How to Calculate VA Retroactive Payment

By Kayla Lowe

When you apply for Veterans' Administration benefits, your claim is retroactive from the date you applied. Therefore, in most cases you will receive a lump sum of back pay from the date you put in your claim before you begin receiving your monthly VA benefits. If you want to calculate your VA retroactive payment, you can do so with simple mathematics.

Determine the date you filed your VA claim, and then determine the date you received your award letter notification. Count the number of months between those dates.

Look at your award letter notification to determine what your monthly benefits will be. Your monthly award amount should be listed on your award letter.

Multiply your monthly benefits award amount by the number of months it's been since you filed your claim to calculate VA retroactive payment. For instance, if you are entitled to receive $800 per month and you filed your claim 6 months ago, you would multiply $800 by 6, meaning that your VA retroactive payment will equal $4800.

The longer it takes the VA to make a decision on your claim, the more your VA retroactive payment will be (if your claim is approved).

Beware of spending your VA retroactive payment before you actually receive it. If there is an error in the VA's original calculations, your payment could be revoked or adjusted, or you might not receive your payment when you expect it.

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