Total Disability Individual Unemployability (TDIU) allows veterans who cannot maintain substantially gainful employment due to service-connected disabilities to receive compensation at the 100% rate, even if their combined schedular rating is less than 100%. TDIU recognizes that the practical effect of a veteran's disabilities may render them unemployable even when the combined rating does not reach 100% on the rating schedule.
There are two paths to TDIU. Schedular TDIU (38 CFR 4.16a) requires either: one service-connected condition rated at 60% or higher, or two or more service-connected conditions with a combined rating of 70% or higher, with at least one condition rated at 40% or higher. For this calculation, conditions arising from a common cause (such as multiple conditions from the same injury) can be treated as a single disability.
Extraschedular TDIU (38 CFR 4.16b) is available when the veteran does not meet the schedular thresholds but is still unable to work due to service-connected disabilities. These cases are referred to the Director of Compensation Service for consideration. While extraschedular TDIU is harder to obtain, it is a valid path for veterans with lower combined ratings who are demonstrably unemployable.
TDIU is filed on VA Form 21-8940, which asks about employment history, education, and how service-connected disabilities affect the ability to work. The veteran must demonstrate that they cannot secure and follow a substantially gainful occupation. Marginal employment (such as a sheltered work environment or employment below the federal poverty threshold) does not count against the claim.
Key evidence for TDIU includes: statements from former employers about why the veteran left or could not perform the job, medical opinions from treating providers about functional limitations, vocational assessments showing the veteran cannot perform work consistent with their education and experience, and the veteran's own detailed statement about how disabilities prevent employment.
Note: This article references sections of the VA's M21-1 Adjudication Procedures Manual. The VA periodically reorganizes the M21-1 and section numbers may have changed since this article was written. For the most current section references, visit the VA's public M21-1 Web Automated Reference Material System (WARMS).