How to Apply for TDIU: VA Forms 21-8940 and 21-4192

• Part of a rating you’re appealing: if your records already show you can’t work because of a condition VA rated, TDIU is part of that rating issue (Rice v. Shinseki, 2009). Send the TDIU form with your Higher-Level Review, Supplemental Claim, or Board appeal.
• A new claim: if no reviewable rating decision raises it, apply with VA Form 21-8940. Accredited representatives can’t charge for help before VA’s first decision, and a Veterans Service Organization will help for free.

The form asks for the items below. Be specific and consistent: dates and job history should match your medical records and any Social Security file.

• The service-connected conditions that keep you from working.
• The date you last worked full time and the date you became too disabled to work.
• Every employer from the last five years you worked, with dates, hours, and pay.
• Your education and any training since you left work.
• Your income, including earnings from part-time or marginal work.

VA sends VA Form 21-4192 to each employer from your last year of work. It asks about your duties, attendance, accommodations, and why the job ended. You can’t complete it yourself, but you can tell the employer it’s coming. If an employer has closed or won’t respond, tell VA in writing.

• Medical opinions describing functional limits, such as sitting, standing, concentration, absences, and medication side effects, are often decisive.
• A vocational expert opinion connecting those limits to your education and work history can be strong evidence.
• Statements from you, former coworkers, supervisors, or family describing what happened at work.
• Social Security disability records, if you have them. VA isn’t bound by that decision, but the evidence can help.

• VA may send VA Form 21-4140 asking you to confirm you haven’t worked. Return it on time.
• Report any work. Marginal employment generally won’t affect the award.
• Ask whether the award is permanent and total. P&T status can open Chapter 35 education benefits for your spouse and children, and CHAMPVA health coverage for family members who don’t qualify for TRICARE.

ClaimScope checks whether your ratings meet the 4.16 thresholds, finds work-history and functional evidence already in your records, and lists what’s missing. With Appeal Builder, when TDIU is part of a decided rating you’re appealing, it fills VA Form 21-8940 with your service-connected conditions and notes the 21-4192 your employers will receive.

This article is general information, not legal advice, and does not guarantee any VA decision.