What is your VA back-pay actually worth?

How effective dates actually work

• Intent-to-file (ITF) — if you filed VA Form 21-0966 (or called the 800 line and had an ITF logged), your effective date is that day, not the day you filed the actual 21-526EZ. ITFs are good for one year.
• PACT Act presumptive grants — if the condition was added under PACT and you filed within one year of the law’s effective date (8/10/2022), your effective date is the law’s effective date.
• Nehmer — Agent Orange conditions only — if you were denied an herbicide-related condition before it became presumptive, the Nehmer court orders (38 CFR 3.816) can push your effective date back to that original claim — sometimes decades. PACT moved hypertension and MGUS onto the Agent Orange list, so those qualify. This route does not cover burn-pit, radiation or Camp Lejeune conditions — Nehmer is herbicide-only. Consult an accredited rep.
• Freund v. Collins — a closed legacy appeal — a separate class action, unrelated to PACT. If VA closed your appeal between 12/12/1990 and 2/6/2025 for a missing Substantive Appeal (the old Form 9) that you actually filed on time, you are in the certified class and the appeal may be reopened. Back-pay can reach to the original closure. A Substantive Appeal is the only filing that puts you in this class. See the VA settlement notice.
• CUE — Clear and Unmistakable Error — if a prior denial got the law or facts plainly wrong, a successful CUE motion can reach back to the date of that decision, even decades. High bar; consult a rep.
• Reopened / new-and-relevant — a Supplemental Claim (Form 20-0995) within 1 year of a denial preserves the original effective date if it succeeds. File late and the effective date resets to the supplemental filing date.