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, or of a veteran who held a totally disabling VA rating for a set period before death.1,2 It is a different benefit from the needs-based Survivors Pension, where eligibility rests on your income and net worth.1

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
• When the Veteran Dies: First Payments and Deadlines
• 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, or when the veteran held a totally disabling VA rating for a qualifying period before death, and it is meant to replace some of the support the family lost.1

Of the survivor benefits VA pays, DIC has two features worth knowing up front. First, the payment is tax-exempt, so you won't owe taxes on it.1,2 Second, what establishes DIC is the veteran's service (a service-connected death, or a long enough totally disabling rating), 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.1 A surviving spouse's claim has to include evidence showing which one is true:3

• The service member died in the line of duty while on active duty, active duty for training, or inactive-duty training.
• The veteran died from a service-connected injury or illness.
• 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 A total rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU) counts as totally disabling here, as long as it ran continuously for the same required period (see our TDIU guide).4 On this route, a surviving spouse must have been married to the veteran for at least 1 year immediately before the death, or for any length of time if a child was born of the marriage or born to the couple before it.4

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.3

If your remarriage has ended. Federal law answers the situation VA's page leaves out, in your favor. A remarriage that has ended by death or divorce does not bar DIC, unless VA determines the divorce was secured through fraud or collusion (38 U.S.C. 103(d)(2)(A)), and VA's regulation adds annulment to that list (38 CFR 3.55(a)(3)). Your age on the day you remarried does not decide this route. Your first month of eligibility is the month after the month the remarriage ended, so file rather than wait.3 The same holds if you lived with another person and presented yourselves publicly as married without remarrying, and that has stopped.3 The ended remarriage only stops being a bar; you still have to meet the marriage test and the death-circumstance rules in Who Qualifies.3

If you remarried at 55 or older before January 5, 2021. Don't rule yourself out on the strength of VA's page alone. VA's regulation states the age-55 rule for DIC with no date condition on the remarriage ("at any time," 38 CFR 3.55(a)(9)(iii)), and the statute attaches none either, while VA's page names January 5, 2021. Which one controls in your case is not settled here, so ask VA or an accredited representative (see Get Free Help) to read that regulation with you.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 added amounts go on top of that base when the survivor meets the qualifying condition, and a survivor who meets more than one condition can receive more than one, with one exception: the Housebound allowance is paid only to a spouse who is permanently housebound and does not qualify for Aid and Attendance, so those two don't combine.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 the veteran's service. It is tax-free, and what establishes eligibility is how the death connects to military service, or a long enough totally disabling VA rating before death.1,2
• The Survivors Pension (formerly Death Pension) is a needs-based, tax-free benefit for a low-income, un-remarried surviving spouse (or an unmarried dependent child) of a deceased wartime veteran.5 VA bases the payment on the difference between a maximum annual rate and your countable income and pays it monthly, so higher income means a smaller (or no) benefit.5

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.5

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.6 Our guide to CHAMPVA covers who is eligible, what it costs, and the Medicare rule that catches surviving spouses at 65.

When the Veteran Dies: First Payments and Deadlines

The weeks after a death bring paperwork with real deadlines, and some of them sit alongside the DIC claim rather than inside it.

• Report the death to VA promptly. The veteran's own VA compensation award ends on the last day of the month before the month of death (38 U.S.C. 5112(b)(1)). VA asks families to report a death as soon as possible so current payments stop, says calling is the fastest way, and warns that if a death isn't reported promptly, survivors or the estate may have to repay any overpayments.7
• The payment for the month of death can go to the surviving spouse. If the veteran was receiving VA disability compensation or VA pension at death, the surviving spouse is entitled to a payment for the month of death, in the amount the veteran would have received for that month had they lived (38 U.S.C. 5310). VA describes it as a final monthly payment: the veteran's last month of benefits can be paid to the surviving spouse.8 VA's regulation (38 CFR 3.20) frames this payment around whether the spouse is also entitled to DIC or Survivors Pension for that same month, so ask VA how the two apply in your case.8
• Accrued benefits: apply within 1 year of the death. Accrued benefits are VA payments the veteran was entitled to at death, under existing ratings or decisions or evidence already in the file, that were due and unpaid. They go first to the surviving spouse, then to the children in equal shares, then to dependent parents in equal shares, and the application must be filed within 1 year of the date of death. A DIC or Survivors Pension claim from a surviving spouse is treated as including a claim for accrued benefits (38 CFR 3.1000(c)). Lump-sum accrued benefits, such as benefits withheld from a competent veteran during hospital, institutional, or home care, have a longer window of 5 years from the death.9
• Substitution: take over a pending claim within 1 year. If the veteran died while a VA claim or appeal was still pending, a person who would be eligible for accrued benefits can ask to be substituted as the claimant, no later than 1 year after the death, so the claim is processed to completion (38 U.S.C. 5121A). A substitute can submit more evidence; if you waive substitution, VA still considers the pending claim with the evidence it already has.9

For how the veteran's own award worked while they were living, see our guide to VA disability compensation. If the veteran carried a VA life insurance policy, our guide to VA life insurance covers the death claim. If the home had a disabled veteran property tax exemption, see whether the exemption passes to the surviving spouse.

How to Apply

Which form you use depends on whom you survive. If you are the surviving spouse of a veteran, you fill out 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 is also the Survivors Pension application, and if you qualify for both benefits, the VA pays whichever is greater.3,1

If you need time to gather records, you can submit VA Form 21-0966 (Intent to File) first. VA says it covers DIC claims and can secure the earliest possible effective date for any retroactive payments you may be eligible to receive.10 If you were denied DIC in the past and think you are now eligible under the PACT Act, VA says you can submit a new application and don't need to wait for VA to contact you first.3

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.10

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:11

• 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.11 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.12 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. So an accredited agent or attorney generally may not charge you for preparing and filing your initial application; ask about fees before you sign anything.11 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.11

Learn More

Related Brevy guides:

The information on Brevy.com is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional legal, financial, or medical advice. Rules vary by state and program and change frequently. Always verify with the relevant agency or a qualified professional. Brevy is not a law firm, financial advisor, or healthcare provider.