Understanding VA Disability Compensation: A Comprehensive Guide

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) offers compensation to veterans who have a disability that was caused by their military service or made worse by their military service. When you are awarded VA disability compensation, you receive an award letter that contains a percentage rating at which the VA rates your disability condition(s). Your VA disability percentage rating determines how much you will receive each month in benefits from the VA.

Step 1

Look at your reward letter to see what disability percentage rating the VA assigned you.

Step 2

Navigate to the compensation rate tables located at the VA's website (see Resources).

Step 3

Determine your dependency status (e.g. veterans without children or veterans with children).

Step 4

Locate the table that contains your disability percentage rating under the dependency category that best describes you (e.g. veteran alone without children rated at 60 percent).

Step 5

Look below the column that contains your disability percentage rating and the row that contains your dependency status to find the amount that you will receive each month. For example, a veteran who has no children and is rated at 80 percent would receive $1,427 each month (as of 2011).

Tip

Veterans with a spouse or dependent children and parents receive more each month than veterans alone.

Things You'll Need

• Reward letter

• Compensation rate table

Warning

The monthly benefit amount changes from year to year, so ensure that you are looking at the most recent compensation rate table.