Information verified through July 27, 2026
If you're a military retiree and the VA rated you for injuries connected to combat or combat-like duty, CRSC can put money back in your pocket that you're currently losing to something called the "VA waiver" — and that money comes to you tax-free. Here's the plain version: CRSC is not a VA claim, it is not automatic, and it is not a raise. It's a reimbursement. Your service branch decides which of your disabilities are combat-related, and DFAS — the military's pay office — pays you each month. This guide walks through what CRSC is, who qualifies, how the payment is figured, how it compares to CRDP, and how to apply.
Key takeaways
- CRSC is a tax-free monthly payment for retirees whose disabilities are combat-related. It's run by your service branch and paid by DFAS — not the VA, though it uses your VA ratings.
- To qualify you must be receiving military retired pay, have a VA rating of at least 10%, and be waiving retired pay to receive VA compensation.
- Only injuries tied to one of four combat-related categories count — and no Purple Heart is required.
- CRSC is never automatic. You apply with DD Form 2860, and you have to sign it.
- After the 2025 Supreme Court decision in Soto v. United States, the old six-year cap on back pay is gone.
What CRSC actually is (in plain English)
Start with the problem CRSC exists to fix. By law, you generally can't collect your full military retired pay and full VA disability compensation at the same time. So to receive tax-free VA disability pay, most retirees give up — "waive" — an equal dollar amount of their taxable retired pension. That trade is the VA waiver, and it stings: you earned a pension over a full career, but a chunk of it is offset dollar-for-dollar by your VA check. On paper your "gross" retired pay looks the same; in your bank account, a piece of it is gone.
Congress built two programs to give that money back. One is CRDP (Concurrent Retirement and Disability Pay). The other is CRSC. CRSC returns some or all of the retired pay the waiver took — but only for the portion of your disability that is combat-related, and it arrives tax-free.
The simplest way to think about it: CRSC is a tax-free reimbursement for the pension dollars you had to waive — limited to your combat-connected injuries. It doesn't replace your VA pay and it isn't a bonus. It gives back what the offset takes.
Who qualifies for CRSC
Per DFAS, there are essentially three boxes you must check, plus the combat-related piece below:
- You're entitled to or receiving military retired pay. A 20-year (regular) retirement counts. So does a Chapter 61 medical retirement — even with fewer than 20 years of service. So does a TERA early retirement. Reserve and Guard "gray-area" retirees generally qualify once they actually begin drawing retired pay (usually at age 60), unless they were medically retired.
- You have a VA disability rating of at least 10%.
- You waive VA pay from your retired pay. Nearly every retiree who receives VA compensation already does this — it's the offset described above.
One honest wrinkle for medical retirees: Chapter 61 retirees can absolutely qualify, but their CRSC is limited to the longevity portion of retired pay (more on that in the next section). Not sure whether you're eligible? Our CRSC eligibility guide walks through each retirement type.
What "combat-related" means (the four categories)
This is the heart of CRSC. A condition only counts if your branch ties it to at least one of four categories:
1. Armed conflict
Injuries from actual combat — firefights, IED or rocket attacks, wounds sustained during operations.
2. Hazardous duty
Inherently dangerous duty such as parachute jumps, demolition/EOD, flight, or diving. This does not require a combat zone or even a deployment — a stateside jump injury can qualify.
3. An instrumentality of war
Harm from a military vehicle, weapon, or device — blast exposure from ordnance, hearing loss from weapons systems, an armored-vehicle rollover, aircraft.
4. Training that simulates war
Injuries from realistic combat training — live-fire ranges, combatives, air-assault operations, large field exercises.
Two things that surprise people, both in your favor: you do not need a Purple Heart, and you do not have to have deployed for every category. What you do need is to prove the connection on paper — the CRSC board decides on your file, not your memory. That evidence gap is the single most common reason qualified retirees get denied. We break it down in Where most CRSC packets die.
How much does CRSC pay? (There is no "pay chart")
You'll find "2026 CRSC pay charts" all over the internet. Ignore them — there is no official CRSC pay chart, and those charts routinely overstate what people actually receive. Your CRSC is the lesser of two numbers:
- The VA-table dollar value of only your combat-related conditions (at your combat-related percentage, using the current VA compensation rates), or
- The amount of retired pay you waived.
For a typical 20-year retiree, that second number is usually your full waiver, so the VA value often controls. For a Chapter 61 medical retiree, the ceiling is the longevity portion of retired pay — roughly 2.5% × years of service × your "high-3" average base pay. That figure can be far lower than a chart implies.
A quick example. A soldier medically retired at 8 years with a $4,000 high-3 has a longevity value of about $800/month (2.5% × 8 × $4,000). Even if a "chart" shows a 90% figure near $2,500, his CRSC is capped at roughly $800 — because $800 is the retired pay he actually waived. The honest math beats the chart every time, which is why we built a CRSC calculator that runs your numbers instead. For the full formula with worked examples, see How is CRSC calculated.
On rates: CRSC borrows the VA compensation tables, which rose 2.8% (the annual cost-of-living adjustment) effective December 1, 2025, first appearing in the January 2026 payment. For a veteran with no dependents, VA monthly amounts currently run from $180.42 at 10% to $3,938.58 at 100%.
CRSC vs. CRDP (the two-minute version)
- CRDP restores all of your waived retired pay, but it is taxable and requires 20+ years of service and a 50% or higher VA rating.
- CRSC is tax-free, but covers only combat-related conditions — and Chapter 61 / under-20-year retirees can receive it when they can't get CRDP.
You can't collect both at once. DFAS pays whichever is greater, and there's an annual open season to switch. Which one wins depends on how much of your rating is combat-related. We run the after-tax comparison in CRSC vs. CRDP: which pays more.
The 2026 back-pay update (Soto)
In Soto v. United States (June 12, 2025), the Supreme Court unanimously held that the Barring Act's six-year limit does not apply to CRSC. In plain terms: back pay can now reach all the way to when you first became eligible, not just six years back. Statutory floors still apply — generally no earlier than June 1, 2003, or January 1, 2008 for Chapter 61 medical retirees.
There was a brief detour: DoD issued interim guidance in August 2025 and January 2026 that tried to re-limit retroactive pay based on application dates. On May 14, 2026, DoD rescinded those limits and ordered the branches to use the effective date set by the statute, and to review and correct affected awards. The Army has begun an automatic re-review of about 7,000 claims — but that only fixes effective dates on claims already filed. If you never applied, or you want a new condition considered, you still have to file. The full timeline is in our Soto explainer.
What this means for military retirees
If you retired with combat-connected injuries and you're taking the VA offset, CRSC is very likely worth checking. It's real, tax-free money, and the back-pay window is wider than it's been in years. The catch is that CRSC is paperwork-driven: qualified retirees get denied every day because their packet never proved the combat connection in the board's language. The good news is that this is fixable — it comes down to matching each condition to the right category and backing it with records.
What you should do now
- Confirm the basics. Check your Retiree Account Statement (RAS) in myPay to verify you're receiving VA compensation and taking the waiver.
- Map your conditions. List which of your VA-rated conditions trace to combat or combat-like duty, and which of the four categories each fits.
- Gather your proof (checklist below).
- Estimate the ballpark with the CRSC calculator.
- File DD Form 2860 with your branch — and sign it. Our DD Form 2860 walkthrough covers each block, and how to apply by branch has the exact mailing office for the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard.
Document checklist
- DD Form 214 (and any DD 215 corrections)
- VA rating decision letter(s)
- DD Form 2860, completed and signed
- Records that prove the event or duty: award citations, line-of-duty findings, incident/after-action reports, jump or dive logs, hazardous-duty orders, MOS and deployment records
- Service treatment records for the injury
- Buddy or lay statements where the records are thin
Send copies, never originals.
Frequently asked questions
Is CRSC the same as a VA claim?
No. CRSC is decided by your service branch and paid by DFAS. It relies on your VA ratings, but it is not a VA benefit and does not change your VA compensation.
Do I need a Purple Heart to get CRSC?
No. A Purple Heart can help and may extend how far back your retroactive pay reaches, but it is not required. Most awards are granted through the four combat-related categories.
Is CRSC taxable?
No. CRSC is tax-free.
Can I receive CRSC and CRDP at the same time?
No. You receive whichever pays more, and you can switch during the annual open season.
I have fewer than 20 years (medical retirement). Can I still get CRSC?
Yes. Chapter 61 medical retirees can qualify, though the payment is capped at the longevity portion of your retired pay.
The bottom line
CRSC isn't complicated once you strip out the jargon. It's tax-free money that gives combat-injured retirees back part of the pension the VA offset takes, you have to apply for it, and only combat-related conditions count. Get the categories and the proof right, and a qualified retiree gets paid.
Sources: DFAS — Combat Related Special Compensation (page updated Jun 25 2024); VA.gov — Combat-Related Special Compensation; Congressional Research Service R40589, Concurrent Receipt of Military Retired Pay and Veteran Disability; Soto v. United States, No. 24-320 (U.S. June 12, 2025); NVLSP — Soto v. U.S. Retroactive CRSC FAQs (Apr 2026); DoD CRSC program guidance / 10 U.S.C. §1413a.