Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) Rates for 2027

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The 2027 Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) rate for a surviving spouse is $1,760.52 per month, based on the 2027 cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) of 3.6 percent. Survivors can receive more than this base rate if they qualify. Eligibility depends on how the veteran died and on the survivor’s relationship to the veteran.

Key points:

• The 2027 increase is scheduled to take effect December 1, 2026, once Congress passes and the President signs the annual veterans’ COLA law.
• Surviving spouses with children under 18 receive an added amount for each child, plus a transitional benefit for the first two years.
• DIC is tax-free under federal law.

What Is Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC)?

Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) is a tax-free monthly benefit that the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) pays to eligible survivors. It is available to survivors of a service member who died in the line of duty or a veteran who died from a service-connected condition. In some cases, DIC is also available when the veteran’s death was not service-connected, but the veteran had a long-standing total (100%) VA disability rating.

Eligible survivors may include a surviving spouse, dependent children, and, in some cases, parents. DIC has its own rate schedule that is separate from standard VA disability compensation.

What Are the DIC Rates for 2027?

The 2027 DIC base rate for a surviving spouse is $1,760.52 per month. This is a 3.6 percent increase over the 2026 rate. This base rate applies when the veteran died on or after January 1, 1993, and may increase if the survivor qualifies for added amounts. For reference, in 2026 DIC rates rose 2.8 percent, to $1,699.36 per month.

DIC increases each year with the cost-of-living adjustment (COLA). The Social Security Administration (SSA) calculates the COLA based on the change in the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) during the third quarter of the year.

That percentage does not apply to VA benefits automatically. Each year, Congress passes, and the President signs, a law directing VA to raise disability compensation and DIC by the same percentage. In Congress, the bill for 2027 rates is the Veterans’ Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act of 2026. Once passed and signed, VA then publishes the new rates in the Federal Register.

How Do Survivors Calculate Their 2027 DIC Payment?

A surviving spouse’s monthly DIC payment starts with the 2027 base rate of $1,760.52. VA will then add any additional amounts the surviving spouse qualifies for:

• Eight-year provision: The veteran was rated totally disabled, including through TDIU, for at least eight continuous years before death. The surviving spouse must also have been married to the veteran for those same eight years.
• Aid and Attendance: The surviving spouse has a disability that requires another person’s help with daily activities, such as eating, bathing, or dressing.
• Housebound allowance: The surviving spouse cannot leave home due to a disability.
• Dependent children: VA adds compensation for each of the surviving spouse’s children under age 18. Children ages 18 to 23 who attend school, and adult children who became permanently unable to support themselves before age 18, are paid their own DIC instead of an added amount on the spouse’s award.
• Transitional benefit: A surviving spouse with one or more children under age 18 can also receive a transitional benefit. VA pays it only for the first two years after the veteran’s death.

If the veteran died before January 1, 1993, VA calculates the surviving spouse’s rate differently. The rate in this case is based on the veteran’s military pay grade and may be higher than the standard base rate. For veterans’ own 2027 compensation rates, see CCK’s 2027 VA disability pay rates blog.

When Will Survivors Receive the 2027 DIC Increase?

The 2027 DIC rates are scheduled to take effect December 1, 2026. The first payment at the new rate will fall in December 2026. Because January 1 is a federal holiday, VA typically issues that payment on December 31, 2026. For each 2027 pay date, see CCK’s 2027 VA disability payment schedule blog.

Who Is Eligible for DIC?

DIC eligibility depends on two things: the circumstances of the veteran’s or service member’s death, and the survivor’s relationship to them. Both must meet VA’s requirements.

When Does a Veteran’s Death Qualify Survivors for DIC?

A veteran’s or service member’s death qualifies survivors for DIC if one of the following is true:

• The service member died while on active duty, active duty for training, or inactive duty training; or
• The veteran died from a service-connected illness or injury; or
• The veteran’s death was not service connected, but the veteran was receiving, or was entitled to receive, VA compensation for a service-connected disability rated totally disabling (including TDIU) for one of these periods:
  • At least 10 years immediately before death; or
  • Continuously since release from active duty and for at least five years immediately before death; or
  • At least one year before death, if the veteran was a former prisoner of war who died after September 30, 1999.

Importantly, the third path based on a total disability rating, set out in 38 CFR § 3.22, is available to surviving spouses and children but not to surviving parents.

Survivors whose DIC claim was denied in the past may be able to reapply under the PACT Act, which expanded presumptive service connection for certain toxic exposures.

What Are the DIC Requirements for Surviving Spouses?

A surviving spouse must meet both of the following requirements to qualify for DIC:

• Lived with the veteran or service member continuously until their death or, if separated, were not at fault for the separation; and
• One of these is true:
  • Married the veteran within 15 years after the veteran’s discharge from the period of service in which the illness or injury that caused death began or was aggravated; or
  • Were married to the veteran for at least one year; or
  • Had a child with the veteran.

Different rules about marriage length apply when DIC is based on the veteran’s total disability rating rather than a service-connected death.

What Are the DIC Requirements for Dependent Children?

To receive DIC, a surviving child must be unmarried and not included on the surviving spouse’s DIC award. The child must also meet one of these conditions:

• Is under age 18; or
• Is between ages 18 and 23 and attending a VA-approved school; or
• Became permanently incapable of self-support before age 18 (VA calls this a “helpless child”).

What Are the DIC Requirements for Parents?

Parental DIC is income-based. A surviving parent may qualify for DIC if both are true:

• They are the biological, adoptive, or foster parent of the veteran or service member; and
• Their income is below the limit VA sets.

VA defines a foster parent as someone who served as the veteran’s parent before the veteran’s last entry into active service. The monthly amount for parents depends on income, marital status, and whether the parent is the only surviving parent.

How Do Survivors Apply for DIC?

Which form DIC applicants should use depends on the survivor’s relationship to the veteran or service member:

• Surviving spouse or child of a veteran: VA Form 21P-534EZ, Application for DIC, Survivors Pension, and/or Accrued Benefits.
• Surviving spouse or child of a service member who died on active duty: VA Form 21P-534a. The military casualty assistance officer helps complete this form.
• Surviving parent: VA Form 21P-535, Application for Dependency and Indemnity Compensation by Parent(s).

Survivors should also submit supporting evidence like the veteran’s death certificate, a marriage certificate, and any divorce decrees from prior marriages. For dependent children, include birth certificates and, for children 18 to 23, school records. Submitting these documents with the application can help avoid delays in VA’s adjudication.

Survivors who need time to gather evidence can first submit an intent to file. This may preserve an earlier effective date, which can mean retroactive payments.

What Were the Previous DIC Rate Increases?

The table below shows recent annual cost of living adjustments and the resulting DIC base rate for a surviving spouse, from VA’s current and past rate tables.

Did VA Deny Your DIC Claim?

If VA denied a DIC claim, survivors can appeal the decision through a Supplemental Claim, a Higher-Level Review, or an appeal to the Board of Veterans’ Appeals. To protect the earliest possible effective date, survivors should generally act within one year of the decision.

Many DIC disputes turn on whether the veteran’s death was service connected. A service-connected condition does not have to be the main cause of death. It can be enough that a service-connected disability contributed substantially or materially to the death. The cause listed on the death certificate is evidence, but medical opinions and treatment records can also show that connection.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do survivors receive the same amount of VA compensation the veteran received?

No. DIC does not continue the veteran’s disability compensation. For deaths on or after January 1, 1993, VA pays a surviving spouse a set base rate plus any added amounts, regardless of the veteran’s rating. Survivors may also be able to claim accrued benefits VA owed the veteran but were not paid before death.

Can I get DIC if VA never rated the veteran at 100 percent?

Yes. If the veteran’s death was service connected, no total rating is needed. To be totally disabled, the veteran must have been receiving, or “entitled to receive,” a 100% rating for the required period.

Does receiving DIC reduce my Survivor Benefit Plan payments?

No. Survivors can now receive a full Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) annuity and full DIC at the same time. The Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) previously reduced SBP payments to offset DIC, a policy often called the “widow’s tax.” The SBP-DIC offset was phased out beginning January 1, 2021, and fully eliminated on January 1, 2023.

Can I receive DIC and VA Survivors Pension at the same time?

No. VA does not pay both benefits at once. If a survivor qualifies for both DIC and VA Survivors Pension, VA pays whichever benefit provides the higher amount.

Is DIC taxable?

No. Under 38 USC § 5301, VA benefit payments are exempt from taxation. Surviving spouses, children, and parents do not pay income tax on DIC.

Does the DIC rate change for an adult child with a disability?

Yes. A child who became permanently incapable of self-support before age 18, called a “helpless child,” may continue receiving DIC after turning 18. When the veteran’s surviving spouse also receives DIC, VA pays a helpless child separately, which would be about $743.33 in 2027.