Eligibility for VA disability benefits | Veterans Affairs (2024)

FAQs

Eligibility for VA disability benefits | Veterans Affairs? ›

You may be eligible for VA disability benefits

If you have certain chronic (long-lasting) conditions that started within 1 year after your discharge from active military service, you may be eligible for VA disability compensation. Eligible conditions include high blood pressure (hypertension), arthritis, diabetes, or peptic ulcers.

If a discharge was not characterized as under honorable conditions, benefits are not payable unless VA determines the discharge was “under conditions other than dishonorable.” By law, certain situations resulting in a discharge under less than honorable conditions constitute a legal bar to the payment of benefits.

To be eligible for schedular TDIU benefits, a veteran must have either: a single service-connected condition with a rating of at least 60 percent; or. (the 70/40 rule) at least two service-connected conditions with a combined rating of at least 70 percent, with at least one of the conditions rated 40 percent or higher.

To be eligible for veterans benefits the applicant must meet the definition of a veteran, meet specified requirements for active duty and must have a discharge other than dishonorable. Reserve and Guard members are generally not eligible for benefits except under certain circ*mstances.

The most common VA Disability Claim is tinnitus. According to 2023 VA disability claims statistics, Tinnitus was the most common VA disability claim. In total, there were 2,944,093 million compensation recipients. Tinnitus manifests as the perception of noise or ringing in the ears without any external source.

Some Veterans are eligible for VA health care no matter their income. You may be eligible based on your VA disability rating, service history, or other factors. If you think you may be eligible, we encourage you to apply anytime.

Under the 5-year rule, your rating is considered stabilized and cannot be changed unless there is a change in your condition's improvement over time or if you made a complete recovery from your disability. The rating can be changed or eliminated if it was determined to be based on fraud.

If your 100% VA Disability Rating comes because you qualify for the 100% rating specified for a single (or combination of multiple) service-connected conditions using the Schedule of Ratings, then you have NO limitations on your ability to work.

How to get 100% VA disability? ›

To qualify for a 100 percent TDIU rating, the Veteran must have one disability rated at 60 percent or higher or two or more disabilities that have a combined rating of at least 70 percent, with one rated at 40 percent or higher.

You must have been called to active duty by a federal order and completed the full period for which you were called or ordered to active duty. If you had or have active-duty status for training purposes only, you don't qualify for VA health care.

What if VA denied my claim for bladder cancer, hypothyroidism, or Parkinsonism in the past? We added these conditions to the presumptive condition list in 2021.

The 100 percent disability rating is often awarded to veterans with two or more limbs that have been amputated or paralyzed or for veterans with active service-related diseases such as cancer, severe cardiac conditions, or psychiatric conditions such as PTSD, bipolar, depression, or schizophrenia.

In order to collect these benefits, you must be able to establish a current medical condition that resulted from an injury sustained during active duty. However, it is not uncommon for a former servicemember to be denied benefits after filing an application, in many cases due to lack of a formal diagnosis.