VA back pay, also called retro pay, is the disability compensation owed for the months between your award's payment start date and the month your regular payments begin. By law, payment on a new or increased award starts on the first day of the month after the award's effective date. This VA back pay calculator counts each of those months and prices it with the VA rate table that was in force at the time, from December 2017 through November 2026, including rating changes and dependents.
Enter your rating, the effective date from your decision letter, your dependents and the last month your back pay covers. The result shows each rate period, the total and, if you had help from an accredited attorney or agent, what is left after the fee.
Back pay = the sum, for each month from the payment start month through the last month owed, of the VA monthly rate for your rating and dependents in that month
Three rules drive the math:
One narrow exception: a veteran retired or separated from service for a catastrophic disability is paid from the effective date itself on an original claim, not from the next month.
These are the monthly rates, in dollars, for a veteran with no dependents on each table the calculator uses. Each table runs from December 1 through November 30 of the next year.
| From Dec. 1 of | 10% | 30% | 50% | 70% | 100% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 180.42 | 552.47 | 1,132.90 | 1,808.45 | 3,938.58 |
| 2024 | 175.51 | 537.42 | 1,102.04 | 1,759.19 | 3,831.30 |
| 2023 | 171.23 | 524.31 | 1,075.16 | 1,716.28 | 3,737.85 |
| 2022 | 165.92 | 508.05 | 1,041.82 | 1,663.06 | 3,621.95 |
| 2021 | 152.64 | 467.39 | 958.44 | 1,529.95 | 3,332.06 |
| 2020 | 144.14 | 441.35 | 905.04 | 1,444.71 | 3,146.42 |
| 2019 | 142.29 | 435.69 | 893.43 | 1,426.17 | 3,106.04 |
| 2018 | 140.05 | 428.83 | 879.36 | 1,403.71 | 3,057.13 |
| 2017 | 136.24 | 417.15 | 855.41 | 1,365.48 | 2,973.86 |
Source: VA's current rate page and its past-rates pages for 2018 through 2025. The calculator also holds the 20%, 40%, 60%, 80% and 90% columns and every dependent amount from the same pages.
Look for the effective date of each rating in your decision letter; it sets the month your back pay begins. Under 38 CFR 3.400, the general rule is the date VA received the claim or the date entitlement arose, whichever is later. Several rules can move it earlier:
A veteran rated 50% with a spouse and one child under 18 has an effective date of June 10, 2024, and back pay through August 2026. Payment starts July 1, 2024.
| Months (rate table) | Rate x months | Subtotal |
|---|---|---|
| July 2024 to Nov. 2024 (Dec. 2023 table) | $1,255.16 x 5 | $6,275.80 |
| Dec. 2024 to Nov. 2025 (Dec. 2024 table) | $1,287.04 x 12 | $15,444.48 |
| Dec. 2025 to Aug. 2026 (Dec. 2025 table) | $1,322.90 x 9 | $11,906.10 |
| Total back pay, 26 months | $33,626.38 | |
If an accredited attorney or agent handled the claim under a fee agreement that VA pays directly from past-due benefits, a 20% fee would be $6,725.28, leaving $26,901.10.
VA's tables build the rate in two steps. First, find the basic rate for your rating and household: veteran alone, with a spouse, with parents, or with one child. Then add the extra amounts: each additional child under 18, each child from 18 to 23 in a qualifying school program, and an added amount when your spouse receives Aid and Attendance. VA's own example: at 70% with a spouse and three children under 18, where the spouse receives Aid and Attendance, the 2026 monthly payment is $2,074.45 plus $76 plus $76 plus $141, or $2,367.45.
If you have a school child but no child under 18, the calculator adds the school child amount to the rate without children. That follows 38 U.S.C. 1115(1)(F), which sets the monthly amount payable on account of each child 18 or older in an approved school at the school child amount. The calculator assumes your dependents were the same for the whole period. Under 38 CFR 3.401(b), extra pay for a dependent starts on the latest of several dates, such as the date dependency arose or the date VA received the claim, so it can start later than your rating. Check the award letter if you married, had a child or added a parent during the back pay period.
When a fee agreement has VA pay an accredited attorney or agent directly from past-due benefits, and the fee depends on a favorable result, the fee may not exceed 20 percent of the past-due benefits awarded (38 U.S.C. 5904(d)). VA may not withhold any part of the benefits payable for a period after the date of the final decision to pay that fee, so the fee comes out of back pay only. Under 38 CFR 14.636, a fee of 20 percent or less is presumed reasonable, and a fee above 33 1/3 percent is presumed unreasonable.
To see your monthly amount going forward, try the VA disability calculator. Survivors can check VA DIC rates, and veterans with Social Security claims can compare the SSDI back pay calculator.
VA pays from the first day of the month after your award's effective date. Each month is paid at the monthly rate for your rating and dependents in that month, and VA rates change every December 1, so a long back pay period uses several rate tables.
No. Under 38 U.S.C. 5111, payment starts on the first day of the month after the effective date. The exception is an original award for a veteran retired or separated for a catastrophic disability, which is paid from the effective date.
Yes, when the rating is 30% or higher. The extra amount for a dependent starts on the latest of the dates listed in 38 CFR 3.401(b), such as the date dependency arose, so it can start later than the rating itself.
Under a fee agreement that VA pays directly from past-due benefits, the fee may not exceed 20 percent of the past-due benefits awarded. VA may not withhold benefits for periods after the final decision to pay the fee.
No. Under 38 U.S.C. 5301, payments of benefits under laws administered by VA are exempt from taxation. That includes disability compensation paid as back pay.
Enter each rating with its effective date. Each new or increased rating is paid from the first day of the month after its own effective date, and the calculator switches rates from that month on.