Direct answer: VA back pay is the disability pay owed from your effective date to your decision, paid as a lump sum. Pay starts the first day of the month after the effective date, at each year's rates. The effective date is usually when VA got your claim or intent to file, or the day after discharge if filed within a year.
By the numbers: Example: 70% with a spouse and an effective date of March 14, 2025 is paid from April 1, 2025. Through September 2026 that's 8 months at $1,908.19 plus 10 months at $1,961.45: $34,880.02. Source: VA 2025 and 2026 rate tables
“payment of monetary benefits based on an award or an increased award of compensation ... may not be made to an individual for any period before the first day of the calendar month following the month in which the award or increased award became effective” — 38 U.S.C. 5111(a)
Updated 2026-10-17
Add up the monthly VA rate for every month from the 1st of the month after your effective date until regular payments start, using the rate table in effect each month (new rates start every Dec. 1). For an increase, it's the difference between the new and old rate for each month. Our calculator does this with VA's 2023-2026 tables.
For a new claim, it's usually the later of the date VA received your claim (or your intent to file, if you filed the full claim within a year) and the date your condition began. If you filed within a year of discharge, it's the day after discharge. For an increase, it can be up to a year before the claim if records show when it got worse (38 CFR 3.400).
It can. VA says an intent to file sets a potential start date: if you file the complete claim within 1 year and it's approved, VA treats it as filed on the intent-to-file date (38 CFR 3.155). Starting the disability claim online with a verified VA.gov account files one automatically.
VA says that if your decision notice shows a rating of at least 10%, your first payment comes within 15 days, by direct deposit or check. If nothing arrives after 15 days, call the Veterans help line at 800-827-1000, Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Eastern.
With a fee agreement paid out of past-due benefits, the fee can't be more than 20% of the past-due benefits (38 U.S.C. 5904(d)). Agents and attorneys also can't charge for work done before you get notice of VA's initial decision. Accredited Veterans Service Organization representatives help for free.
No. VA disability benefits aren't taxable income (IRS Pub. 525). If you're a military retiree and VA rated you retroactively, the retired pay for that period may also be excludable up to the VA amount; the IRS says to file Form 1040-X for each year with a copy of the VA letter.
Yes. Each month is paid at the rate in effect that month, and VA rates change every Dec. 1 (2.8% on Dec. 1, 2025). The Dec. 1, 2026 raise of 3.6% still needs Congress as of Oct. 17, 2026, so our calculator shows months from December 2026 at 2026 rates and labels them.
As of Oct. 17, 2026 · VA rate tables 2023-2026 · 38 U.S.C. 5110, 5111
Back pay runs from the 1st of the month after your effective date. VA multiplies each month by the rate in effect that month and pays the total in one lump sum after the decision. Getting the earliest effective date matters more than anything else: an intent to file, filing within a year of discharge, or continuously appealing all keep an earlier date.
The math:
Sources: 38 U.S.C. 5111 · 38 CFR 3.400 · VA 2026 rates
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Use the effective date on your decision letter (or the date VA got your intent to file or claim, if you're still waiting). The calculator pays from the 1st of the next month, at the VA rate for each month.
| Your situation | Effective date | Source |
|---|---|---|
| New claim filed within 1 year of leaving service | The day after separation (or the date the condition began, if later) | 38 U.S.C. 5110 38 CFR 3.400 (b)(2)(i) |
| New claim filed later | The date VA received the claim, or the date the condition began, whichever is later | 38 CFR 3.400 |
| You filed an intent to file first | The intent-to-file date, if VA gets the complete claim within 1 year | 38 CFR 3.155 VA.gov: intent to file |
| Claim for an increase | The earliest date records show it got worse, if you file (or file an intent to file) within 1 year of that date; otherwise the claim date | 38 CFR 3.400 (o)(2) |
| You kept appealing within 1 year each time (Higher-Level Review, Supplemental Claim, Board) | Keeps the original claim date | 38 CFR 3.2500 (h)(1) |
| Supplemental Claim filed more than 1 year after the decision | No earlier than the date VA got the Supplemental Claim | 38 CFR 3.2500 (h)(2) |
| VA's earlier decision had a clear and unmistakable error | As if the corrected decision had been made on the original date | 38 CFR 3.400 (k) |
Pay then starts the 1st of the next month (38 U.S.C. 5111, 38 CFR 3.31). An effective date of March 14 or March 1 both start pay on April 1. The one exception: an original award for a veteran retired or separated for a catastrophic disability is paid from the effective date itself.
| Rating | 2023 rates from Dec. 1, 2022 | 2024 rates from Dec. 1, 2023 | 2025 rates from Dec. 1, 2024 | 2026 rates from Dec. 1, 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10% | $165.92 | $171.23 | $175.51 | $180.42 |
| 30% | $508.05 | $524.31 | $537.42 | $552.47 |
| 50% | $1,041.82 | $1,075.16 | $1,102.04 | $1,132.90 |
| 70% | $1,663.06 | $1,716.28 | $1,759.19 | $1,808.45 |
| 100% | $3,621.95 | $3,737.85 | $3,831.30 | $3,938.58 |
Rates with a spouse, children or parents are in the calculator. Sources: VA 2023 rates · VA 2024 rates · VA 2025 rates · VA 2026 rates. VA raises rates every Dec. 1 by the Social Security COLA (3.2%, 2.5%, 2.8% in the last three years; we checked every veteran-alone rate against that math).
VA's raise for Dec. 1, 2026 matches Social Security's 3.6% only once Congress passes the 2026 COLA act (S. 4487); it hadn't as of Oct. 17, 2026. The calculator counts months from December 2026 at 2026 rates and labels them. If the raise passes, VA applies it to those months. See where the VA raise stands.
How we built this: the 2023 and 2024 tables were typed from VA's pages and checked cell by cell against them; VA's own worked examples ($2,177.06 and $2,246.28) and the COLA math between years are checked in code. The calculator runs in your browser with the same rules as the server-side check.
An estimate, not a decision. VaultRubric isn't VA. Your decision letter shows your effective date and VA's payment amounts.
Add up the monthly VA rate for every month from the 1st of the month after your effective date until regular payments start, using the rate table in effect each month (new rates start every Dec. 1). For an increase, it's the difference between the new and old rate for each month. Our calculator does this with VA's 2023-2026 tables.
For a new claim, it's usually the later of the date VA received your claim (or your intent to file, if you filed the full claim within a year) and the date your condition began. If you filed within a year of discharge, it's the day after discharge. For an increase, it can be up to a year before the claim if records show when it got worse (38 CFR 3.400).
It can. VA says an intent to file sets a potential start date: if you file the complete claim within 1 year and it's approved, VA treats it as filed on the intent-to-file date (38 CFR 3.155). Starting the disability claim online with a verified VA.gov account files one automatically.
VA says that if your decision notice shows a rating of at least 10%, your first payment comes within 15 days, by direct deposit or check. If nothing arrives after 15 days, call the Veterans help line at 800-827-1000, Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Eastern.
With a fee agreement paid out of past-due benefits, the fee can't be more than 20% of the past-due benefits (38 U.S.C. 5904(d)). Agents and attorneys also can't charge for work done before you get notice of VA's initial decision. Accredited Veterans Service Organization representatives help for free.
No. VA disability benefits aren't taxable income (IRS Pub. 525). If you're a military retiree and VA rated you retroactively, the retired pay for that period may also be excludable up to the VA amount; the IRS says to file Form 1040-X for each year with a copy of the VA letter.
Yes. Each month is paid at the rate in effect that month, and VA rates change every Dec. 1 (2.8% on Dec. 1, 2025). The Dec. 1, 2026 raise of 3.6% still needs Congress as of Oct. 17, 2026, so our calculator shows months from December 2026 at 2026 rates and labels them.
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