The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) uses the term “Total Disability Based on Individual Unemployability,” or TDIU, to describe compensation awarded to veterans who can no longer work due to a service-connected disability or disabilities.
Although the eligibility requirements for TDIU benefits are straightforward if you have a 9-to-5 job, the department doesn’t have clear-cut criteria for self-employed veterans. Instead, a wide range of factors—from the number of hours you work each week to unexpected fluctuations in your monthly income—could impact your claim’s success.
You don’t have to take chances with your benefits. If you’re considering filing a claim for TDIU or aren’t sure how to react after receiving an unexpected denial, an experienced self-employment TDIU lawyer could help you explore your options. Read more to learn about filing a claim for self-employment TDIU, or contact Sean Kendall, Attorney at Law, to speak to a VA attorney and schedule your no-obligation consultation.
TDIU Benefits for Self-Employed Veterans
If you receive TDIU benefits, your compensation is at the same rate as a veteran with a 100% disability rating. You don’t need an individual rating of 100% to qualify, but you must meet other eligibility criteria.
These criteria include the following:
- Your disability must prevent you from obtaining and holding “substantially gainful employment” and;
- You have at least one service-connected disability rated at 60% or more disabling or;
- You have at least two or more service-connected disabilities, with at least one rated at 40% or more disabling with a combined rating of 70% or more.
Some veterans with lower disability ratings are still eligible for TDIU, especially if their condition requires frequent hospital visits. However, all former servicepeople applying for TDIU compensation must be able to provide compelling evidence that their disability prevents them from obtaining “substantially gainful employment.”
How the VA Uses Your Self-Employment to Assess TDIU Eligibility
You can only receive TDIU benefits if your disability prevents you from engaging in substantially gainful employment (SGE), but defining “substantially gainful employment” isn’t always easy. According to most definitions, you engage in SGE if your income meets or exceeds the federal poverty level for one person. For 2025, the federal poverty level was $15,060 for a single person, but this figure is adjusted for inflation each year.
If your earnings exceed this threshold, you won’t typically be eligible for self-employment TDIU unless your self-employment qualifies as marginal employment.
Understanding the VA’s Rules for Marginal Employment
The VA considers a former serviceperson “marginally employed” if they meet certain criteria. This means any income you earn from your job or business won’t count against your TDIU claim.
In general, an individual will only be considered marginally employed if they:
- Work less than one-half of the usual hours expected of somebody in their occupation.
- Receive less than one-half the prevailing community wage expected of somebody in their occupation.
The VA may categorize you marginally as employed even if you work full-time at your own business and earn income that exceeds the federal poverty threshold for a single person. This almost always requires proving that your business constitutes a “sheltered or protected” work environment.
Sheltered and Protected Work Environments in TDIU Claims
The VA doesn’t currently have any set criteria for determining if a veteran’s work environment is sheltered or protected. In general, work environments that actively accommodate a veteran’s disabilities are considered sheltered. This is true irrespective of whether you own your own business or work for somebody else.
If you’re self-employed, your work environment may be sheltered or protected if you retain the freedom to:
- Set your own schedule.
- Use your own equipment.
- Manage your working conditions.
- Adjust your physical environment to accommodate your disability.
Your self-employment could be considered marginal if your business or workspace meets the definition of a sheltered or protected work environment. You may still be entitled to TDIU benefits even if your income would otherwise be too high to qualify.
Challenges of Obtaining TDIU Benefits as a Self-Employed Veteran
At first glance, it may seem easier to obtain TDIU benefits if you are self-employed. If your income is below the poverty threshold, it will either be excluded or considered marginal. And if your income exceeds the poverty threshold but occurs within a sheltered or protected environment, it could still be considered marginal and therefore excluded from consideration.
However, veterans still face challenges when trying to obtain TDIU benefits. Depending on your circumstances, here are the challenges to securing approval or winning an appeal.
You Set Your Wage
If you’re self-employed, you probably have more say in setting your wage than other workers. Instead of comparing your income with federal poverty guidelines, the VA may instead review your business model and compare your performance and earnings with similar companies in your town or city.
You Schedule Work Hours
Most people in business for themselves can set their own schedules or, at the very least, adjust them in response to big life events. Even if you’ve reduced your hours due to a worsening service-connected disability, there’s no guarantee that the VA won’t argue that you’ve adjusted them for a reason that has nothing to do with your time in the United States military.
You Don’t Have a Regular Income
The VA doesn’t have the legal authority to approve a claim for TDIU benefits unless the application meets a long list of specific criteria. If your income varies from one month to the next, it could be difficult for the VA to determine whether your earnings have dropped due to a disability or the unpredictable effects of the market.
Benefits of Working with a TDIU and Unemployability Claims Lawyer
Since the Department of Veterans Affairs reviews every self-employment TDIU claim on a case-by-case basis, it can be difficult to predict whether an application will be accepted or denied.
You don’t have to take your chances with federal bureaucracy. Our experienced TDIU and unemployability claims lawyer could help you obtain the benefits you need by:
- Navigating your claim. Applying for TDIU benefits can be complex, but Sean Kendall, Attorney at Law, has spent decades helping veterans work their way through the VA’s complicated and time-consuming processes. Our team will help you understand your rights and ensure that your filings are completed on time and without any disqualifying errors.
- Gathering and presenting evidence. Every claim for self-employment TDIU benefits needs to be reinforced by compelling evidence. We’ll work with you to track down critical evidence and present it in a way relevant to your claim and framed in the kind of language the VA likes to hear.
- Bolstering your benefits. Sean Kendall, Attorney at Law, could help you make the most of your disability claim. This could mean pushing forward with an application for TDIU benefits, reconsidering your current ratings, or revisiting a past denial.
- Appealing a denial. You don’t have to take “no” for an answer. If the VA has denied your application, we could work with you to file an appeal or explore your other options for obtaining disability benefits.