TDIU — Getting Paid at the 100% Rate Without a 100% Rating

TDIU (Total Disability based on Individual Unemployability) pays you at the 100% compensation rate even if your combined schedular rating is less than 100% — because your service-connected conditions prevent you from holding substantially gainful employment.

Who qualifies (the schedular path)

Under 38 CFR § 4.16(a), you generally qualify to be considered if:

• •You have one service-connected condition rated at 60% or more, or
• •You have two or more conditions with a combined rating of 70% or more, with at least one rated 40% or more.

Even if you don't meet those thresholds, § 4.16(b) allows an "extraschedular" path when your conditions still prevent gainful work.

What "substantially gainful employment" means

It's not "can you do any task at all." It's whether you can hold the kind of steady job that earns above the federal poverty threshold. Odd jobs and "marginal employment" don't disqualify you.

How you apply

• •VA Form 21-8940 — the TDIU application, where you describe your work history and how your conditions prevent employment.
• •VA Form 21-4192 — sent to former employers to verify your work history and why you left.

Evidence that wins TDIU

• •A clear link between your service-connected conditions (not age or non-service issues) and your inability to work.
• •Work history showing the decline.
• •Medical and, often, vocational evidence on your functional limits.