Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) — VA Disability Rating & Claim Guide
This is not legal or medical advice. Always consult with a VSO or accredited claims agent.
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Prep →2026 Compensation Rates
Monthly compensation for Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), based on your overall combined VA disability rating.
| Rating | Monthly (Alone) | Monthly (w/ Spouse) | Annual |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10% | $180.42 | — | $2,165.04 |
| 20% | $356.66 | — | $4,279.92 |
| 30% | $552.47 | $617.47 | $6,629.64 |
| 40% | $795.84 | $882.84 | $9,550.08 |
| 50% | $1,132.90 | $1,241.90 | $13,594.80 |
| 60% | $1,435.02 | $1,566.02 | $17,220.24 |
| 70% | $1,808.45 | $1,961.45 | $21,701.40 |
| 80% | $2,102.15 | $2,277.15 | $25,225.80 |
| 90% | $2,362.30 | $2,559.30 | $28,347.60 |
| 100% | $3,938.58 | $4,158.17 | $47,262.96 |
Common Symptoms
Document these symptoms in your claim. The more thoroughly you describe how they affect your daily life, the stronger your claim.
Functional Limitations
VA rates disabilities based on how they limit your ability to function. Describe these limitations in your personal statement.
Rating Criteria for Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)
Rating schedule under 38 CFR 4.124a, DC 8045 (residuals of TBI), Evaluation of Cognitive Impairment and Other Residuals of TBI Not Otherwise Classified. Criteria are simplified summaries; your specific rating depends on severity documented in your C&P exam.
Highest level of impairment of 0 across the ten cognitive and behavioral facets (no complaints, or normal objective findings).
Highest facet level of 1, such as a complaint of mild memory loss with normal or mildly impaired objective testing, or one to three subjective symptoms that mildly interfere with work or daily activities.
Highest facet level of 2, such as objective evidence of moderate impairment of memory, attention, concentration, or executive functions, or three or more subjective symptoms that moderately interfere with work, family, or other relationships.
Highest facet level of 3, such as severely impaired judgment, or one or more neurobehavioral effects that interfere with or preclude workplace or social interaction on most days.
Any facet evaluated at the "total" level, such as complete inability to communicate by or comprehend spoken and written language, a persistently altered state of consciousness, or total impairment of a cognitive facet.
Verified against 38 CFR Part 4, the official VA rating schedule. Reviewed July 2026.
Will adding Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) raise your rating?
Enter your current combined rating and the level this condition would rate at. We'll do the VA math.
New combined
10%
New monthly
$180
Change
+$180
Rates shown are the 2026 veteran-alone amounts (no dependents). VA combines ratings with "whole-person" math and rounds to the nearest 10, so adding a condition does not simply add its percentage. Full combined-rating calculator with dependents →
Peer-Reviewed Medical Evidence
Real, verified studies from PubMed/NIH that support a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) claim. Bring these citations to your accredited VSO or C&P exam — they help show your condition is recognized in the medical literature and, where noted, linked to other service-connected conditions.
The Lancet. Neurology, 2013 · PMID 23884075
Finding: A foundational review establishing that bomb blast can cause the full severity range of TBI, with a distinctive pathophysiology dependent on blast energy and distance from the epicenter. It notes that post-concussive syndrome, PTSD, and chronic pain form a clinical triad in this group and that blast-related mild TBI appears to increase the risk of PTSD.
Why it helps: Supports the basic association between blast exposure in a war zone and traumatic brain injury, useful background for a direct service-connection argument tied to documented combat blast events.
Archives of physical medicine and rehabilitation, 2012 · PMID 22705240
Finding: In a survey of 3,098 Florida National Guard members (1,443 deployed), deployment-related mild TBI was significantly associated with depression, anxiety, PTSD, and postconcussive symptoms, and moving from a single to multiple TBIs significantly increased the frequency of those conditions. Blast exposure was also associated with hearing loss, tinnitus, and other barotrauma symptoms.
Why it helps: Supports an association between deployment-related blast/combat mild TBI and a range of adverse mental and physical health outcomes in a military cohort, relevant to a direct service-connection narrative.
Frontiers in neurology, 2017 · PMID 28484418
Finding: Among 40 Iraq/Afghanistan veterans scanned on average 3.7 years after deployment, greater total blast exposure was associated with decreased white matter integrity (lower fractional anisotropy), accounting for 11-15% of the variability in composite FA scores, and veterans with a blast-related mild TBI diagnosis performed worse on every neurocognitive test.
Why it helps: Supports an association between cumulative combat blast exposure and objective white-matter brain changes plus cognitive deficits, offering biological plausibility for a direct blast-TBI claim.
Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association, 2014 · PMID 24924675
Finding: This review reports that mild TBI, including most blast exposures from improvised explosive devices, is the most common TBI in military personnel and that a single TBI can produce long-term gray and white matter atrophy; early-stage chronic traumatic encephalopathy was identified at autopsy in young Iraq/Afghanistan veterans exposed to blast, four of five of whom also had PTSD.
Why it helps: Supports an association between military blast/repetitive mild TBI and persistent or progressive neurodegenerative changes, relevant background for a direct blast-TBI claim and its long-term sequelae.
Journal of neurosurgery, 2016 · nexus to depression · PMID 26315003
Finding: A meta-analysis of 57 studies found that prior TBI was significantly associated with later psychiatric disease (pooled OR 2.00, 95% CI 1.50-2.66) and with depression specifically, and the association held when restricted to mild TBI only (any-illness pooled OR 1.67, 95% CI 1.44-1.93).
Why it helps: Supports an association between a prior TBI (including mild TBI) and subsequently diagnosed depression, useful for a secondary-condition nexus from a service-connected TBI to depression.
EClinicalMedicine, 2024 · nexus to depression · PMID 39720422
Finding: Across two large prospective mild-TBI cohorts (n=1,869), 6.7% of patients met criteria for probable depression at 6 months post-injury, and a major-depressive-disorder polygenic risk score was associated with post-TBI depression (combined pooled OR 1.26, 95% CI 1.03-1.53), with the highest-risk quintile showing roughly double the odds (OR 2.03) versus the lowest.
Why it helps: Supports an association between mild TBI and clinically significant depression months after injury, helping establish a secondary nexus from TBI to depression (note: civilian-cause cohorts, not a military sample).
Archives of physical medicine and rehabilitation, 2017 · nexus to migraines · PMID 28483652
Finding: In a prospective VA cohort of 2,566 veterans followed about 3 years after a comprehensive TBI evaluation, a history of moderate/severe TBI was significantly associated with greater headache severity in both cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses (longitudinal beta 0.18, P=.04), while mild TBI was associated with worse headache cross-sectionally but not longitudinally.
Why it helps: Supports an association between TBI history (strongest for moderate/severe TBI) and persistent headache severity in veterans, relevant to a secondary nexus from TBI to chronic headaches/migraines.
Headache, 2025 · nexus to migraines · PMID 39193854
Finding: Among 338,217 Million Veteran Program participants, 9.4% reported TBI, 8.9% migraine, and 2.3% both; veterans with both conditions reported the highest cognitive-symptom and psychiatric burden (depression 64.4%, PTSD 54.2%), and the association of migraine and TBI with cognitive symptoms persisted after accounting for psychiatric conditions.
Why it helps: Supports the strong real-world comorbidity of TBI and migraine in veterans and their combined symptom burden, useful context for a secondary nexus linking TBI to migraine.
Cephalalgia : an international journal of headache, 2021 · nexus to migraines · PMID 33242991
Finding: In ~1,094 soldiers with headache screened after deployment, those with post-traumatic (concussion-related) headache endorsed all 12 headache features more than non-concussed soldiers (standardized mean difference 0.91), and greater headache complexity predicted later medical encounters for headache (OR 1.87) and for migraine specifically (OR 3.74, 95% CI 2.33-5.98) over the following year.
Why it helps: Supports an association between concussive/mild TBI and more severe, migraine-like post-traumatic headaches in service members, relevant to a secondary nexus from TBI to migraines.
Every citation is real and verified against PubMed. This is general information, not medical or legal advice — your accredited VSO or representative can advise on your specific claim.
Evidence Checklist
Gather these types of evidence before filing your claim. The strongest claims include multiple evidence types.
Common Treatments
Documenting ongoing treatment strengthens your claim and supports higher ratings.
Secondary Conditions Linked to Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)
These conditions are commonly claimed as secondary to Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI). A secondary condition can increase your overall combined rating and monthly compensation.
Migraines
Nexus strength: strong· Commonly granted
TBI Cognitive/Mood Effects
Nexus strength: strong· Commonly granted
Major Depressive Disorder
Nexus strength: strong· Commonly granted
Insomnia / Chronic Sleep Disturbance
Nexus strength: strong· Commonly granted
Seizure Disorder
Nexus strength: moderate· Commonly granted
Vertigo
Nexus strength: moderate· Commonly granted
Tinnitus
Nexus strength: moderate
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Secondary Condition Claim Guides
Detailed guides on claiming each secondary condition linked to Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI).
Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) Claim Guide by State
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Educational content, not professional advice
This article is published by Military Transition Toolkit for educational and planning purposes. It is not legal, medical, or financial advice. VA rating criteria, benefits, and regulations change — verify anything benefits-affecting against VA.gov, 38 CFR Part 4, or a VA-accredited representative (VSO, agent, or attorney) before filing.
MTT is a veteran-owned planning tool and is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Department of Defense, or any military branch.