Explore our comprehensive library of articles, legal updates, and guides on Total Disability Based on Individual Unemployability (TDIU). Learn about qualifying income thresholds, filing appeals, combining ratings, and securing 100% VA disability compensation.
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Death Benefits for Families of Veterans With TDIU: What You Might Be Missing
There is nothing more difficult than losing a loved one, and that is especially true when your family member passed away after living with a service-related disability. If you have questions about what TDIU benefits might mean to the surviving relatives of a veteran who has passed, now is the right time to act. Our…
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What Are Extraschedular TDIU VA Benefits?
US veterans with service-connected health conditions that impair their ability to maintain substantially gainful employment may qualify for total disability benefits based on individual unemployability (TDIU). Not including special monthly compensation, TDIU benefits are the highest level of veteran’s benefits available, offering a 100% disability rating even when a veteran’s combined rating does not add…
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Top 8 Mistakes in TDIU Claims
U.S. military veterans with service-connected health conditions can find it challenging to secure and maintain substantially gainful employment. These veterans have a right to collect Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) benefits at the 100% disability rate. The highest VA benefits available are total disability benefits based on individual unemployability (TDIU). When a veteran’s combined rating…
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3 Reasons the VA Denies TDIU Claims
Veterans with service-connected disabilities are often unable to work. Most of these veterans also lack a 100 percent scheduler rating. The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) expects these veterans to live on disability checks of less than 100 percent without any means to supplement their income. Why does the VA deny total disability individual unemployability…
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What is the Poverty Threshold and How Does it Relate to TDIU?
If you are a veteran who receives disability benefits under a Total Disability Individual Unemployability (TDIU) rating, you are limited in the amount of paid work you are allowed to do. The TDIU rating is an affirmation that your disability prevents you from maintaining gainful employment — employment that is more than casual or marginal…
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The 9 Most Common VA Forms and Tips on Using Them
Every veteran who has filed a claim for VA benefits knows about the dizzying battery of VA forms. There are hundreds of VA forms available. Does it matter what you write in VA form 21-4138? Is VA form 21-0996 even necessary? Should you fill out VA form 21-0781 or 21-0781a? Knowing which VA forms to…
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Protected VA Disability Ratings: When Can VA Reduce My Rating?
Great! You received a 70% disability rating from the VA. But does your rating last forever? What if your disability improves over time with treatment or therapy? Can the VA reduce your disability rating? Not always. When a veteran’s service-connected medical diagnosis improves, the VA has the right to reduce the original rating, potentially lowering…
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What Every Veteran Needs to Know About Sheltered Employment
If a veteran’s service-connected disability prevents gainful employment, then the veteran may be entitled to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU) under certain circumstances. Specifically, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs will look to see if the veteran cannot secure substantially gainful employment, which is defined under VA regulation as “employment at…
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Are VA Benefits Taxable?
Navigating tax requirements and language may be challenging for anybody, but it’s more so for Veterans. Veterans get a wide range of benefits and pensions, many of which are taxed differently. To add to the confusion, each state has its own Veterans’ Affairs agency, which means that although there are federal tax advantages for Veterans,…
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Can I Work and Collect VA Disability Benefits?
VA disability benefits aim to help replace the income veterans would earn from work had they not been injured due to their time in service. So, is it possible to make money and collect disability benefits? In general, yes. But there are exceptions. In this article, we’ll clarify when veterans can work and still receive…