VA Disability Back Pay Calculator
VA pays retroactively to your claim’s effective date, not just from the decision date. This estimates that amount at today’s rates for the period since rates last changed.
Why this needs a range, not one number
Back pay spans rate periods
VA disability rates change every December 1 with that year’s cost-of-living adjustment. A claim with an effective date before the most recent change is owed the older, lower rate for the months before the change, then the current rate afterward. This tool holds only the current rate table, so it calculates the period from the later of your effective date or the last rate change to today, and flags when you need to add an earlier period yourself.
| Effective | COLA | Monthly |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Dec 2021 | 5.9% | $3,332.06 |
| 1 Dec 2022 | 8.7% | $3,621.95 |
| 1 Dec 2023 | 3.2% | $3,737.85 |
| 1 Dec 2024 | 2.5% | $3,831.30 |
| 1 Dec 2025 | 2.8% | $3,938.58 |
For your exact historical rate at every tier and dependent status, see VA’s historical compensation rate tables.