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EVENTS
NEWS & INPUT
VETERAN GUIDE
Disability Compensation and the PACT Act
A monthly, tax-free payment for conditions caused or made worse by your service. The PACT Act made it easier to qualify after burn pits, Agent Orange, and other toxic exposures.
Overview
You may qualify if you have a current illness or injury that affects your mind or body, and you served on active duty, active duty for training, or inactive duty training. The condition must have started during service, been made worse by service, or be linked to your service even if it showed up after you left.
For presumptive conditions, like certain illnesses linked to toxic exposure or to being a POW, you don't need to prove your service caused the condition. An other than honorable, bad conduct, or dishonorable discharge may affect eligibility; you can ask for a discharge upgrade or a VA Character of Discharge review.
The PACT Act
The PACT Act added more than 20 conditions that VA now presumes were caused by toxic exposure. There's no deadline: you can file any time.
BURN PIT & TOXIC EXPOSURE CANCERS
Brain, gastrointestinal, glioblastoma, head, kidney, lymphoma, melanoma, neck, pancreatic, reproductive, and respiratory cancers. VA has since added urinary bladder, ureter, and related genitourinary cancers, acute and chronic leukemias, multiple myelomas, myelodysplastic syndromes, and myelofibrosis for eligible Gulf War and post-9/11 veterans.
BURN PIT & TOXIC EXPOSURE ILLNESSES
Asthma diagnosed after service, chronic bronchitis, COPD, chronic rhinitis, chronic sinusitis, bronchiolitis, emphysema, granulomatous disease, interstitial lung disease, pleuritis, pulmonary fibrosis, and sarcoidosis.
AGENT ORANGE
High blood pressure (hypertension) and monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS) were added. New locations are listed below.
WHERE YOU SERVED
Post-9/11 (on or after Sept. 11, 2001
Afghanistan, Djibouti, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Uzbekistan, Yemen
Gulf War (on or after Aug. 2, 1990)
Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, United Arab Emirates
Agent Orange (new locations)
Thailand bases, Laos, parts of Cambodia, Guam or American Samoa, Johnston Atoll; specific dates apply
Radiation (new locations)
Enewetak Atoll cleanup, Palomares (Spain), Thule Air Force Base; specific dates apply
The PACT Act also expanded VA health care, and every veteran enrolled in VA health care can get a free toxic exposure screening.
See our VA Health Care Enrollment guide.
How to file a claim
For help setting up a VA.gov account and finding your forms, see our Filing for Benefits guide.
Submit an intent to file
VA Form 21-0966 sets your potential start date for back pay. You then have 1 year to file your claim. If you start your claim online, VA records your intent to file automatically.
Gather your evidence
See the list below. Sending it all with your claim through the Fully Developed Claims program can get you a faster decision. You can also send evidence for up to 1 year after VA receives your claim.
File VA Form 21-526EZ
Online, by mail, in person at a VA regional office, or with free help from an accredited representative, like the county office below.
Go to your claim exam
VA may schedule a free claim exam (C&P exam). If you can't make it, contact VA or the exam office as soon as you can to reschedule. A missed exam can delay your claim.
Get your decision
VA mails your decision letter and posts it on VA.gov. In September 2026, VA took an average of 68.2 days to complete a disability claim.
What to gather
2026 monthly rates: veteran alone
Effective December 1, 2025. Rates are higher with a spouse, children, or dependent parents (at 30% and above). VA adjusts them every December 1.
Rating | Monthly |
|---|---|
10% | $180.42 |
20% | $356.66 |
30% | $552.47 |
40% | $795.84 |
50% | $1,132.90 |
60% | $1,435.02 |
70% | $1,808.45 |
80% | $2,102.15 |
90% | $2,362.30 |
100% | $3,938.58 |