What benefits do 100 percent disabled veterans receive

Review 2022 Veterans disability compensation rates. Use our compensation benefits rate tables to find your monthly payment amount. We base your monthly payment amount on your disability rating and details about your dependent family members.

Compensation rates for Veterans with a 10% to 20% disability rating

Effective December 1, 2021

Note: If you have a 10% to 20% disability rating, you won’t receive a higher rate even if you have a dependent spouse, child, or parent.

Compensation rates for Veterans with a 30% to 100% disability rating

Effective December 1, 2021

With a dependent spouse or parent, but no children

With dependents, including children

Note: We’re required by law to match the percentage of cost-of-living adjustments made to Social Security benefits. These adjustments help to make sure that the purchasing power of your benefits keeps up with inflation. 

Get the latest cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) information on the Social Security Administration’s (SSA) website

How to use the tables to find your monthly payment

Find your basic rate

Go to the compensation rates for your disability rating. On the Basic monthly rates table, find the amount for your disability rating and dependent status. This is your basic monthly rate.

Example (Veteran with no children):
If you’re a Veteran with a 30% disability rating, and you have a dependent spouse (no dependent parents or children), your basic monthly rate would be $522.39 each month.

Find your added amounts, if any apply

If your spouse receives Aid and Attendance benefits or you have more than one child, you may qualify for additional monthly payment amounts as listed in the Added amounts table.

Learn more about Aid and Attendance benefits

First, determine your basic rate.

Example (Veteran with children):
If you’re a Veteran with a 70% disability rating, and you have a spouse, plus 3 dependent children under the age of 18, you would start with the basic rate of $1,754.95 (for a Veteran with a spouse and 1 child).

Next, look at the Added amounts table. Find the amount for children under age 18 ($64.00).

Since your basic rate already provides payment for 1 child, you would add the rate of $64.00 for each additional child (so $64 x 2).   

If your spouse receives Aid and Attendance, you would also add $119 (which is the added amount for a spouse receiving Aid and Attendance, for a Veteran with a 70% disability rating).

In our example of a Veteran with 70% disability rating, your total monthly payment amount would be:

$1,754.95 basic rate (1 spouse, 1 child)
+ $64 (second child under 18)
+$64 (third child under 18)
+$119 (spouse who receives Aid and Attendance)
Total $2,001.95 

Past rates

Review Veterans disability compensation rates for past years.

2021 rates (effective December 1, 2020)
2020 rates (effective December 1, 2019)
2019 rates (effective December 1, 2018)
2018 rates (effective December 1, 2017)

Topics:

100% Benefits for Active Diseases
100% Benefits from the VA
100% Benefits from the DoD
Receiving 100% Benefits from the DoD and the VA

100% Disabled Veteran Benefits are given to veterans with medical conditions that severely impact their ability to function in daily life. They are only given in cases where the veteran is unable to work and mostly unable to care for themselves, including bathing and dressing. 

A 100% rating is the highest Military Disability Rating possible and thus provides the highest Military Disability Benefits to Disabled Veterans.

100% Disabled Veteran Benefits entitles the veteran to the maximum amount of compensation given for all VA Disability and DoD Disability, unless they qualify for Special Monthly Compensation.  

Common instances where 100% Disabled Veteran Benefits are given are cases where there is amputation or paralysis of two or more limbs, active cancer or diseases, or other life-threatening conditions.

The DoD and the VA will only give disability benefits for service-connected conditions. The DoD takes this a step further and only gives these benefits for service-connected conditions that also make a service member Unfit for Duty.

Find Your Conditions on this site to see if you qualify for 100% Disabled Veteran Benefits.   

100% Disabled Veteran Benefits for Active Diseases

100% Disabled Veteran Benefits are always given if a veteran has an active disease like cancer or tuberculosis.

Since the DoD only rates a veteran’s condition based on its severity at the time of discharge, the DoD will only give 100% Disabled Veteran Benefits for active diseases when the disease is unlikely to improve. If the disease has the potential to improve, the DoD will instead place the service member on the Temporary Disability Retired List (TDRL). While the veteran is on TDRL, a 100% rating will be given until the disease is no longer active. Once it stabilizes, the DoD will re-evaluate and re-rate the condition when the veteran is officially discharged.

Since the VA will rate a veteran’s condition as it changes over time, the VA will give 100% Disabled Veteran Benefits when a veteran’s disease is active, and stop giving them whenever it is inactive. If it becomes active again at any time in the future, the veteran can apply to have the 100% rating reinstated. Similarly, the VA will give a veteran these benefits anytime he is hospitalized for a service-connected condition.

100% Disabled Veteran Benefits from the VA

All veterans who qualify to receive 100% Disabled Veteran Benefits from the VA will receive full medical care for all of their medical conditions and a monthly monetary payment.

This payment is the same amount for every veteran who qualifies to receive 100% Disabled Veteran Benefits and can fluctuate if they have children or other dependents. Our VA Disability Chart notes the current amounts given for 100% ratings every month.

>> Click HERE to read the “Top 100 Disabled Veteran Benefits Explained!”

In addition to this standard compensation, many veterans who qualify for 100% Disabled Veteran Benefits are also eligible to receive Special Monthly Compensation from the VA. 

100% Disabled Veteran Benefits from the DoD

For 100% Disabled Veteran Benefits, the DoD gives the veteran full medical care and a monthly payment for the rest of their life.

Since the veteran has a 100% rating, the amount of this payment is equal to the full amount allowed by regular retirements. To determine the exact payment amount, follow the formula detailed in DoD Disability for Medical Retirements.

Receiving 100% Disabled Veteran Benefits from the DoD and the VA

Veterans cannot receive monetary benefits from both the DoD and the VA. This means that the amount of VA Disability a veteran receives will decrease the amount of DoD Disability they receive. 

Let’s simplify. Basically, if the DoD is giving $700/month and the VA begins giving $400/month, then the DoD will decrease its amount to $300/month (700 – 400 = 300).

This may seem cruel and unusual, but the good thing about this is that money from the VA is not taxable, while money from the DoD is taxable. Taxable money is being replaced by un-taxable money. It is definitely better to receive un-taxable money if only a single total amount is allowed, so this is a beneficial system.

The only way to get around this rule is if you qualify for Concurrent Retirement and Disability Pay (CRDP) or Combat Related Special Compensation (CRSC). 

This practice does not apply to medical care. All veterans who qualify for 100% Disabled Veteran Benefits will still be able to receive full medical care from the DoD.

What does 100 VA disability entitle you to?

What benefits do spouses of 100 disabled veterans get?

Do 100% disabled veterans get Social Security?

Do 100 disabled veterans have access to military bases?