THE VETERANHQ FIELD GUIDE
A little clarity.
A better way forward.
Your questions deserve clear answers. Explore practical guides to your claims, your benefits, and life after service.
A GOOD PLACE TO BEGIN
Get your bearings.
Three reads to help you see the bigger picture.
VA Claims 101: What a Disability Claim Is and How to Start One
A VA disability claim is a formal request for compensation for a condition your service caused or made worse. Here is what a claim is, how you qualify, how to start one, and how to avoid paying for help that is free.
How to Read Your VA Rating Decision Letter
Your VA rating decision letter is not the end. Learn what the dates and ratings mean, which review options may apply, and why you must follow the exact deadline in your decision letter.
VA Benefits Tier List: The Ones Actually Worth Your Time, Ranked and Sourced
An editorial ranking of selected VA and federal veteran benefits by real-world value, from disability pay and the home loan to the parks pass, with each factual entry mapped to an official source.
13 GUIDES
Start here
A clearer picture of the system. A confident first step.
VA Claims 101: What a Disability Claim Is and How to Start One
A VA disability claim is a formal request for compensation for a condition your service caused or made worse. Here is what a claim is, how you qualify, how to start one, and how to avoid paying for help that is free.
VA Disability Compensation Explained: What It Is, Who Qualifies, and How Rates Work
VA disability compensation is monthly pay set by law for conditions your service caused or worsened. See current rates, who qualifies, and how it truly works.
Leaving the Military: Your First-180-Days VA Checklist
Separating from the military? This VA checklist orders your first moves by deadline: the BDD window, protecting your effective date, records, and insurance.
Veteran ID Cards Explained: VHIC vs VIC vs DoD ID
DoD ID, VHIC, VIC, and a state veteran designation each prove different things. Here is which card you qualify for, and exactly which one to use and where.
UCX: Unemployment Benefits After Leaving the Military
UCX is unemployment compensation for recently separated servicemembers. Here is who qualifies, where to file, and why your DD-214 is the key document.
Veterans' Preference in Federal Jobs: 5-Point vs 10-Point
Veterans' preference adds points to a passing federal exam score. Here is the 5-point and 10-point structure straight from the statute, and what it cannot do.
Free Emergency Suicide Care Under the COMPACT Act
In a suicidal crisis, veterans and certain former service members get free emergency care at any VA or non-VA facility, no enrollment needed. Call 988 and select 1 for help now.
VA Benefits by Rating Level: What Each Percentage Unlocks
A plain map of what each VA disability rating unlocks, from 0 percent service connection to 100 percent and Permanent and Total, with every figure sourced.
Homeless Veteran Housing Programs: Where to Get Help
If you are a veteran facing or worried about homelessness, help is free and confidential. Call 877-424-3838, and see how HUD-VASH, SSVF, and GPD work.
How to Use VA.gov and the VA Mobile App
A plain-language tour of VA.gov and the VA mobile app: how to sign in, where your records and claim status live, and what the app actually lets you do.
Free Claim Help: VSOs, Agents, and Attorneys
You never have to pay to file a VA claim. Here are the three accredited helper types, what each can charge, and how to verify anyone in the OGC search.
How Do You Qualify for a VA Claim? Service Connection for Active Duty, Guard, and Reserve
Qualifying means proving service connection. Here is what that requires, what counts as proof it happened on orders, and exactly how the rules differ for active duty, National Guard, and Reserve service.
Using AI on Your VA Claim: What Works, What Fails, and How Our Connector Fits
AI can help you understand a rating criterion and prepare for an exam. It also gets rating math and current rates confidently wrong. Here is where it helps, where it fails, and what our AI Connector, built on the Model Context Protocol, actually does.
21 GUIDES
Claims & evidence
Understand the process. Build a record that tells your story.
How to File a VA Disability Claim in 2026: A Step-by-Step Guide
File a VA disability claim in 2026: start online or submit an intent to file to protect a potential effective date, gather evidence, file the claim, and attend a C&P exam only if VA schedules one.
VA Claim Mistakes to Avoid: The Errors That Cost Veterans Money and Time
The VA claim mistakes that cost veterans money and time: protecting your effective date too late, paying to prep an initial claim, minimizing symptoms, and giving up early.
VA Service Connection Evidence 101: The Three-Legged Stool
For an original disability claim tied to active-duty service, VA says your evidence must show a current physical or mental disability, an in-service event, injury, or disease, and a link between them. Here is what each part needs.
VA Effective Dates and Back Pay: The Date That Decides Your Check
Your VA effective date decides when your disability pay can start and how much back pay you may get. See how an intent to file sets a potential start date.
The VA C&P Exam Explained: Before, During, and After
A VA C&P exam helps VA decide service connection and your rating. Here is what happens before, during, and after, plus how to request your exam report.
How to Read Your VA Rating Decision Letter
Your VA rating decision letter is not the end. Learn what the dates and ratings mean, which review options may apply, and why you must follow the exact deadline in your decision letter.
VA Claim Status Timeline: What Each Step Really Means
VA disability claims move through eight tracked steps and can return to step three for more evidence. Here is what each status means and why a step backward is not a denial.
VA Claim Types Explained: Pick the Right Door
Original, increased, new, secondary, special, or supplemental: VA's current guidance separates several disability-claim types. Learn which door fits your situation.
VA Presumptive Conditions Explained: When VA Presumes the Link
A presumptive condition means VA presumes your service caused it, so you skip the nexus fight. See the categories, the PACT Act, and what you still prove.
VA DBQs and Nexus Letters Explained
What a Disability Benefits Questionnaire and a nexus letter each can and cannot do for your VA claim, who fills them out, who pays, and what carries weight.
VA Buddy Statements: Free Lay Evidence That Supports a Claim
A buddy statement (VA Form 21-10210) is free evidence that can strengthen your VA claim. Here is who can write one, what it should say, and where it stops.
How to Get Your C-File and Service Records
Your claims file (C-file) is VA's record tied to your benefits claim. Here is how to request it with VA Form 20-10206, plus how to get your DD214 and service records.
BDD Claims: File Your VA Claim Before Discharge
The Benefits Delivery at Discharge program lets you file a VA disability claim 180 to 90 days before you separate. Here is who qualifies and why timing matters.
VA Math Explained: How Combined Disability Ratings Really Work
VA ratings do not add. Learn how 38 CFR 4.25 combines disabilities using whole-person efficiency, why 50 and 30 round to 70, and how the bilateral factor works.
VA Secondary Conditions Explained: Causation vs Aggravation
A service-connected condition can cause or worsen other conditions. Learn how 38 CFR 3.310 secondary service connection works: causation versus aggravation.
VA Mental Health Claims 101: PTSD and Stressor Basics
Mental health conditions like PTSD can be service connected. Learn the three parts of a PTSD claim and the several ways the VA lets you prove your stressor.
VA Increase Claim Guide: When and How to File for a Higher Rating
Your service-connected condition got worse? Learn when to file a VA increase claim, what evidence it needs, and the rating protections in the background.
Character of Discharge and Upgrades: Your VA Eligibility Explained
An other-than-honorable discharge does not automatically bar VA benefits. Learn the 38 CFR 3.12 rules, the Character of Discharge review, and upgrade paths.
Correct Your DD-214 and Military Records: DRB vs BCMR
A wrong DD-214 can block a VA claim. Learn which board fixes what, the DD Form 293 and DD Form 149 forms, and the 15-year and 3-year deadlines that apply.
Medical Boards and IDES, Explained (MEB, PEB, IDES)
Being medically separated? How IDES ties the DoD and VA together, where your proposed VA rating comes from, and the line between severance and retirement.
How to Get Your Military Health Records
A record made during your service is often the strongest evidence that a condition started in service. Here is where yours lives, by when you got care or separated, and how to pull your own copy.
2 GUIDES
Decisions & appeals
Read the decision. Understand your options. Know what comes next.
HLR vs Supplemental Claim vs Board Appeal: Which VA Decision Review to Choose
Higher-Level Review, Supplemental Claim, or Board Appeal? Compare all three VA decision review lanes, what evidence each accepts, and the deadlines that actually apply.
Appealing to the CAVC: The 120-Day Deadline After a Board Denial
After a Board of Veterans Appeals denial, the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims sets a firm 120-day deadline to appeal. Here is what the court states.
22 GUIDES
Benefits & money
Make sense of the benefits you have earned, beyond your rating.
VA Benefits Tier List: The Ones Actually Worth Your Time, Ranked and Sourced
An editorial ranking of selected VA and federal veteran benefits by real-world value, from disability pay and the home loan to the parks pass, with each factual entry mapped to an official source.
VR&E vs the Post-9/11 GI Bill: Which School Benefit Is Which
VR&E (Chapter 31) and the Post-9/11 GI Bill both pay for school, but you qualify for each differently. Compare eligibility, funding, months, and time limits here.
SMC Explained: The VA Pay Above 100 Percent
Special Monthly Compensation (SMC) pays above the 100% rate. See how SMC-S housebound works, 38 CFR 3.350(i) rules, and the 2026 rates effective December 1, 2025.
TDIU: 100 Percent VA Pay Without a 100 Percent Rating
TDIU pays the 100% VA compensation rate without a 100% rating. See the schedular percentage paths, the extraschedular route under 38 CFR 4.16(b), how work affects it, and how it differs from schedular pay.
VA Rating Reductions and Protected Ratings: The Shields That Stop a Cut
VA can propose to reduce a rating, but a proposal is not final. Learn the 60-day window and the 5, 10, and 20-year protections that guard your rating.
P&T vs 100% VA Disability: What Is the Difference?
Permanent and total (P&T) and a 100 percent VA rating are not the same thing. Here is what total, permanent, and protected each mean, and what P&T unlocks.
The VA Home Loan: A Complete Guide
The VA home loan means no down payment and no PMI. Here is who qualifies, how the one-time funding fee works, and which veterans are exempt from paying it.
VA Travel Pay: Beneficiary Travel Reimbursement, Explained
VA can reimburse mileage and other costs to get to health care. Here is who qualifies, how much VA pays, the deductible, and the 30-day filing deadline.
VA Pension vs Compensation: What Is the Difference?
Veterans Pension and disability compensation are two different programs. Here is what each is based on, who qualifies, and the 2025 pension income limits.
VA Overpayment and Debt Guide: Disputes, Waivers, and Deadlines
Got a VA debt letter? Stay calm. Learn your dispute, waiver, repayment, and appeal options, and the exact deadlines that protect you from collection actions.
Medicare and VA Health Care: How They Work Together
Having VA health care does not replace Medicare. Here is how the two work together, what VA says about the Part B penalty, and where to get real answers.
VA Health Care Enrollment: Who Qualifies and How to Apply
Getting into VA health care starts with VA Form 10-10EZ. Learn basic and enhanced eligibility, the PACT Act expansion, and the four ways to apply and enroll.
VA Community Care and Emergency Billing, Without the Surprise Bill
When does the VA cover non-VA care? Learn the authorization rule, the 72-hour emergency notification window, and why a nearby VA facility is not the test.
GI Bill Payment Math: Why Your Housing Check Is Not What You Expected
Your Post-9/11 GI Bill housing check depends on rate of pursuit, your tier, and partial months. Learn the math so the number on your statement makes sense.
Separation Pay and VA Recoupment: Why Your Compensation Is Withheld
If you got military separation or severance pay, the VA may withhold compensation to recoup it. Learn how 10 USC 1174 works and why this is not a denial.
VA Dental Care Eligibility: Which Class Are You In?
VA dental care runs on eligibility classes, not automatic enrollment. Here is who qualifies, what each class covers, and the 180-day post-discharge window.
VA Foreign Medical Program: Care for Veterans Living Abroad
The Foreign Medical Program covers service-connected care outside the US. Here is exactly what it pays for, what it does not, and how claims work overseas.
VGLI vs VALife: The Two VA Life Insurance Doors
VGLI and VALife are two different VA life insurance programs with different windows and rules. Here is who each fits and what happens if you miss a deadline.
SSDI and VA Disability: Can You Get Both?
Yes, SSDI and VA disability do not reduce each other and you can receive both. Here is how the programs differ and the 100% P&T expedited processing lane.
Student Loan Forgiveness for Disabled Veterans (TPD Discharge)
Totally and permanently disabled veterans can have federal student loans discharged, and it can be automatic. How the VA route, monitoring, and taxes work.
Veterans and Federal Taxes: What Is Tax-Free and What Is Not
VA disability compensation is not taxed, but not every veteran dollar is tax-free. Learn the exclusions, CRDP vs CRSC, and refunds after a retroactive award.
VA IRRRL and Cash-Out Refinance, Explained
Two VA refinance doors: the IRRRL streamline and the cash-out loan. Here are the funding fees, the anti-churn seasoning rules, and how to spot a bad offer.
12 GUIDES
Family & survivors
Support for the people who have been there through it all.
CRDP vs CRSC: Concurrent Retired Pay and Combat-Related Special Compensation
CRDP restores eligible retired pay, while CRSC is separate special compensation for qualifying combat-related disabilities. Compare eligibility, payment limits, taxation, and election rules.
CHAMPVA and Chapter 35 DEA: Family Benefits a P&T Rating Unlocks
A permanent and total VA rating can unlock CHAMPVA health coverage and Chapter 35 DEA education benefits for your family. See who qualifies and how many months of DEA benefits apply.
VA DIC: Survivor Benefits Explained
Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) is a tax-free monthly benefit for surviving spouses, children, and parents. Here is who qualifies and the rates.
The VA Caregiver Program (PCAFC), Explained
The PCAFC caregiver program can pay a monthly stipend and add health coverage for a family caregiver. Here is who qualifies, what it provides, and how to apply.
What Happens to VA Benefits When a Veteran Dies
When a veteran passes, surviving family may qualify for DIC, pension, accrued benefits, and burial help. Here is a calm, clear walkthrough of what to know.
Adding Dependents to Your VA Disability: The 30% Rule
At a 30% combined rating you can add dependents for higher VA pay. Learn the forms, the one-year back-pay window, and how to avoid a dependent overpayment.
Aid and Attendance and Housebound: The VA Pension Add-Ons
Aid and Attendance and Housebound raise a VA Pension for veterans who need daily help or are confined to home. Here are the exact criteria and how to apply.
GI Bill Transfer Guide: Passing Benefits to Family
The Post-9/11 GI Bill can transfer to a spouse or child, but you must request it while you still serve. Here are the rules, time limits, and who decides.
State Veterans Homes: Long-Term Care Explained
State Veterans Homes offer nursing home, domiciliary, and adult day care, run by states and VA-certified. Here is how they work, who runs them, and the cost.
VA Burial Benefits: Planning Ahead
You can settle burial eligibility now with a VA pre-need determination. Here is what national cemetery burial includes and the headstone and marker rules.
The VA Fiduciary Program, Explained (Without the Panic)
A VA fiduciary letter is not a loss of your rights. Learn what the decision means, the 60-day window, the 4 percent fee cap, and how to report misuse.
The Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP), Explained
The Survivor Benefit Plan turns retired pay into a lifetime annuity for survivors. On and after January 1, 2023 it stacks with VA DIC. Here is how SBP works.
5 GUIDES
Life after service
Travel, access, opportunities. Explore what is available to you.
Free Lifetime National Parks Pass for Veterans
Every US veteran gets a free lifetime pass to national parks and federal lands. No disability rating required. Here is how to claim it.
Space-A Flights for Veterans, Honestly Explained
Veterans with a permanent total service-connected rating can fly Space-A under Category VI. Here are the eligibility rules, geographic limits, and the catch.
Commissary and Exchange Access for Disabled Veterans
Since 2020, veterans with any service-connected rating can shop military commissaries and exchanges. Here is who qualifies and how to verify shopping and installation access.
Military Base Lodging and Resorts for Veterans
Disabled veterans can use MWR recreational lodging and the Armed Forces resorts. Here is who is eligible, which ID to bring, and how booking really works.
Veteran Discounts, the Honest Version
The biggest veteran discounts are really free federal benefits: the parks pass, commissary and exchange access, and military lodging. Here is what is real.