What Is Combat-Related Special Compensation (CRSC)?
CCK Law: Our Vital Role in Veterans Law
Combat-related special compensation, or CRSC, is a method by which retired veterans with combat-related disabilities may receive additional, tax-free payments from the military branch in which they served. This benefit allows disabled veterans to receive the full amount of both their military retirement pay and any disability compensation they may be receiving from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).
If you are a retired veteran with a combat-related disability, then this article will guide you through the eligibility requirements and application process for CRSC, so that you can help determine what compensation you may be entitled to.
Key points of this article include:
- Typically, it is impossible for veterans to receive both full military retirement pay and VA disability compensation simultaneously. This is due to the existence of “double dipping” regulations intended to prevent certain veteran benefits from being duplicated.
- CRSC offers an exemption to the above “double dipping” rule, allowing veterans with combat-related disabilities to receive both their full retirement pay and full VA disability compensation.
- Veterans do not apply for CRSC through VA, but instead through the military branch they served in. That branch will then work with the Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) to judge the veteran’s eligibility for CRSC.
Understanding the VA Offset
To understand combat-related special compensation (CRSC), it is important to understand what happens when a veteran is receiving service retired pay and VA disability compensation concurrently.
Typically, these veterans are subject to the government’s “double-dipping” laws, which are intended to prevent the duplication of certain veteran benefits. To comply with these laws, veterans are required to waive (give up) part of their service retired pay. This is called the “VA offset” or “VA waiver.”
In situations like this, the amount the veteran receives in VA compensation is subtracted from the amount they receive in retired pay to avoid “double dipping.” For example:
- Say a veteran is rated as 90 percent disabled by VA and receives $2,362.30 in monthly disability compensation (2026 rates). Meanwhile, the veteran is also receiving military retirement pay of $3,200 per month.
- Since the veteran is receiving both of these benefits at once, “double dipping” regulations will come into play, and the veteran’s monthly VA compensation ($2,362.30) will be subtracted from their military retirement pay ($3,200).
- 3,200 – 2,362.30 = 837.70
- In this case, the veteran will receive $2,362.30 from VA each month, but only an additional $837.70 from their military retired pay, since their retirement pay was offset by their VA disability pay. This means that in total, the veteran will only receive $3,200 each month.
The Benefit of CRSC – Concurrent Receipt
While the above example is how the VA offset generally works, there are exceptions that allow veterans to receive their full pay from both of these sources.
“A notion we hear sometimes is that, if someone is receiving military retirement pay, they can’t also receive VA disability benefits, too,” says Maura Black, partner at CCK Law. “But these two benefits are not mutually exclusive. You can receive both, with the caveat that it depends upon your assigned VA disability rating. This is where the concurrent receipt rules come into play.”
Depending on the specifics of a veteran’s disability, they may qualify for what is called “concurrent receipt” — the restoration of service retired pay that has been offset by VA. CRSC is one form of concurrent receipt for veterans whose disabilities are combat-related.
Importantly, CRSC does not truly eliminate the VA offset. Instead, the VA offset (an amount equal to the veteran’s total VA compensation) will continue to be subtracted from the veteran’s service retired pay.
However, CRSC reimburses all or some of that veteran’s VA waiver in a separate check from their branch of service. Thus, veterans receiving CRSC will get three separate checks each month:
- From Defense Finance and Accounting Services (DFAS)–A check for service retired pay with the full VA offset amount subtracted
- From VA–A check for full VA compensation
- From the veteran’s branch of service–A check for CRSC reimbursement
For example:
- Using the situation brought up in the previous example, say a veteran is receiving $2,362.30 in disability compensation each month. However, with the VA offset in place, their $3,200 military retirement pay was reduced to $837.70.
- If the veteran applies for and is accepted into the CRSC program, their military branch of service will restore their full retirement pay, sending it in a separate check each month.
- In this circumstance, the veteran would receive three checks each month. The first would be from DFAS, and would contain the $837.70 remaining from their retirement pay. The second would be from VA, and would contain their $2,362.30 in disability compensation. The third check would be from the veteran’s branch of service, and would contain their CRSC reimbursement, which is the amount of retirement pay that was offset by their disability pay. In this case, it would be a separate check for an additional $2,362.30.
- 70 + 2,362.30 + 2,362.30 = 5,562.30
- All in all, through CRSC, the veteran would receive $5,562.30 per month, which is the combined total of both their military retirement pay and VA disability compensation.
It is important to note that if a veteran’s VA compensation amount is greater than their total retired pay, they may only get two checks each month: one for their VA disability compensation and one for their CRSC payment.
They would not receive a retirement paycheck from DFAS in this case because the VA offset, which is subtracted from retired pay, completely eliminates the retired pay.
Who Is Eligible for CRSC?
To be eligible for CRSC, veterans must meet each of the following requirements:
- Be a military retiree entitled to and/or receiving military retired pay; AND
- Be rated at least 10 percent disabled by VA* for a combat-related disability; AND
- Have their military retired pay being currently offset by their VA disability compensation.
*Note: Veterans with 0 percent, or noncompensable, disability ratings are not eligible because they are not receiving VA compensation and thus have no retired pay offset.
If all of the above are true, then the veteran may be eligible to file a CRSC application with their branch of service. For their application to succeed, however, veterans must be able to provide documented evidence that their combat-related injuries were a result of one of the following:
- Training that simulates war (e.g., exercises, field training); OR
- Hazardous duty (e.g., flight, diving, parachute duty); OR
- An instrumentality of war (e.g., combat vehicles, weapons, Agent Orange); OR
- Armed conflict (e.g., gunshot wounds, Purple Heart, punji stick injuries).
Eligibility criteria differ slightly for each branch of service, mostly in how they interpret the term “combat-related.” However, the above requirements hold true for all branches of service.
How Do I Apply for CRSC?
CRSC is not automatically applied to eligible veterans. To earn CRSC, veterans must apply to their branch of service by submitting DD Form 2860. To make their case as strong as possible, veterans should also consider submitting the following types of evidence to support their application:
- In-service medical records
- Official service records
- Retirement records
- Previous VA rating decisions (including award letters and narrative summaries)
- DD 214s and DD 215s (discharge paperwork)
- Decorations and award recommendations (such as Purple Heart citations or decorations for valor)
The evidence a veteran submits should support how the specific disability being claimed can be linked to one of the combat-related events outlined above. In other words, when applying for CRSC, veterans should not submit medical records that are unrelated to the disability being claimed. They should also avoid submitting lay statements for this particular kind of claim.
Another thing to note is that veterans should be sure to only send copies of the above documents to their military branch of service, as any original copies that are sent will not be returned to the veteran.
Below are links to the websites for each branch of service that explains their CRSC eligibility requirements, how to apply, and what documentation veterans need to include with their application.
Each site also has downloadable CRSC application forms and the appropriate mailing address for that branch of service:
Can I Receive Retroactive Payments for CRSC?
Yes, if a veteran with combat-related disabilities applies for and is granted CRSC, they may be eligible to receive retroactive payments, also known as back pay. In cases like these, DFAS will audit a veteran’s account to determine whether they are due retroactive payment, and then issue any payments accordingly.
Notably, this audit requires researching pay information from both DFAS and VA. If DFAS finds that the veteran is also due a retroactive payment from VA, it will forward an audit to VA. In this case, VA will also be responsible for paying any money that it may owe to the veteran.
A veteran’s retroactive payment may go back as far as June 1, 2003, but can be limited based on the following:
- The veteran’s overall CRSC start date as awarded by their branch of service
- The veteran’s Purple Heart eligibility
- The veteran’s retirement date
- The veteran’s retirement law (disability or non-disability)
Importantly, disability retirees with less than 20 years of service will be automatically limited to a retroactive date of January 1, 2008, as required by legislation that was passed by Congress in 2008.
Soto v. United States and CRSC Back Pay
Previously, under the Barring Act, veterans were limited to only six years of retroactive payments after applying for CRSC. This meant that, regardless of how long a veteran actually qualified for CRSC, their military branch would only issue retroactive CRSC payments for the previous six years from the day the veteran applied for CRSC.
However, in June 2025, the Supreme Court ruled in Soto v. United States that the Barring Act’s six-year statute did not apply to combat-related special compensation. Effectively, this removed the six-year cap on CRSC back pay, allowing veterans to receive retroactive CRSC payments further back than just six years prior to the date they applied.
Following this SCOTUS decision, qualifying veterans should be able to receive retroactive CRSC payments all the way back to the latest of the following dates:
- The veteran’s date of retirement; OR
- The effective date of the VA rating for their veteran’s claimed disability; OR
- January 2008 (when the CRSC statute became effective for retired veterans)
Was Your Combat-Related Disability Claim Denied? Contact CCK Law
If your combat-related disability claim was denied by VA, then the dedicated representatives at Chisholm Chisholm & Kilpatrick may be able to assist. Our team of attorneys has represented over 36,000 veterans and dependents, and we have helped regain $1 billion for clients who were wrongfully denied compensation.
Call CCK Law today at (800) 544-9144 or contact us online to request a free case evaluation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CRSC the same as Concurrent Retired and Disability Pay (CRDP)?
No, CRSC is not the same as CRDP. While both are forms of concurrent receipt (i.e. they allow veterans to receive both their full retired pay and disability pay simultaneously), there are several important differences:
- Veterans do not have to apply for CRDP. If they qualify, DFAS will automatically exempt the veteran from the VA waiver and restore their full retired pay. This is in contrast to CRSC, which veterans must apply for by submitting DD Form 2860 to their branch of service.
- Any pay restored by CRDP will not be sent in a separate check from the veteran’s branch of service, but will instead simply be added back to the monthly retirement paycheck the veteran receives from DFAS.
- While CRSC is tax-free, CRDP is not. Instead, CRDP is taxed in the same manner as a veteran’s retirement pay.
To qualify for CRDP, veterans must:
- Be receiving retired pay and VA compensation; AND
- Be a 20-year (or more) retiree; AND
- Have a service-connected disability rated at 50 percent or more.
To choose between CRSC and CRDP:
- “CRDP/CRSC Open Season is when DFAS will send you a letter with instructions about how to change your election from one program to the other, if you choose.” Open Season is typically in January. (Defense Finance and Accounting Service)
How did the SCOTUS ruling in Soto v. United States affect combat-related special compensation (CRSC)?
The Supreme Court’s ruling in Soto v. United States removed the six-year cap on retroactive payments veterans could receive for combat-related special compensation (CRSC), allowing veterans to potentially receive much more in CRSC back pay.
Before this ruling, veterans could receive a maximum of only six years of retroactive CRSC pay if their CRSC application was approved. However, in June 2025, SCOTUS ruled that this six-year limit will no longer apply, and veterans can now receive retroactive CRSC payments all the way back to the latest of the following dates:
- The veteran’s date of retirement; OR
- The effective date of the VA rating for the veteran’s claimed disability; OR
- January 2008 (when the CRSC statute became effective for retired veterans)
Does combat-related special compensation (CRSC) increase with yearly cost-of-living adjustments (COLA)?
Yes, CRSC does increase with yearly cost-of-living adjustments from the federal government. This is because a veteran’s CRSC rate is tied directly to the amount they receive each month in military retired pay. Since military retired pay increases yearly with COLA, so too will a veteran’s CRSC payments.
