How VA back pay works
When VA grants a claim or raises a rating, it usually pays from an effective date, not from the date of the decision. The effective date is often the date VA received your claim, or the date of your Intent to File if you sent one first. The money for the months in between is what people call back pay or retroactive pay.
The first month to count
VA starts paying on the first day of the month after your effective date (38 CFR 3.31). If your effective date is March 15, the first month to count is April.
Rates change every December 1
VA's rates usually go up each year with the cost-of-living adjustment, which takes effect on December 1. So the calculator counts each month at the rate for its own year, December through November, using VA's published rate tables.
Example: VA should have paid you at 70% from October 2025 through March 2026, but paid you at 50%. With no dependents:
- October and November 2025, at the rates that started December 1, 2024: $1,759.19 − $1,102.04 = $657.15 a month, × 2 = $1,314.30
- December 2025 through March 2026, at the rates that started December 1, 2025: $1,808.45 − $1,132.90 = $675.55 a month, × 4 = $2,702.20
Estimated back pay: $4,016.50. The calculator shows the same breakdown under “How we got this”.
VA publishes new rates some weeks after each year's increase is announced. Until it does, the calculator uses the newest published rates (currently the ones that started December 1, 2025) for later months and says so.
Dependents
At 30% and higher, VA pays more for a spouse, children and dependent parents. The calculator assumes your dependents stayed the same for the whole stretch of months. If they changed, run it once for each stretch and add the results.
Special monthly compensation (SMC)
You can choose SMC levels from SMC-S through SMC-R.2 / SMC-T, and add SMC-K awards. The calculator applies VA's limits on SMC-K (38 CFR 3.350).
Why your actual payment can differ
- Military retired pay, and separation or severance pay, can change what VA pays.
- VA can hold back money for debts, and a representative's fees may come out of back pay.
- VA publishes no rate tables before December 1999, so amounts for earlier months are less certain.
Not sure what your combined rating should be? Start with the VA disability rating calculator.
Haven't filed yet?
An Intent to File (VA Form 21-0966) tells VA you plan to file a claim. If you file the claim within a year, VA may pay from the date of your Intent to File.