Burn Pit Compensation for Veterans: Rates, Eligibility, and Filing

Burn pit compensation for veterans runs from $180.42 to $3,938.58 per month in basic VA disability pay, depending on the rating assigned to your condition. Veterans with dependents, severe disabilities, or an inability to work can receive more. If you served in specific countries during specific timeframes and later developed one of the listed cancers or respiratory illnesses, the VA presumes your illness is connected to your service, which means you do not have to prove causation to get paid.¹

Who Qualifies Based on Where and When You Served

Eligibility for presumptive burn pit coverage turns on your duty location and dates. Under 38 U.S.C. § 1119, the VA recognizes two groups:²

Service on or after August 2, 1990 in Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, or the United Arab Emirates.
Service on or after September 11, 2001 in Afghanistan, Djibouti, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, Uzbekistan, or any other country the VA Secretary designates.

Airspace above these locations counts. If your assignment record puts you in one of these places during the applicable window, the VA presumes you were exposed to toxic substances, and you do not have to document your specific exposure incidents.³

Conditions the VA Presumes Are Service-Connected

The presumptive list covers a wide range of cancers and respiratory illnesses. If you have qualifying service and a diagnosis on the list, the VA will not ask you to prove that your illness came from what you breathed downrange.

Cancers

Presumptive cancers include brain cancer, gastrointestinal cancer of any type, glioblastoma, head and neck cancers, lymphoma, melanoma, pancreatic cancer, reproductive cancers, respiratory cancers, and kidney cancer (renal cell carcinoma).⁴ The catch-all phrasing on gastrointestinal and respiratory cancers is broad. If your cancer involves the digestive tract or the lungs, it almost certainly qualifies.

Respiratory Illnesses

Non-cancer respiratory conditions on the list include asthma diagnosed after service, chronic bronchitis, COPD, chronic rhinitis, chronic sinusitis, constrictive bronchiolitis, emphysema, interstitial lung disease, pleuritis, pulmonary fibrosis, and sarcoidosis.³ The asthma rule catches people off guard: to qualify, the diagnosis must come after service, not before enlistment.

If Your Condition Is Not on the List

You can still file. You will need a medical opinion connecting your illness to your exposure at the “at least as likely as not” standard, meaning a doctor reviews your service history and concludes the link is at least 50/50.³ Participating in the Airborne Hazards and Open Burn Pit Registry helps document your exposure history and does not affect your benefits eligibility.

How Much You Get Paid in 2026

Your monthly payment depends on the VA disability rating assigned to your condition. Ratings run from 0% to 100% in 10% increments, and only 10% and above pay monthly compensation. A 0% rating still gets you free VA healthcare for the condition, just no check.⁵

Rates rose 2.8% effective December 1, 2025. Payments are tax-free at both federal and state levels.⁶ For a veteran with no dependents, the 2026 monthly amounts are:⁷

10% — $180.42
20% — $356.66
30% — $552.26
40% — $795.19
50% — $1,132.28
60% — $1,433.87
70% — $1,808.45
80% — $2,102.63
90% — $2,362.11
100% — $3,938.58

The jump from 90% to 100% is deliberate. The VA treats total disability as an outsized loss of earning capacity and pays accordingly.

Extra Money for Dependents

Veterans rated at 30% or higher get additional monthly amounts for a spouse, minor children, children aged 18 to 23 who are in school, and dependent parents. The dependent additions grow with the rating. A veteran rated at 70% with a spouse and one child, for example, receives $2,074.45 per month, and each additional child under 18 adds $76.00 at that rating.⁷

Combined Ratings for Multiple Conditions

If you have more than one service-connected condition, the VA does not add the percentages. It uses the “whole person” method: each additional disability applies to whatever healthy capacity you have left.⁸ A 50% condition plus a 30% condition works out to 65% (30% of the remaining 50% is 15, added to 50), then rounded to 70%. The math matters because 70% pays substantially more than the raw percentages suggest.

When You Cannot Work

If your service-connected conditions prevent you from holding down substantially gainful employment but your combined rating is under 100%, Total Disability based on Individual Unemployability pays the 100% rate ($3,938.58) anyway. You qualify if you have one condition rated at 60% or higher, or a combined rating of 70% or higher with at least one condition at 40% or higher, and you can show the disabilities keep you out of work.⁹ TDIU is where a lot of burn pit respiratory claims land: functional day to day, but unable to sustain full-time work because of breathing limits or cancer treatment side effects.

Special Monthly Compensation

For severe outcomes the schedule cannot capture, Special Monthly Compensation adds payments on top of your basic rate. It covers situations like loss of use of a hand, blindness, deafness, or needing daily aid and attendance from another person. Rates vary by category, and combinations of qualifying conditions can raise the total significantly, though the statute caps certain combinations.¹⁰

Survivor Payments if the Veteran Has Died

When a veteran dies from a service-connected burn pit condition, surviving family members may qualify for Dependency and Indemnity Compensation. The base monthly rate for a surviving spouse in 2026 is $1,699.36.¹¹

Add-ons increase the payment. If the veteran carried a totally disabling rating for at least eight continuous years before death and the spouse was married to the veteran during those same eight years, DIC adds $360.85 per month. A surviving spouse who needs help with daily activities gets an additional $421.00 per month for aid and attendance. Each eligible child under 18 adds $421.00.¹¹ Survivors file VA Form 21P-534EZ with the death certificate, relevant medical records, and income and asset information. Filing an intent to file first (VA Form 21-0966) protects the effective date.

Filing Your Claim

Submit an intent to file before anything else. This locks in your potential effective date. If the claim is later approved, payments can go back to the date the VA received your intent to file, as long as you submit the full application within one year.¹² Miss the year and you lose back pay.

The formal application is VA Form 21-526EZ, filed online at VA.gov, by mail, or in person at a VA regional office.¹³ Include medical records showing the diagnosis and service records confirming you served in a qualifying location. Statements from people who witnessed your exposure or symptoms can strengthen the file.

The VA will usually schedule a Compensation and Pension exam. The examiner’s report drives your rating, so describe your worst days honestly, not your average ones. Understating symptoms at the C&P is the single most common way veterans end up with a rating lower than their condition warrants.

Accredited Veterans Service Organization representatives will help you file at no cost. Groups like DAV, VFW, and the American Legion handle these claims routinely, catch paperwork errors, and can flag weak spots before they turn into denials. You appoint one using VA Form 21-22.¹⁴

If Your Claim Is Denied

A denial is not final. Under the Appeals Modernization Act, you have three review options, and you must act within one year of the decision date to preserve your original effective date.

Supplemental Claim (VA Form 20-0995). Use this when you have new evidence the VA did not previously consider. Target: 125 days.
Higher-Level Review. Use this when you believe the VA made an error based on evidence already in your file. A senior adjudicator takes a fresh look, and you can request an informal conference to point out specific mistakes. Target: 125 days.
Board Appeal (VA Form 10182). A Veterans Law Judge reviews your case. You pick direct review (no new evidence, no hearing, target 365 days), evidence submission (new evidence, no hearing), or a hearing where you testify.

The right choice depends on what went wrong. If your C&P exam actually supports a higher rating but the reviewer missed it, a Higher-Level Review is faster than refiling. If the exam was inadequate or your condition has since worsened, a Supplemental Claim with a new medical opinion is stronger. A VSO representative can read your decision letter and point you to the right lane.

1
Department of Veterans Affairs. The PACT Act and Your VA Benefits
2
Justia Law. 38 USC 1119 – Presumptions of Toxic Exposure
3
Veterans Affairs. Exposure to Burn Pits and Other Specific Environmental Hazards
4
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Presumptive Cancers Related to Burn Pit Exposure
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U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. VA Disability Compensation
6
Internal Revenue Service. Veterans Tax Information and Services
7
Veterans Affairs. Current Veterans Disability Compensation Rates
8
Veterans Affairs. About Disability Ratings
9
eCFR. 38 CFR 4.16 – Total Disability Ratings for Compensation Based on Unemployability
10
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 38 USC 1114 – Rates of Wartime Disability Compensation
11
Veterans Affairs. Current DIC Rates for Spouses and Dependents
12
eCFR. 38 CFR 3.155 – How to File a Claim
13
Veterans Affairs. About VA Form 21-526EZ
14
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Get Help From a VA Accredited Representative or VSO