TDIU (Individual Unemployability): Requirements, Evidence, and How It Pays

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What it is. Total disability based on individual unemployability (TDIU or IU) lets VA pay at the 100% rate when service-connected conditions keep a veteran from holding substantially gainful employment, even though the combined schedular rating is below 100%. Source: 38 CFR § 4.16; VA.gov – Individual Unemployability.

Schedular eligibility — 38 CFR § 4.16(a)

• One service-connected disability rated 60% or more, or
• Two or more service-connected disabilities with one at 40% or more and a combined rating of 70% or more.
• § 4.16(a) treats some groups as "one disability" for this test, e.g., disabilities of both arms or both legs (including the bilateral factor), disabilities from a common etiology or single accident, and disabilities affecting a single body system.

Extraschedular — 38 CFR § 4.16(b)

Veterans who miss the percentages but are still unemployable because of service-connected disabilities can be referred to VA's Director of Compensation Service for extraschedular consideration.

Key definitions

• Marginal employment is not substantially gainful. § 4.16(a) says earned annual income at or below the poverty threshold for one person (U.S. Census Bureau) is generally marginal; employment in a protected environment (e.g., family business, sheltered workshop) can also be marginal.
• Age and non-service-connected conditions are not considered — 38 CFR §§ 4.16, 4.19.

How to apply

• VA Form 21-8940 (Veteran's Application for Increased Compensation Based on Unemployability) and Form 21-4192 (employer info) — see https://www.va.gov/find-forms/.
• Evidence that helps: employment history, why work ended, medical opinions on functional limitations (sitting, standing, concentration, social interaction), SSA disability records, vocational expert opinion.

After approval

• Annual employment questionnaire (VA Form 21-4140) may be required.
• VA can also find a total rating permanent when the impairment is reasonably certain to continue for life — 38 CFR § 3.340(b).

Related: 2026 rates · Calculator · existing articles va-unemployability-evidence-requirements-2025, va-unemployability-ptsd-tdiu-requirements.