The short answer is yes. The long answer is that it depends on two factors: why you are receiving a 100% rating and what type of job you have.
What is a 100% total VA disability rating and how can you receive this rating?
A 100% total rating means the VA concedes that you are totally disabled. In other words, your service-connected disabilities are so severe that you are unable to obtain an income and thus must be compensated accordingly, which is important to need to know about va benefits when evaluating eligibility and payment amounts. As of December 1, 2025, a 100% rating for a single veteran amounted to $3,938.58/month, while a veteran with 1 child, a spouse, and 2 parents would receive $4,671.47/month.
There are two main ways to reach this compensation level: the rating schedule and TDIU.
A. The VA rating schedule
You may receive a 100% rating if your condition is so severe that it warrants a 100% rating on the VA’s rating schedule (which is a chart of symptoms the VA uses to assess the severity of a condition and the applicable rating).
Here are some examples of conditions that warrant a 100% rating:
· Active Tuberculosis of the bones and joints
· Anatomical loss of both hands or both feet or both eyes
· Unfavorable ankylosis of the entire spine
· Chronic fatigue syndrome with debilitating fatigue, cognitive impairments, or a combination of other symptoms which are nearly constant and so severe as to restrict routine daily activities almost completely
· Bronchial asthma with FEV-1 less than 40-percent predicted, or; FEV-1/FVC less than 40 percent, or; more than one attack per week with episodes of respiratory failure, or; requires daily use of systemic high dose corticosteroids or immuno-suppressive medications
· Sleep apnea with chronic respiratory failure with carbon dioxide retention or cor pulmonale, or; that requires a tracheostomy
· A heart condition in which a workload of 3.0 METs or less results in heart failure symptoms
· Progressive chronic liver disease with cirrhosis requiring use of both parenteral antiviral therapy and parenteral immunomodulatory therapy
· Diabetes mellitus that requires more than one daily injection of insulin, restricted diet, and regulation of activities with episodes of ketoacidosis or hypoglycemic reactions requiring at least three hospitalizations per year or weekly visits to a diabetic care
provider, plus either progressive loss of weight and strength or complications that would be compensable if separately evaluated
Mental condition resulting in total occupational and social impairment, due to such symptoms as gross impairment in thought processes or communication, persistent delusions or hallucinations, grossly inappropriate behavior, persistent danger of hurting self or others, intermittent inability to perform activities of daily living including maintenance of minimal personal hygiene, disorientation to time or place, or memory loss for names of close relatives, own occupation, or own name, which are carefully evaluated during a VA medical examination.
If a veteran does not have one condition that equates to a 100% rating on the rating schedule, then several conditions can be combined to reach the 100% schedular rating. Note that conditions are not added, they are combined.
For example, a 50% rating and a 50% rating are combined to equal 75% and then rounded up to 80%. Likewise, a 60% rating and a 40% rating are combined to equal an 80% rating while a 90% rating and a 70% rating are combined to equal a 100% rating. You can use a calculator to assist in combining your disabilities here.
B. TDIU
TDIU, or “Total Disability Based on Individual Employability,” is a VA benefit that affords disability compensation at the same level as a 100% disability rating if the veteran’s service-connected disabilities prevent the veteran from maintaining substantially gainful employment, making it important to apply for TDIU when work is no longer possible. In this case, the veteran’s condition(s) do not have to amount to 100% on the rating schedule, but they have to prevent substantially gainful employment.
Can You Receive VA disability compensation at a 100% rating level and still have a job?
Whether you can start or continue working and still receive the 100% rating compensation will depend on which method you used to reach the 100% rating level.
If you reached a 100% rating using the rating schedule, then you will need to look at the criteria listed for the 100% rating.
For example, if you suffer from anatomical loss of both feet, then you can still work because the rating criteria for 100% does not say anything about working. It is conceivable that you could sit at a desk and work, while still suffering from the loss of both feet that warrants the 100% rating.
On the other hand, if you are receiving a 100% rating for chronic fatigue syndrome—which requires debilitating fatigue, cognitive impairments, or a combination of other symptoms which are nearly constant and so severe as to restrict routine daily activities almost completely—it may be difficult to work and still maintain the 100%. Although the rating does not mention
employment, it is likely that the VA will consider working to be contrary to “completely restricted routine daily activities,” “debilitating fatigue,” and “cognitive impairments.”
Likewise, the 100% rating for a mental disorder requires “total occupational and social impairment,” which may make it difficult to work and maintain a 100% rating under these criteria.
If your conditions are combined to reach 100% then check the rating criteria so see if it mentions employability. If it does not, then you should be able to work while maintaining your ratings.
If you reached a 100% rating compensation level using TDIU, then whether you may start or continue to work will depend on the nature of the work.
In order to be eligible for TDIU the VA must find that you are unable to maintain substantially gainful employment due to your service-connected conditions, which directly affects VA disability rates in these cases. If your employment is not “substantially gainful,” you may continue working and still receive these benefits. Examples of employment that is not substantially gainful include employment that is protected or sheltered (such as working for family or friends), involves excessive accommodations, or is marginal (salary is under the poverty limits).
Contact Vets National Advocates for help
If you are suffering from service-connected conditions that prevent you from working, Vets National Advocates are here to help. We understand that you may be suffering from these conditions while also trying to provide for your family, pay your bills, and maintain your life. If you have been denied VA disability benefits, including TDIU, and wish to appeal, contact Vets National today, at 877-777-4021.
