2024 VA Disability Back Pay Calculator: Estimate Overdue Benefits
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Use this VA disability back pay calculator to estimate how much the Department of Veterans Affairs may owe you in VA disability benefits.
Individuals who served in the military and have a service-related injury can apply for VA disability benefits. In some cases, the VA owes a qualified individual benefits that weren’t properly paid, known as back pay. Reasons the VA might owe back pay include:
You filed a disability claim within a year of separating from the military, in which case your effective date becomes the day after your separation from active service.
The VA made an error when calculating your benefits, such as assigning you the wrong disability rating.
Your disability rating increased and it took a while for the VA to approve the increase.
This calculator uses the most up-to-date benefit rates, but your actual VA disability back pay might be higher or lower than what this calculator estimates. If your effective date for your additional VA disability benefits is prior to the current year or your family situation changes, the calculator might underestimate or overestimate your benefits. Also, this calculator doesn’t include annual cost-of-living adjustments to benefits rates.
» MORE: Medicare disability explained
How to use this VA disability back pay calculator
Select the date your back pay should have become effective. If you are filing for back pay more than a year after your separation from active service or more than a year since your disability rating increased, the effective date will be the date on which you filed the claim.
Select your marital status. The VA uses your marital status to determine if you need additional money to support a spouse. If you answered yes, continue to step 3. If you answered no, skip to step 4.
If you indicated that you’re married, indicate whether your spouse receives Aid and Attendance benefits. Receiving Aid and Attendance benefits means that your spouse needs physical assistance, which may increase your VA back pay.
Select your disability rating. The more severe your disability, the higher your VA disability payments will be. If you have multiple qualifying disabilities, use your combined disability rating from the VA.
Indicate if you claim parents as dependents. Your VA benefits may be higher if you claim one parent as dependent or both parents as dependents on your tax return. If you answered yes, continue to step 6. If you answer no, skip to step 7.
Select how many parents you claim as dependents. The VA increases your benefit for each parent you claim as a dependent.
Indicate if you claim children as dependents. Biological, adopted and step-children are included. Children who are 18-23 must be unmarried and enrolled in an approved college or university to qualify as a dependent. If you selected yes, continue to step 8. If you select no, the calculator will show you your final estimate.
Answer whether you claim children who are under 18 years old. Your benefit will increase for each child you claim. If yes, continue to step 9. If no, skip to step 10.
Indicate how many children you claim under 18 years of age. The VA adjusts your benefit for each child under 18 that you claim as a dependent.
Answer whether you claim children who are 18 years of age or older, unmarried and enrolled in a college or university. Your benefit will increase for each child you claim as a dependent. If yes, continue to step 11. If no, the calculator will show you your final VA back pay estimate.
Indicate how many children 18 or older you claim as a dependent. The VA adjusts your benefit for each child 18 or older that you claim as a dependent.
How the VA disability back pay calculator works
VA back pay is based on marital status, disability rating and type and number of dependents. Each of these factors affects your monthly benefit in different ways, and the calculator accounts for these differences.
The VA disability back pay calculator uses the VA’s most recent annual disability rates. The answers you enter in the calculator determine what is in your estimate.
The calculator also looks at your estimated effective date and multiplies your estimated monthly benefit by the number of months since that date. The result is your estimated VA disability back pay.
If your financial situation changed between your disability benefits effective date and now — for example, you became financially responsible for a child or a parent — you’ll need to use the calculator twice. Use it once with the information leading up to the financial change and write down the estimated benefit amount. Then use it again with the information from the financial change to now and write down that estimate. Add the two estimates together for your total estimated back pay.
Next steps: Learn more about VA disability benefits
Here are a few other NerdWallet articles about VA disability benefits:
If VA disability benefits are a major part of your monthly income and you are struggling to afford basic necessities such as food and shelter, you may be able to apply for other government assistance or organizational programs. These include:
You can see a list of additional government programs on USA.gov for a variety of support options.
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