Free tools to get your VA disability claim right.
No account. No fees. No 15% cut.
Built by a 100% P&T combat-rated disabled veteran · Software, not representation · Free VA-accredited reps at VA.gov
A free iPhone app that works out the money side of your VA file — offline, from the team behind this site.
Get it on the App StoreExample · three ratings
70 + 20 + 10 is not 100%.
VA ratings don't add up. Each new rating only takes a share of what's left, so these three land at 80% — and that number sets the check.
Out of 100 · what each rating takes
- PTSD 70%70% of 100 = 7030 left
- Lumbar strain 20%20% of 30 = 624 left
- Tinnitus 10%10% of 24 = 2.4 → 78.4, table says 7822 left
Taken: 78of 100 on VA's table. VA rounds to the nearest 10 — not 100%, but 80%.
Combined rating
80%
Monthly, with spouse + 1 child
$2,406
At 2026 rates. Different family, different number — the estimator asks.
That example took 15 seconds. Yours is free, no account.
Start here · five situations
Where are you in your claim?
Pick the one that sounds like you. Each starts with a free tool and says what comes after it.
- Estimate
Just want to know what I'd be rated
See your rating + monthly pay in 15 seconds. No signup.
Estimate my rating
Then: Nexus drafter for any condition
- New claim
I'm filing a claim for the first time
Check what you qualify for → estimate your rating → draft the doctor letter.
Check what I qualify for
Then: Estimator → Nexus drafter
- C&P soon
My C&P exam is coming up
Know what the examiner is scoring before you walk in.
Prep for my C&P exam
Then: debrief after the exam
- Denied
They denied my claim — what now?
Decode the letter. Pick an appeal lane. File with real Board precedent.
Translate my denial letter
Then: free Precedent Brief for the appeal
- Increase
I'm already rated — what am I missing?
Find conditions secondary to what you have. Then check missed SMC.
What else am I owed?
Then: SMC checker → file Form 21-526EZ
Not sure? Start with the presumptive checker — it surfaces claims you may have already earned but never filed, and the answer is free in 30 seconds.
The Precedent Brief.
Up to ten real Board of Veterans' Appeals decisions matched to your claim — most with facts like yours, plus a couple showing what the Board turned down. Findings of Fact and Reasons & Bases quoted word for word, with a citation line ready to paste into your VA form. You see the exact number of matches before you request it.
Claim-shark firms charge $3k–$20k for this research. We built it as a free tool, no cut of your back pay.
The real sample — cover and first decision card. Up to 9 more decisions follow, matched to the facts of your own claim.
20 free tools. Plus a free brief for appeals.
Presumptive Conditions Checker
AI reads your service narrative and matches against PACT Act burn-pit, Agent Orange (incl. hypertension via PACT 2022 addition), Camp Lejeune, Gulf War Illness, and radiation frameworks. CFR citations included.
~10 sec · 8 frameworks · free
Checks every framework VA presumes service connection under:PACT ActAgent OrangeCamp LejeuneGulf War IllnessRadiation-exposed veteransAtomic VeteransFormer Prisoners of WarCheck what I qualify forRating Estimator
Your conditions mapped to 38 CFR Part 4 diagnostic codes. Combined rating calculator. 2026 monthly dollar amount with dependents. Auto-flags TDIU eligibility (most miss it).
~15 sec · 2026 rates · TDIU-aware
Denial Letter Decoder
Paste your VA Rating Decision. AI helps identify denied issues, translate VA-speak into plain English, compare appeal lanes (Supplemental, HLR, or Board), and identify evidence gaps. Confirm the notice date and review deadline with a VA-accredited representative.
~20 sec · 3 appeal lanes · free
More free tools
What the VA already owes you.
An iPhone app that works out the money side of your file: extra statutory pay you may qualify for, back pay from an earlier effective date, and which of your ratings the VA can no longer cut. Every figure shows the federal rule it came from.
No AI guesses. It is arithmetic over the published 38 CFR tables — the same rules the tools on this site run on, in your pocket, offline.
Free — no purchase, no subscription
Never a percentage of your back pay. Emerit is free, and the tools on this site stay free too.
Four checks, run against your own file
You enter your ratings once. Everything below is computed from that, on your phone.
Extra statutory pay (SMC)
Whether you look eligible for Special Monthly Compensation, and at which level. It is paid on top of your percentage. The most-missed one is loss of use of a creative organ.
38 CFR 3.350
Back pay
What an earlier effective date is actually worth. Payments start the first day of the month after the effective date — not on it — which quietly costs most estimates a month.
38 CFR 3.31
Rating protection
Which of your ratings are locked under the 5-, 10- and 20-year rules, which are still exposed, and the exact date each one changes.
38 CFR 3.951, 3.957
Deadline clocks
The one-year window to file a Supplemental Claim or a Higher-Level Review, counted down and reminded before it closes.
38 CFR 3.2500
Your file stays on your phone
No account, no login, no server copy. There is nothing to sign in to.
What it is not
A reference tool. It does not file your claim, cannot represent you, and never talks to the VA. Accredited reps are free — use them too.
Free. iPhone, iOS 17 and up. Read the full breakdown at emerit.aiappnation.com →
No iPhone? The SMC checker and back-pay calculator are free on this site today.
Who does what
Know the difference. It's your rating, your money.
Paid claim services
Check fees and accreditation
- ✗Read the fee terms before signing
- ✗Ask what service the fee covers
- ✗Verify VA accreditation for representation
- ✗Compare with free VA-accredited help
NexusVetClaims
You are here
- ✓Free AI tools you run yourself
- ✓Software, not representation
- ✓Built by a vet who lived it
- ✓No strategy-call upsell, no % cut
VA-accredited VSOs
DAV · VFW · American Legion
- •Free — use them too
- •Overloaded, weeks-long waits
- •Quality varies wildly
- •Required for representation by 38 USC 5904
Guides · 80 conditions · PACT, AO, Lejeune, Gulf War
Rating guides for the most-claimed conditions.
Plain-English breakdowns of 38 CFR Part 4: every rating tier, what it takes to reach it, the 2026 monthly dollar amount at each one, the secondary conditions that ride along, and nexus tips. All free, no signup.
Sleep Apnea (Obstructive)
- RatingMonthly, 2026What it takes
- 0%—Asymptomatic but with documented sleep-disordered breathing on sleep study.
- 30%$552.47Persistent daytime hypersomnolence.
- 50%$1,132.90Requires use of a breathing-assistance device such as CPAP or BiPAP.
- 100%$3,938.58Chronic respiratory failure with carbon dioxide retention or cor pulmonale, OR requires tracheostomy.
2026 rates for a single veteran with no dependents. Read the full guide →
Pick your condition
Free template · 12 conditions · Word download
A free nexus letter template, ready for your doctor.
A nexus letter is the medical opinion connecting your condition to your service. It is the piece most claims turn on, and the piece most often written in wording the VA throws out. Copy the full letter with the wording VA looks for, or pick your condition for a version with it already filled in.
It is my medical opinion that [VETERAN NAME]'s [CONDITION] is at least as likely as not [caused by / incurred during / aggravated beyond its natural progression by] [THE IN-SERVICE EVENT, EXPOSURE, OR SERVICE-CONNECTED CONDITION].
That phrase is VA's standard — a 50 percent or greater chance. “Possibly” and “may be” sit below it, and a rater can read them as a no.
Or start from your condition
Video · free on YouTube · nothing to sign up for
Prefer to watch?
Plain-English walkthroughs of the benefits most veterans never hear about. Pick one — it opens on YouTube.
2027 VA Disability Rates at 3.6%: Your New Monthly Pay at Every Rating (and When It Starts)
Nexus Vet Claims — 4:38 long. Opens on YouTube in a new tab.
VA Rating Increase: How to Ask for More Without Risking the Rating You Have
Nexus Vet Claims — 4:30 long. Opens on YouTube in a new tab.
VA Disability: Your Kid Turns 18 And Your Check Drops
Nexus Vet Claims — 7:41 long. Opens on YouTube in a new tab.
SMC-K vs. Basic Compensation: What You Need to Know in 2026
Nexus Vet Claims — 7:57 long. Opens on YouTube in a new tab.
Start where you are.
If you don't know where to start, start with the presumptive checker. The VA presumes service-connection for certain conditions tied to qualifying service. Check which conditions and service requirements apply to your situation.
Check my presumptive eligibilityPrefer to read first? How VA claims actually work — plain English, no signup.
How is this free?
Fair question. There’s no catch, and you never pay us. Here is how the lights stay on:
- The site shows Google ads.
- We’re talking with VSOs and accredited firms about partnerships.
We never take a cut of your rating or back pay, and we never sell your claim details.
We will never ask you for money.
No fees, no card, no share of your benefits. We will also never ask for your VA.gov login. If someone says they’re from NexusVetClaims and asks for any of that, it’s a scam.
Report it to the VA Inspector General hotline or the FTC.
NexusVetClaims is not affiliated with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. We provide claim-preparation software only. Always consult a VA-accredited representative before submitting a claim.