“I’m Lori Underwood, an attorney with Woods & Woods, a VA disability law firm practicing nationwide from Evansville, Indiana.
“If you are a veteran who is not able to work or maintain gainful employment because of your service-connected conditions but you’re not receiving compensation at the 100% rate, you may be considering a claim for TDIU.
“There are many factors the VA will look at when considering your claim for TDIU. One of those factors will be if you have any income. There are several different types of income. One type of income would be earned income. An example of that would be a wage or a paycheck that you receive through your work. Another type of income is passive income. That is the type of income we are going to be discussing.”
What is passive income?
“Passive income is income you receive from prior investments of some kind that you are not actively working for.
“One example might be an investment that you made in cryptocurrency at one time, and it has started finally paying off and you receive a little bit of income from that investment. Another example of passive income may be income you receive from a stock market investment or a money market investment that now pays you dividends. Those are two types of passive income.
“There are often a lot of questions about renter’s income, or income you would receive from being a landlord, and whether or not this is passive or active income. That is not a black and white answer and often hits a lot of gray areas, but most of the time, income from rent can be considered passive income.
The firm got me to 70%, and I was happy. Individual unemployability was awarded to me and to this day, I’m so grateful. My future is no longer bleak. These people work very hard for you.
R.C., a Navy veteran in Hawaii
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“You would want to ask yourself if you’re actively engaged in the management of that property from which you’re receiving income. If you are not, then it is highly likely that income is passive income for you.
“An example of this may be a veteran who owns a rental property through some investment and is not actively onsite managing the property. She’s not necessarily the person that is maintaining the property or fixing the leaky faucets, but she receives the rent from the renter once a month. That is an example of a more passive income.”
How Woods & Woods can help
“Passive income should not affect your ability to obtain TDIU. However, it can be difficult to explain to the VA.
“If you’re a veteran who is pursuing TDIU and you have questions or issues with income that you may believe to be passive, give us a call at Woods & Woods. We have helped many veterans obtain TDIU and explain passive income to the VA so that it doesn’t stand in the way of the award of their benefit. I’m Lori Underwood, and thanks for watching.”
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Lori Underwood
Lori Underwood received her law degree from Northern Kentucky University. She previously practiced Social Security disability and personal injury law and was a juvenile court attorney.
She has been an attorney at
Woods & Woods since 2014.
