You may be eligible for disability benefits if you meet both of these requirements.

Both of these must be true:

You have at least 1 service-connected disability rated at 60% or more disabling, or 2 or more service-connected disabilities—with at least 1 rated at 40% or more disabling and a combined rating of 70% or more—and
You can’t hold down a steady job that supports you financially (known as substantially gainful employment) because of your service-connected disability. Odd jobs (marginal employment) don’t count.
Note: In certain cases—for example, if you need to be in the hospital often—you may qualify at a lower disability rating.

If you can’t work because of a disability related to your service in the military (a service-connected disability), you may qualify for what’s called “Individual Unemployability.” This means you may be able to get disability compensation or benefits at the same level as a Veteran who has a 100% disability rating.

Veterans of Armed Forces

You’ll need to file a claim for disability compensation. When you file, you’ll have to provide evidence (supporting documents like a doctor’s report or medical test results) showing that your disability prevents you from holding down a steady job. We’ll also review your work and education history.

Example: A Veteran has a service-connected heart condition and a 60% disability rating. She was still able to work until last year when she began to get chest pain when doing anything physical, like walking or lifting boxes. Her doctor told her to retire as soon as possible. She filed a claim for more disability compensation. We reviewed her work and education history and agreed that she was individually unemployable because of her service-connected disability. So we increased her disability compensation to the same rate as a 100% disabled Veteran.

VA TDIU serves as an alternate route to disability compensation from the schedular ratings model. Under schedular benefits, the VA determines a veteran’s service-connected compensation according to disability ratings. These ratings come in the form of percentages, ranging from 0% to 100%, in increments of 10. The percentages are assigned to veterans according to the severity of their service-related disabilities.

Unfortunately, for veterans who suffer from many different service-related disabilities, it can be difficult to reach 100%. This is because the VA combines disability ratings instead of adding them together. For this reason, many veterans pursue VA TDIU benefits instead.

Individual unemployability will significantly hinder a veteran’s ability to support themselves financially. Often, veterans cannot maintain a job because of their service-related disabilities. Fortunately, the VA offers TDIU mainly as a way to account for this scenario.

When a veteran is approved for TDIU, their schedular rating does not increase, but their disability compensation increases to the same amount as a veteran who is rated at 100%. Despite the fact that their rating is not 100% on the traditional Schedular model, they get paid the same monthly amount as another veteran who has a 100% Schedular rating. In this way, VA recognizes that some conditions can be totally disabling, even when they are not rating 100%. This allows veterans who struggle financially due to their disabilities, but who do not have a 100% Schedular rating, to still have a chance to get compensated at the 100% rate.

There is a separate application for Individual Unemployability, the VA Form 21-8940. If a veteran believes they qualify for TDIU, they should file the Form 21-8940 as soon as possible.

There are two ways to qualify for TDIU VA benefits. If you are a veteran with a service-connected disability rated at 60%, you may qualify. Additionally, if you are a veteran with a disability rated at 40%, and two or more other disabilities that bring your combined rating to 70%, you may qualify. It is important to note that these disabilities must be service-related.

Additionally, these disabilities must hinder you from maintaining “substantial gainful employment.” Substantial gainful employment refers to a job that pays above the poverty level.

If your service-connected disabilities prevent you from getting or keeping a job that pays above the poverty level, then you may qualify for TDIU. It is important to note that this means TDIU recipients may still work. You will only be disqualified if you can obtain or maintain a job that pays above the poverty level.

Currently, veterans who are approved for TDIU benefits can receive more than $3,000/month. This is true of veterans who are single and have no dependents. For veterans with spouses or dependent children or parents, this amount may increase.

It is important to remember that receiving a VA TDIU benefits denial does not mean all is lost. On the contrary, there are many options still available to a veteran in this position.

If you have recently received a denial, you will have one year to file for an appeal. With the help of a VA TDIU attorney, VA representative or reach out to Veteran Hundo Club. You may be able to overturn the denial. It is important to seek help before this year is up so that you have a better shot at getting TDIU benefits sooner rather than later.

However, even if your TDIU VA benefits were denied in the past, you can always re-apply. There is no limit on the amount of times a veteran can apply for TDIU.