TDIU: When the VA Admits You Can’t Work, Even If the Math Says You Should

Most veterans hear about disability ratings as a numbers game. Ten percent here, thirty percent there, stack them together, and eventually you land wherever the VA’s mysterious math sends you. For a lot of veterans, that system breaks down when real life shows up.

That’s where TDIU comes in.

TDIU stands for Total Disability based on Individual Unemployability. It’s the VA’s way of saying this: even if your combined rating isn’t 100 percent, your service connected conditions keep you from holding substantially gainful employment, so we’re going to pay you at the 100 percent rate anyway.

That sentence matters more than it looks like it should.

What TDIU Actually Is

TDIU isn’t a separate disability. It’s not a bonus. It’s not charity. It’s a legal recognition that your service connected conditions prevent you from maintaining real, competitive employment.

Substantially gainful employment is the key phrase. The VA isn’t asking whether you can occasionally help a friend, do some volunteer work, or barely hang on to a job that pays below the poverty line. They’re asking whether you can consistently earn above marginal income in a competitive work environment.

If the answer is no because of your service connected conditions, TDIU may apply.

The Basic Eligibility Rules

The VA has two doors into TDIU.

The first is schedular TDIU. You qualify if:

• You have one service connected disability rated at 60 percent or higher, or
• You have multiple service connected disabilities with a combined rating of at least 70 percent, and one of those is rated at least 40 percent



If you meet that threshold, the VA is supposed to consider whether your conditions prevent you from working.

The second door is extraschedular TDIU. This is where things get messier.

If you don’t meet those percentage thresholds but still can’t work because of your service connected conditions, the VA can still grant TDIU. They just really don’t like doing it. These cases require stronger evidence and usually take longer because they get kicked upstairs for special review.

Both doors exist. Veterans walk through the first one far more often because the VA resists the second like it owes them money.

What the VA Looks At

TDIU cases live or die on functional impact. Not diagnoses. Not labels. Impact.

The VA looks at:

• How your service connected conditions affect your ability to sit, stand, concentrate, interact with others, and maintain pace
• Your work history, including why jobs ended
• Your education and training
• Medical opinions that explain why working isn’t realistically possible

They are not allowed to consider your age. They are not allowed to consider non service connected conditions. They are not supposed to say you could do “sedentary work” without explaining what that means in real human terms.

They still do it anyway. Then you appeal..

Marginal Employment and Protected Work

This is where a lot of veterans get tripped up.

You can still qualify for TDIU even if you are working, as long as that work is marginal. That usually means your income is below the federal poverty threshold. It can also mean you’re working in a protected environment.

A protected environment might be a family business, a job where your employer makes major accommodations, or a role where you’re essentially being kept on out of sympathy rather than performance. The VA hates this concept. Courts keep reminding them it exists.



If your job only works because the rules don’t apply to you, that matters.

Common Mistakes Veterans Make

The biggest mistake is assuming TDIU is automatic. It isn’t.

Another mistake is underselling symptoms. Veterans are very good at saying things like “I manage” or “I get by.” The VA hears that as “this person can work.”

Another big one is relying only on VA exams. VA examiners often focus on diagnosis, not employability. A strong TDIU case usually needs a medical opinion that directly addresses work limitations in plain language.

And finally, a lot of veterans wait too long to appeal. TDIU is often denied the first time. That doesn’t mean it’s over. It means the real work is about to start.

What TDIU Pays

TDIU pays at the 100 percent disability rate. That includes the monthly compensation and access to benefits tied to a total rating.

For many veterans, TDIU is the difference between scraping by and stability. It’s not a windfall. It’s acknowledgment.

The Bottom Line

TDIU exists because the rating schedule doesn’t capture reality. Work is more than showing up. It’s endurance, consistency, focus, and reliability.

If your service connected conditions took those things away, the law has a mechanism to recognize it. Getting the VA to follow that law is the hard part.

That’s where good evidence, good timing, and good advocacy make all the difference.