteran with one child | $3,974.15 |
| Veteran with spouse and one child | $4,201.35 |
| Veteran with spouse, one child, and one parent | $4,372.79 |
| Veteran with spouse, one child, and two parents | $4,544.23 |
| Veteran with one child and one parent | $4,145.59 |
| Veteran with one child and two parents | $4,317.03 |
| Additional for each child under age 18 | $106.14 |
| Additional for each child over age 18 in qualifying school | $342.85 |
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