DIC Calculator 2026 — Dependency & Indemnity Compensation

For decades, an SBP annuity was reduced dollar-for-dollar by DIC — survivors called it the “widow's tax.” Congress repealed the offset in the FY2020 National Defense Authorization Act, phased in over three years:

• 2021: SBP reduced by no more than two-thirds of the DIC amount
• 2022: SBP reduced by no more than one-third of the DIC amount
• January 1, 2023: offset eliminated completely — full SBP plus full DIC

The Special Survivor Indemnity Allowance (SSIA) — a monthly payment that partially made up for the old offset — was paid through the phase-out and ended once the offset was fully eliminated. You will not see an SSIA line anymore; the money now comes through your full, unreduced SBP annuity instead.

Details: DFAS SBP-DIC news page. Estimate the annuity side with our SBP Calculator.

A surviving spouse of a retiree who elected SBP can now receive, at the same time:

• Full SBP annuity from DFAS (55% of the elected base amount, taxable)
• Full DIC from the VA (tax-free), if the death was service-connected or the Veteran met the totally-disabled duration rules

If your SBP was offset before 2023, DFAS restored full payments automatically — no application was needed. If you previously declined SBP or withdrew because of the old offset, contact DFAS about your options; the rules are situation-specific.

Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) is a tax-free monthly benefit the VA pays to eligible survivors of:

• Service members who died on active duty, active duty for training, or inactive-duty training
• Veterans who died from a service-connected illness or injury
• Veterans who didn't die from a service-connected condition but were rated totally disabled for a qualifying period before death (see eligibility below)

Unlike Survivors Pension, DIC is not income-based — your earnings, savings, and Social Security do not reduce it. It also adjusts every December 1 with the same COLA applied to VA disability compensation.

DIC is payable if at least one of these is true:

• The service member died in the line of duty (active duty, active duty for training, or inactive-duty training)
• The Veteran died from a service-connected illness or injury
• The Veteran was eligible to receive VA compensation for a service-connected disability rated totally disabling (including TDIU):
  • for at least 10 years immediately before death, or
  • since release from active duty and for at least 5 years immediately before death, or
  • for at least 1 year before death, if the Veteran was a former prisoner of war who died after September 30, 1999

The 10-year path is why a Permanent & Total (P&T) rating matters so much for long-term family planning — see our P&T benefits guide.

A surviving spouse generally must meet one of these marriage requirements:

• Married to the Veteran or service member for at least 1 year, or
• Had a child with the Veteran or service member, or
• Married within 15 years of the discharge from the period of service during which the qualifying illness or injury started or got worse

Remarriage: you can remarry and keep DIC if you remarried on or after January 5, 2021, at age 55 or older (or on or after December 16, 2003, at age 57 or older). Remarrying before 55 generally ends DIC, though it can be restored if the later marriage ends. Verify your specific dates against VA.gov's DIC eligibility page before acting on this.

Under 38 U.S.C. 1311(a)(2), the monthly rate increases by $360.85 (effective December 1, 2025) when both are true:

• The Veteran had a VA rating of totally disabling — including TDIU — for at least the 8 full continuous years immediately before death, and
• You were married to the Veteran for those same 8 years

The statute only counts periods of total disability during which you were married to the Veteran. Note the 8-year provision raises the amount; it is separate from the 10-year/5-year/1-year rules that establish eligibility when death wasn't service-connected.

How children are paid depends on whether there is an eligible surviving spouse:

• Spouse receiving DIC: the spouse's payment adds $421.00 per child under 18. A child aged 18–23 in a qualified school program receives their own $356.66/month, paid directly to the child. A helpless child (permanently incapable of self-support before 18) receives $717.50/month.
• No eligible spouse: the VA pays the children directly from the children-only table above ($717.50 for one child, up to $2,882.62 for nine), split equally.

Eligible children must be unmarried and under 18, or under 23 if attending school, and not counted on someone else's award.

Under 38 U.S.C. 1311(f), a surviving spouse with one or more children under 18 receives an extra $359.00 per month (effective December 1, 2025) during the 2-year period after DIC entitlement begins.

• It is one flat amount, regardless of how many children you have
• It ends automatically after the 2-year window, even if the children are still under 18

Budget accordingly: a new survivor's payment will drop by this amount at the 2-year mark.

DIC is for deaths connected to service (or after qualifying periods of total disability) and is not means-tested. Survivors Pension is a separate, income- and asset-tested benefit for some surviving spouses and children of wartime Veterans, regardless of cause of death. The same application form (21P-534EZ) covers both — the VA evaluates you for each. Learn more on VA.gov's Survivors Pension page.

Surviving spouses and children of Veterans file VA Form 21P-534EZ — Application for DIC, Survivors Pension, and/or Accrued Benefits. One form covers all three benefits.

You can submit:

• By mail to the VA Pension Intake Center
• Online via QuickSubmit through AccessVA
• In person at a VA regional office
• With free help from an accredited Veterans Service Organization (VSO)

Survivors of service members who died on active duty are typically assisted by a military casualty assistance officer, who helps file the DIC claim (VA Form 21P-534a). Details and current filing options: VA.gov — how to apply for DIC.

• Death certificate showing cause of death
• Marriage certificate and children's birth certificates
• Medical evidence linking the cause of death to a service-connected condition (if death wasn't on active duty and the Veteran wasn't already rated totally disabled for the qualifying period)
• The Veteran's rating decisions showing total disability and effective dates — these establish the 10-year eligibility rule and the 8-year higher-rate provision

If the Veteran was already rated P&T for 10+ years, the duration rules can make the claim straightforward. If the death-to-service link is contested, a VSO or accredited representative is strongly recommended.

If the VA receives your DIC claim within 1 year of the Veteran's death, benefits are generally paid effective from the first day of the month of death — filing early protects the full back-pay window. File later, and payments generally start from the claim date. Under 38 CFR 3.31, actual payment begins the first day of the calendar month after the month the award becomes effective.

A surviving spouse or child may qualify if the service member died in the line of duty, the Veteran died from a service-connected illness or injury, or the Veteran was rated totally disabling for at least 10 years before death (5 years if rated since release from active duty, or 1 year for a former POW who died after September 30, 1999).

Spouses generally must have been married at least 1 year, had a child with the Veteran, or married within 15 years of the qualifying period of service.

Effective December 1, 2025, the base surviving-spouse rate is $1,699.36/month. Add-ons: $360.85 (8-year provision), $421.00 (Aid & Attendance), $197.22 (housebound), $421.00 per child under 18, and $359.00 transitional benefit (first 2 years with children under 18). One surviving child alone receives $717.50/month. All DIC is tax-free.

An added $360.85/month for a surviving spouse when the Veteran was rated totally disabled (including TDIU) for at least the 8 full years immediately before death and the couple was married for those same 8 years (38 U.S.C. 1311(a)(2)).

Yes — if you remarry at age 55 or older (for remarriages on or after January 5, 2021) you keep DIC. An older rule preserves DIC for remarriages on or after December 16, 2003, at age 57+. Remarrying before 55 generally ends the benefit, though it can be restored if that marriage later ends.

File VA Form 21P-534EZ (Application for DIC, Survivors Pension, and/or Accrued Benefits) by mail, online through AccessVA QuickSubmit, at a VA regional office, or with free help from a VSO. Filing within 1 year of the Veteran's death generally protects payments back to the month of death.

No. The SBP-DIC offset was fully eliminated effective January 1, 2023. You now receive full SBP from DFAS and full DIC from the VA simultaneously. The SSIA payment ended when the phase-out completed — its purpose (partially offsetting the reduction) no longer exists.

No. DIC is a tax-free benefit and is not income-based — earnings, retirement income, and assets do not reduce it (unlike the separate Survivors Pension).