Total Disability based on Individual Unemployability, or TDIU, is a form of Veterans’ compensation that pays a 100% disability rate even if you don’t have a 100% rating. In general, former servicepeople are only eligible for TDIU if they can’t obtain or maintain substantially gainful employment due to their injuries.
However, this doesn’t mean that you can’t have a job at all. Read more to learn about working part time while receiving TDIU benefits, or contact Sean Kendall, Attorney at Law, regarding unemployability claims for Veterans and schedule your free consultation.
Basic Components of a TDIU Claim
TDIU benefits provide compensation for Veterans who can no longer maintain employment due to a service-connected injury or illness. However, to qualify for TDIU, Veterans must be able to meet several criteria.
In general, you must prove that at least one of the following is true:
- You have at least one service-connected disability rated at 60% disabling or more.
- You have two or more service-connected disabilities. At least one of them must be rated at 40% or more, with a combined total rating of at least 70%.
Aside from meeting these rating requirements, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) also limits how much TDIU recipients can work. Under most circumstances, you can only obtain TDIU if you can’t hold a steady job that meets your basic needs. The VA defines this type of work as “substantially gainful employment.”
How Your Workplace Affects Your Eligibility for TDIU
Although TDIU benefits are intended for “unemployable Veterans”, you don’t have to be physically incapacitated or otherwise incapable of working to receive compensation. Instead, the VA distinguishes between “substantially gainful employment” and “marginal employment.”
Whereas substantially gainful employment provides enough income to meet a worker’s basic needs, marginal employment usually involves financial hardship or substantive workplace concessions. You may be marginally employed if:
- Your annual earned income doesn’t exceed the federal poverty threshold for a one-person household.
- You work somewhere that’s made special accommodations for your disability without reducing your income or benefits.
- You work in a protected environment, such as a family business or sheltered workshop for people with disabilities.
Marginally unemployed Veterans are typically entitled to apply for and receive TDIU compensation if they meet these conditions and the VA’s rating requirements.
Knowing the Difference Between Gainful and Marginal Employment
You can be self-employed or work part time and still receive TDIU benefits, but if you’re drawing an income, you’ll usually have to prove that your work constitutes a form of marginal employment.
To make a determination, the VA may consider factors including, but not limited to:
- Your earnings. You’re marginally employed if your annual income is lower than the federal poverty threshold for a single person. In 2025, this limit was set at $15,650 per year.
- Your employment circumstances. If you’re self-employed, the VA presumes you have more control over your income and working hours than a salaried employee. Before deciding on your claim, it might compare your salary, schedule, and services with similar businesses in your location.
- Your workplace accommodations. The VA uses the term “sheltered employment” to describe any workplace that accommodates your disability beyond what’s required by law. Many different workplaces can be considered sheltered.
The VA assesses every TDIU claim on a case-by-case basis. Since no single factor determines your eligibility for TDIU benefits, the success of an application often depends on fine detail and well-presented evidence.
Applying for TDIU with a Part-Time Job
You don’t have to take chances with your TDIU claim. Sean Kendall, Attorney at Law, has spent more than 30 years helping Veterans across the country assert their rights to unemployability benefits. If you’re afraid your work circumstances could prevent you from obtaining TDIU, we could help you by:
- Securing the evidence you need to show that your part-time job shouldn’t count as substantially gainful employment.
- Helping your friends, family, and coworkers write testimonials describing how your disability changed your life.
- Discussing your best options to obtain TDIU, secure a higher rating, or challenge an adverse decision.
Filing, fighting, or appealing a TDIU claim can be difficult, but you don’t have to do it alone.