Are you a disabled military veteran who lives in Tennessee? If you are, then you may be eligible for federal and state veterans’ disability benefits. But where do you begin when learning about these benefits and how to apply for them?
Our experienced VA disability attorneys at Stone Rose Law can help you to answer these and any other questions you have about what you are entitled to as a disabled veteran. We serve armed forces veterans like you in the entire state of Tennessee, providing free assistance in preparing, filing, and tracking your initial or supplemental VA benefits claim.
We can also help you determine which Tennessee disabled benefits you can claim in addition to any VA disability benefits you receive.
Call us today at (480) 498-8998 to discuss your Tennessee VA benefits claims.
Veterans who have service-related injuries that they sustained or made worse during their service are eligible for healthcare and monthly compensation benefits as part of the VA disability program.
Even if you receive a 0% VA disability rating with no monthly compensation payment, you are still eligible for other valuable veterans’ services. These include medical benefits, VA educational benefits, mental health counseling, and even VA home loan eligibility.
The VA maintains an extensive network of medical centers, outpatient clinics, community-based outpatient clinics, and veterans centers in Tennessee, including four medical centers, eight outpatient clinics, 22 community-based outpatient clinics, and six vet centers. For a listing of these facilities, you can find VA Tennessee locations here.
The quickest and easiest way to apply for VA benefits is to apply online. You can also submit your completed application to your local VA Regional Office by mail, fax, or in person. In Tennessee, the VA regional office is located in Nashville.
Regardless of which filing option you choose, you must prove three things to receive disability compensation:
To qualify as a veteran eligible to receive VA benefits, your active duty service must fall within a time period that the VA recognizes. You can usually establish this through your military records of service, including your DD Form 214.
If you’ve received a dishonorable discharge, or an other-than-honorable discharge. In these situations, it may be better to first see if you can work with an experienced VA benefits attorney to improve your discharge by making an appeal to the VA.
The VA defines a disability as a current physical or mental illness or impairment that your active duty military service either caused or made worse. You may be eligible for compensation from the VA if your service-related disability makes you less than 100% able-bodied, which can be proved with medical records.
The VA decides whether you have a service-connected disability on a case-by-case basis. Your service medical records and any records of post-service medical treatment you have received will be part of the claims evidence the VA will consider.
Although some medical conditions, known as presumed disabilities, do not require you to prove a connection to military service, most still require you to prove a service connection.
The VA rejects many disability claims because they lack sufficient evidence to create a service connection. One of our Tennessee VA disability attorneys at Stone Rose Law can help you gather all the documents and other support you need to clear this potential obstacle to your benefits claim approval.
What follows are some specific medical conditions the VA will consider in addition to disabilities that arose directly because of a service-connected disabling event.
A latent condition is a condition that you had when you entered military service but which has not yet become disabling. If your latent condition becomes worse after you leave the service, the VA will decide whether something happened to you while serving to aggravate it.
Another way you can receive a service-connected disability is if it comes from a separate disability that itself is service-connected.
For example, your doctor might diagnose you as having post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) based on a traumatic event you experienced while in service. If your PTSD treatment includes drugs that have a side effect of contributing to significant weight gain, this additional weight could eventually cause you to be diagnosed later on with Type 2 Diabetes.
These events make it possible to trace a secondary service connection by showing that the PTSD treatment caused your diabetes.
The VA will deny your claim if your injury, illness, or disabling condition results from doing something unrelated to a service-connected condition.
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If the VA approves your initial or additional disability compensation claim, it will assign you a VA disability rating. Your rating will range from 0% (non-compensable) to 100% for totally disabled veterans.
Factors that go into deciding your disability rating include whether you have multiple disabilities (most veteran claims for benefits are for more than one) and the severity of each disability.
The VA uses a formula to determine your combined disability rating if you have more than one disability. More complex than a simple combination of two separate ratings, the VA calculations use a collection of tables in a process some call “VA Math” to arrive at a final combined figure.
One of our Stone Rose Law VA lawyers can help you understand and show the extent and degree of your disability to achieve the amount of disability compensation you need. Our VA Disability Calculator can help you estimate how much you may receive in monthly disability payments if you have multiple disabilities.
How much you can receive in monthly disability benefits compensation depends on your single or combined disability rating. The higher your overall disability rating, the more you can receive.
For 2025, the disability rating compensation for an individual veteran is as follows:
| Your Combined VA Disability Rating | What You Can Expect to Receive in 2025 |
| 10% | $175.51 |
| 20% | $346.95 |
| 30% | $537.42 |
| 40% | $774.16 |
| 50% | $1,102.04 |
| 60% | $1,395.93 |
| 70% | $1,759.19 |
| 80% | $2,044.89 |
| 90% | $2,297.96 |
| 100% | $3,831.30 |
These monthly payments increase for disabled veterans with dependents.
If you have one or more dependents, and your combined disability rating is at least 30%, then you can qualify for additional monthly compensation depending on how many qualifying dependents you have.
A qualifying dependent can include:
Special monthly compensation (SMC) is available if you are a disabled veteran whose service-connected disability is severe enough that you need more than what a 100% disability rating provides.
SMC is available depending on criteria including specific disabilities like the loss of a limb or creative organ, whether you need aid and attendance from someone else, if you are completely and permanently housebound, or if you have suffered a traumatic brain injury and need regular aid and attendance as a result.
Except for SMC category K, SMC benefits replace the monthly compensation benefit you would otherwise receive.
The VA rates SMC benefits through the letters K, L, M, N, O, P, R, S, and T.
Here are the 2025 SMC compensation amounts.
| Your SMC Category | Your 2025 SMC Monthly Benefit | Notes |
| K | $136.06 | Paid in addition to your 100% monthly disability compensation |
| L | $4,767.34 | |
| L-½ | $5,013.79 | |
| M | $5,261.24 | |
| M-½ | $5,622.75 | |
| N | $5,985.06 | |
| N-½ | $6,337.11 | |
| O and P | $6,689.22 | No difference in pay between these two categories |
| R-1 | $9,559.22 | |
| R-2 and T | $10,964.66 | No difference in pay between these two categories |
| S | $4,288.45 |
If you are a qualifying surviving dependent of a veteran whose death was caused by that person’s military service, then you may be eligible for dependency and indemnity compensation, or DIC.
The base DIC monthly compensation amount for 2025 is $1,653.06. This amount can increase based on factors like whether the deceased veteran was totally disabled, whether a surviving spouse requires aid and attendance services or is housebound because of a disability, and whether a surviving spouse has children under age 18.
There are multiple special VA veteran benefits you might be eligible for.
For example, if you cannot find or keep substantially gainful employment, you may be able to receive additional VA benefits, like total disability, based on individual unemployability.
You might also receive compensation for costs if you need hospital or convalescent care, or need assistance with paying for transportation and clothing.
A Stone Rose Law Tennessee veterans disability attorney can help you learn which may apply to your needs.
In addition to the VA’s veterans benefits, the state of Tennessee also offers veterans’ benefits.
Note that the state benefits below are not all the Tennessee benefits you can claim; we only cover those that apply to Tennessee disabled veterans.
The listing below may not be comprehensive of all possible state benefits you may qualify for. An experienced Tennessee veterans disability benefits lawyer can help you to know which state veterans benefits you may be eligible to receive.
All veterans who are declared permanently and totally disabled are eligible for a property tax waiver.
Property tax relief for certain 100% disabled veterans for up to $175,000 of the property’s assessed value.
To receive tax relief as a Tennessee disabled veteran, then you must meet one of the following categories:
You must own and use the property as your primary residence. The maximum market value on which tax relief is calculated is $175,000.
The property tax relief extends to the surviving spouse of a disabled veteran who, at the time of the disabled veteran’s death, was eligible for disabled veterans’ property tax relief.
To qualify, the surviving spouse must meet all the following requirements:
The maximum market value on which tax relief is calculated is $100,000.
Any former POW or 100% permanent and total disabled veteran is exempt from the county motor vehicle privilege tax.
Evidence of disability, such as a Summary of Benefits letter, should be submitted to the officer in the county charged with the responsibility for collecting such tax.
Contact your local tax assessor for more information about how to file for this tax exemption.
Dependents of 100 percent permanently and totally disabled veterans, or those who died during service, are eligible for educational and vocational benefits.
Benefits are good for up to 45 months and are available for a variety of VA-approved degrees, certificates, training, and correspondence courses.
Premiums may be waived for veterans who are totally disabled as a result of military service.
Free hunting and fishing licenses for 100% permanently disabled veterans or those with a 30% disability due to war service. There is a one-time fee of $10.
A 50% discount off of camping and overnight cabin lodging fees applies to Tennessee resident veterans with a 100% total service-connected disability.
Disabled veterans with a 100% rating can receive a free license plate for their vehicles.
Veteran motorists who are identified as disabled drivers under TCA Section 55-21-102 may apply for and receive a free disabled driver decal, which may be added to the existing specialty plate.
At Stone Rose Law, our Tennessee VA disability lawyers systematically approach your specific VA claim. After consultation with an accredited VA disability benefits attorney and your permission, our attorneys will obtain a copy of your VA claims file.
Because our attorneys have access to the same systems the VA uses to maintain claims files, we can get your claims file quickly.
Once we access your claims file, we review everything in it. This means checking all your service treatment records, your VA records, any previous claims for benefits, and any rating decisions.
We thoroughly scour your records to look for:
After reviewing your file and creating a plan for your initial claim, we discuss our findings and recommendations with you.
If you have never applied for VA benefits before, we will assist you at no cost in preparing and filing a claim. We will also monitor your claim, assist you with preparing for C&P examinations, and advise you of any VA decisions as part of this free service.
If you are denied VA benefits or believe your VA rating decision awarded you insufficient benefits, we can also help you fight for your benefits through a compelling appeal of the initial VA decision.
Our attorneys are experts in the VA appeals process, whether it involves filing a supplemental claim or a formal hearing before a veterans’ appeals judge.
Going up against the Department of Veterans Affairs is never easy. Still, it is not something you should fear, especially if you have legal help from a VA disability advocate like the one you will have with Stone Rose Law.
Our legal team of veterans disability attorneys provides legal assistance to Tennessee veterans with VA benefit claims, so you can receive the proper benefits you deserve for your service-connected disabilities. We have a proven track record of successfully representing our clients with service-related benefits claims.
We can help you show that your injury or medical condition is connected to your military experience or that your disability has worsened since the time you first started receiving veterans disability benefits.
Contact us today to discuss how our law firm and veterans lawyers can help you with your VA claim or appeal.
Schedule a free case evaluation with a Tennessee veterans benefits lawyer at (480) 498-8998, or contact us online, and we will get back to you as soon as possible.
