Your claim
Dependents
Military retirees
Estimated back pay
$28,688.90
For 16 months, Jul 2025 through Oct 2026. Your new monthly VA payment would be about $1,808.45 ($1,808.45 more a month).
How the VA does the math
- Your effective date is June 15, 2025. VA starts paying on the first day of the next month: Jul 2025.
- Each month is paid at the rate in force that month. Rates go up every December 1 with the cost-of-living adjustment.
- Jul 2025 – Nov 2025: 5 months × $1,759.19 = $8,795.95 (rates effective Dec 2024)
- Dec 2025 – Oct 2026: 11 months × $1,808.45 = $19,892.95 (rates effective Dec 2025)
- Total: $28,688.90.
At today’s rates: 70% is $1,808.45 a month.
This calculator is an estimate for general information, using VA’s published rates from December 2019 to today (latest: effective December 1, 2025). Your actual payment depends on your decision, dependents on file, any debts or withholding, and for retirees on DFAS. Nothing you enter is saved or sent anywhere.
How VA back pay works
Back pay (VA calls it retroactive compensation) is the money VA owes you for the months between your effective date and your decision. It comes as one lump sum, usually within a few weeks of the decision.
- Your effective date. This is usually the date VA received your claim, or your intent to file if you filed the claim within a year of it. It’s shown on your decision letter.
- Payment starts the next month. By law, VA pays from the first day of the month after your effective date.
- Each month at that month’s rate. VA's rates rise every December 1 with the cost-of-living adjustment, so each month is paid at the rate in force then.
- Dependents count from 30%. A spouse or children raise your rate once you’re rated 30% or higher.
- Increases pay the difference. If you were already rated, back pay is the gap between your old and new rates for each month.
Some things can reduce what you receive, such as separation or severance pay VA has to recoup, a VA debt, or military retired pay (below).
How military retired pay is affected
By law, VA compensation and military retired pay can’t simply both be paid in full. Unless you qualify for an exception, VA pay replaces retired pay dollar for dollar. This is called the VA waiver or offset.
- Under 50%, or under 20 years: you receive whichever is larger, your retired pay or your VA pay. The VA portion is tax-free, so your take-home pay often goes up even when the total doesn’t.
- CRDP (Concurrent Retirement and Disability Pay): if you’re rated 50% or higher and retired with 20 or more qualifying years, you keep both your full retired pay and your VA pay. DFAS applies it automatically.
- CRSC (Combat-Related Special Compensation): if part of your rating is combat-related, you can apply to your service branch to restore that portion of your retired pay, even with fewer than 20 years. If you qualify for both CRDP and CRSC, you receive one or the other, and DFAS holds an open season each January to switch. The calculator doesn’t estimate CRSC.
- Back pay for retirees: because you were already receiving retired pay for those months, back pay is only the amount above what you received. VA may hold it until DFAS reconciles your retired pay, which can take a few extra weeks.
Learn more from DFAS: how VA disability compensation can affect your retired pay.
Current VA disability pay rates
Monthly rates for a Veteran with no dependents, effective December 1, 2025. Source: VA.gov.
| Rating | Monthly payment |
|---|---|
| 10% | $180.42 |
| 20% | $356.66 |
| 30% | $552.47 |
| 40% | $795.84 |
| 50% | $1,132.90 |
| 60% | $1,435.02 |
| 70% | $1,808.45 |
| 80% | $2,102.15 |
| 90% | $2,362.30 |
| 100% | $3,938.58 |
Frequently asked questions
When does VA back pay start?
VA pays from the first day of the month after your effective date. Your effective date is usually the date VA received your claim or your intent to file, so filing an intent to file early can add months of back pay.
Does VA back pay include the yearly cost-of-living increases?
Yes. Each month is paid at the rate that was in force that month. VA's rates change every December 1, so back pay that spans several years uses each year's rate.
How is back pay figured for a rating increase?
For an increase, VA pays the difference between your old rate and your new rate for each month from the effective date of the increase.
Will my military retired pay go down when I get VA compensation?
Unless you qualify for CRDP (a rating of 50% or more and 20 or more qualifying years) or CRSC, VA compensation replaces retired pay dollar for dollar. Your total usually stays about the same, but the VA part is tax-free.
How long does it take to get VA back pay?
VA usually deposits back pay within a few weeks of the decision. For military retirees, VA and DFAS may need to reconcile your retired pay first, which can take longer.
Not sure what your combined rating is? Try our VA combined rating calculator. Thinking about an increase? Read how to get your VA rating increased.
Questions about your claim or your effective date?
Start with a free coaching call. We’ll help you understand where your claim stands and what your next step could look like.
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