VA Travel Reimbursement, Eligibility, Payout and How to claim?

Veterans and their caregivers who provide help to those who are travelling or to approved health care appointments may be eligible for reimbursement of their mileage and other travel expenses through VA, if they meet certain requirements of the VA reimbursement. 

VA Travel Reimbursement

According to VA, general reimbursement covers regular transportation, such as by car, plan, train, bus, taxi or light rail. You can make claims online through the beneficiary travel self service system, VA offers easy instructions for creating your creation to login, filling out your profile and entering your first claim on its website. 

This benefit in most cases is meant for veterans who may have difficulty attending appointments, and should further encourage those with serious conditions or financial hardship to continue to seek healthcare and monitor their condition. 

It goes without saying that if you are eligible for these benefits, you should most certainly pursue your claim. The travel and expense reimbursement process generally involves employees collecting physical copies of their receipts or any other documentation as a proof of expense, preparing expense reports and then submitting them to the finance department.

• VA Disability Payment Schedule 2024
• VA Extra Payment 2024

Eligibility for VA Travel Reimbursement

As a veteran, you  must be eligible for reimbursement if you meet the requirements listed here:

• You are travelling for care at a VA health facility or for VA approved care at a non VA health facility in your community. 
• You have a VA disability rating of 30% or above.
• You are travelling for treatment of a service connected condition, even if your VA disability rating is less than 30%.
• You receive a VA pension.
• You travel to obtain a service animal. 
• Your travel is related to rehabilitative care. 
• You have an income that’s below to the maximum annual VA pension rate.
• You can’t afford to pay for your travel as defined by guidelines.
• You are travelling for one of these reasons like a scheduled VA claim exam to get a service dog, or for VA approved transplant care.

They pay for transportation and related lodging and meals for non- Veterans if the person meet this eligibility criteria:

• The person is your family caregiver under the National Caregiver program travelling to receive caregiver training or support your care.
• The person is medically required to attendant travelling with you to support your care.
• The person is your transplant care and donor or support person.

How to File a VA Travel Reimbursement Claim?

If you are a Veteran or caregiver who is eligible for general VA health care travel reimbursement, you can file your claims online.

There are steps to file a VA travel reimbursement claim online:

• Set up to direct deposit, they can deposit your reimbursement into your bank account. 

• Go to the Access VA travel claim portal.
• Sign in to the travel claim entry portal with these accounts like Login.gov, ID.me, DS Lagon, My HealthVet and VA PIV, if you don’t have one of these accounts, then you can create a Login.gov or ID.me account and then sign in. 
• Once you sign in, you will go to the portal welcome page. 
• Check the box to agree to the terms and conditions. 
• Then select the proceed to profile review.
• After that go to your dashboard and save any needed updates to your personal contact or financial information.
• Go to the My Claim and select create a claim for the appointment you are claiming travel pay for. 
• If you have receipts or proof of attendance records for non- VA care appointments, then select Add Attachments. 
• Check the box to show your agreement and then select the submit claim.
• After you submit your claim, the system will redirect you back to your payment within 3 to 5 business days. 
• You can choose to save your claim and come back later to edit it, but you will still need to submit it within 30 days of your appointment. 

How much is the VA Travel Reimbursement Payout?

The VA will reimburse round trip mileage at 41.5 cents per mile, if the travel is related to approved healthcare expenses. The VA requires a small deductible before reimbursing for travel related expenses. 

The current deductible is $3 one way or the $6 round trip, up to %18 per month. If you surpass $18 deductible then the VA will pay the full cost of your travel for the remainder of this month.