VA Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) Guide

If you've lost a spouse, a parent, or a child to a service-connected illness or injury, there is a benefit meant to help you. VA Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) is a tax-free monthly payment for the survivors of a service member or veteran whose death was connected to their service.1,2 It is a different benefit from the needs-based Survivors Pension, where eligibility rests on your income and net worth.1

This guide walks you through what DIC is, who qualifies, how remarriage affects it, the exact 2026 rates, how DIC differs from the Survivors Pension, how to file your claim with free help, and what to do if a claim is denied.

In This Guide

• Key Takeaways
• What Is VA Dependency and Indemnity Compensation?
• Who Qualifies
• How Remarriage Affects DIC
• 2026 DIC Rates
• DIC vs Survivors Pension
• How to Apply
• If Your Claim Is Denied
• Get Free Help
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Learn More

What Is VA Dependency and Indemnity Compensation?

Dependency and Indemnity Compensation is a tax-free monthly benefit the VA pays to the eligible survivors of a service member or veteran.1,2 It is paid when the death was connected to military service, and it is meant to replace some of the support the family lost.

Two features set DIC apart from most survivor benefits. First, the payment is tax-exempt, so the full amount is yours to use.1,2 Second, what establishes DIC is the service connection of the death, not a needs test.1 That makes it fundamentally different from the Survivors Pension, where eligibility rests on your income and net worth, which we cover below.1

Who Qualifies

DIC can go to three kinds of survivors of a service member or veteran: a surviving spouse, dependent children, and, in some cases, dependent parents (a parent's DIC is income-tiered, with a yearly income limit).1

For any survivor to qualify, the death must connect to military service in one of three ways, and how each is established matters because it drives the evidence the VA looks for:1

• The service member died in the line of duty while on active duty, active duty for training, or inactive-duty training. This is established by the service record and the line-of-duty determination.
• The veteran died from a service-connected injury or illness. This is established when the death certificate or the VA's medical records show the service-connected condition as the principal or contributing cause of death.
• The veteran had a totally disabling VA rating for a qualifying period before death, even if the death itself was not service-connected: a rating that was totally disabling for at least the 10 years immediately before death, or since release from active duty and for at least the 5 years immediately before death, or for at least 1 year before death if the veteran was a former prisoner of war who died after September 30, 1999. This route turns on the rating history in the veteran's VA file.1

That third route (based on the length of a totally disabling rating, not the cause of death) is separate from the 8-year add-on described in the rates section. The add-on raises the payment for a spouse who was married to a totally disabled veteran for the 8 years before death; the qualifying route above is about whether you can claim DIC at all.

If you are the surviving spouse, you also must meet a marriage test. You must have lived with the veteran or service member without a break until their death (or, if you were separated, not have been at fault for the separation), and one of these must be true: you married within 15 years of the veteran's discharge from the period of service in which the qualifying illness or injury began or worsened; you were married for at least 1 year; or you had a child together.3

Because eligibility turns on how the death is connected to service and on the marriage, it's worth having an accredited representative confirm your situation before you file. We explain how to find one for free below.

How Remarriage Affects DIC

VA's DIC page states no remarriage bar. What it states is permissive: if you remarried, you can receive or continue to receive compensation if one of these describes you. You remarried on or after December 16, 2003, and were age 57 or older at the time. You remarried on or after January 5, 2021, and were age 55 or older at the time.3

Those are the two situations VA's page addresses, and it does not present them as the only ways a remarried spouse can receive DIC. The page says nothing at all about a surviving spouse whose remarriage later ended. So if you remarried outside those two descriptions, don't assume the answer either way from this page, because the outcome turns on the exact date of the remarriage, your age that day, and what happened afterward. An accredited representative or the VA benefits hotline (see Get Free Help) can confirm where you stand.3

2026 DIC Rates

The rates below took effect December 1, 2025. The base monthly rate for an eligible surviving spouse is $1,699.36/month, which applies to surviving spouses of veterans who died on or after January 1, 1993.1 The add-on amounts are added to that base when the survivor meets the qualifying condition, and a survivor who meets more than one criterion can stack them.1

DIC vs Survivors Pension

DIC and the Survivors Pension are two different VA survivor benefits, and many families confuse them. The simplest way to tell them apart is to look at what each one is based on.

• DIC is based on a service-connected death. It is tax-free, and what establishes eligibility is how the death connects to military service.1,2
• The Survivors Pension (formerly Death Pension) is a needs-based benefit for a low-income, un-remarried surviving spouse (or an unmarried dependent child) of a deceased wartime veteran.4 The amount paid is the difference between a maximum annual rate and your countable income, so higher income means a smaller (or no) benefit.4

The Survivors Pension also carries a net worth limit and a 3-year (36-month) look-back on transferred assets; the current rates and limits are in our Survivors Pension guide.4

If you qualify for both DIC and the Survivors Pension, the VA pays whichever benefit is greater. You cannot receive both at the same time.1 For every survivor benefit compared side by side, see our VA survivors benefits overview.

Neither benefit is health coverage. For that, the VA runs CHAMPVA, a program for the spouses and children of veterans who died from a service-connected condition or were rated permanently and totally disabled by the VA. Our guide to CHAMPVA covers who is eligible, what it costs, and the Medicare rule that catches surviving spouses at 65.

How to Apply

Which form you use depends on whom you survive. If you are the surviving spouse of a veteran, you apply using VA Form 21P-534EZ (Application for DIC, Survivors Pension, and/or Accrued Benefits). If you are the surviving spouse of a service member who died while on active duty, a military casualty assistance officer will help you complete a different form, VA Form 21P-534a (Application for Dependency and Indemnity Compensation by a Surviving Spouse or Child), and help mail it to the correct VA regional office.3 Form 21P-534EZ also lets the VA consider you for the Survivors Pension, which is why it pays the greater of the two benefits when you qualify for both.1

You can file Form 21P-534EZ online at va.gov, by mail to the VA's Pension Intake Center, with the help of an accredited representative, or in person at a VA regional office.3 The VA processes claims in the order received unless a claim requires priority processing.5

You don't have to file alone. The next section shows how to find accredited help, including help that costs nothing, and the one after that explains what to do if your claim is denied.

If Your Claim Is Denied

If the VA denies your DIC claim, or you disagree with any part of the decision, you have three decision review options:6

• Supplemental Claim: submit new and relevant evidence the VA did not have when it reviewed your case before.
• Higher-Level Review: a higher-level reviewer re-examines the case to determine whether an error or a difference of opinion changes the decision; you cannot add new evidence with this option.
• Board Appeal: you appeal to the Board of Veterans' Appeals, where a Veterans Law Judge reviews your case.

For most VA benefits, a Higher-Level Review or Board Appeal must be requested within 1 year of the date on your decision letter, and a few benefits carry a shorter deadline, which your decision letter states. You can file a Supplemental Claim at any time after that notice.6 A Supplemental Claim the VA receives more than 1 year after the date on the decision notice takes an effective date no earlier than the day the VA receives it (38 CFR 3.2500(h)(2)), so file inside the year even though the door stays open.7 An accredited representative can help you pick the right option and file it correctly.

Get Free Help

You don't have to pay to file a DIC claim or an appeal. The services an accredited Veterans Service Organization (VSO) representative provides on a VA benefit claim are always free. Accredited claims agents and accredited attorneys can help too, and they are the only representatives who may receive fees from claimants at all, but they may charge you only for representation provided after the VA has issued notice of its initial decision on your claim. No one should charge you to prepare and file the initial application, so ask before you sign anything.6 An accredited representative can confirm your eligibility, gather the right documents, and submit the right form correctly the first time, which reduces the errors that cause delays.

To find one, use the VA's official locator to find a VA accredited representative or VSO at va.gov/get-help-from-accredited-representative/find-rep. For questions about your claim or its status, call the VA benefits hotline at 800-827-1000 (TTY: 711), Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. ET.6

Learn More

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