VA Back Pay Calculator

VA back pay (also called retro) is the disability compensation the VA owes you for the time between your claim's effective date and the date the VA actually grants your rating. Because claims can take months or years to decide, that gap is paid to you as a single lump sum.

Usually your effective date — most often the date the VA received your claim. If you file within one year of leaving active duty, your effective date can go back to the day after separation. Certain presumptive conditions, such as those under the PACT Act, can qualify for earlier dates.

Take your monthly compensation — set by your combined rating and number of dependents — and multiply it by the number of months between your effective date and the date of your award. If your rating or dependents changed during that period, each stretch is paid at the rate that was in effect at the time.

No. VA disability compensation, including a back-pay lump sum, is not taxable and does not need to be reported as income on your federal return.

Once the VA grants your claim, the lump-sum back pay is typically deposited within a few weeks of the decision. It usually arrives separately from your ongoing monthly compensation.