The Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) benefit paid by the Department of Veterans Affairs to survivors of certain deceased veterans will increase by 2.8% for 2026.
What Is DIC?
DIC is a monthly benefit paid to eligible survivors of certain deceased veterans. There are two main types, one for surviving spouses and one for surviving parents.
The surviving spouse DIC is a congressionally mandated monthly benefit that adjusts annually based on the cost of living.
A surviving spouse who remarried before Jan. 5, 2021, must have been under 57 years old at the time of remarrying to receive DIC. A surviving spouse who remarried after Jan. 5, 2021, may continue to receive DIC if they did so as soon as age 55.
Spouses are eligible for increased benefits if they have children under 18 or if they have a disability themselves that requires living assistance.
Parent DIC is based on the parent's income. Typically, only those parents whose income is below a certain level are eligible.
How Much Is DIC?
The basic monthly tax-free DIC benefit will increase from $1,653.07 for 2025 to a projected $1,699.36 for 2025, with other rates also seeing the 2.8% increase. The Social Security Administration announced the 2.8% raise Oct. 24, 2025. The Department of Veterans Affairs will release the official DIC rates later.
Phaseout of Widows Tax
Starting in 2023, affected surviving spouses who received DIC and Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) payments from the deceased veteran's military service no longer saw their SBP payments decreased by the monthly DIC amount. This was due to the completed phaseout of the so called "widows tax."
Related: The Special Survivor Indemnity Allowance (SSIA) Program
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