VA Travel Pay and Mileage Reimbursement

• Mileage rate: 41.5 cents per mile (round-trip, calculated from your home to the VA facility and back via the shortest route per Bing Maps)
• Deductible: $3.00 one-way / $6.00 round-trip
• Monthly deductible cap: $18.00. Once you've paid $18 in deductibles in a calendar month, all remaining approved trips that month are reimbursed with no deductible
• Filing deadline: 30 days from the appointment date
• Payment speed: 3-5 business days via direct deposit when filed online, longer for paper claims

You qualify if any one of the following is true:

• 30%+ service-connected rating for any approved VA appointment, regardless of what it's for
• Any service-connected rating, traveling for treatment of an SC condition. Even a 0% compensable rating counts, as long as the appointment is for the service-connected condition
• Receiving a VA pension (deductible waived)
• Traveling to a Compensation & Pension (C&P) exam. No rating required, deductible waived
• Income at or below the maximum annual VA pension rate. VA also counts you if job loss or a new disability means your income for the year of travel will not go over that rate (38 CFR 70.10(c))
• Traveling for care in a VA special disability rehabilitation program (programs at spinal cord injury centers, blind rehabilitation centers, and prosthetics rehabilitation centers), if the care is inpatient or VA gives you temporary lodging while you get it
• Traveling to get a service dog (38 CFR 17.148), or for VA-approved transplant care

Deductible Waivers

The $3 / $6 deductible is automatically waived if you:

• Receive a VA pension
• Are traveling for a C&P exam
• Are using special mode transport (ambulance, wheelchair van)
• Are an eligible non-veteran (for example, a caregiver or attendant)
• Have a non-service-connected disability with prior-year income below the VA maximum annual pension rate
• Meet specific income-based hardship criteria

Quick estimate of what one round-trip is worth. The actual VA calculation uses the shortest/fastest route per Bing Maps from your registered home address to the facility, close to driving distance for most veterans.

For frequent travelers, remember the $18 monthly deductible cap: after three round-trips at the standard deductible, you've hit the cap and the rest of the month is deductible-free.

Standard Travel

• Personal vehicle mileage at 41.5¢/mile
• Bridge, road, and tunnel tolls (keep receipts)
• Parking fees (keep receipts)
• Public transit fares (bus, subway, train)
• Taxi and rideshare fares
• Airfare, when pre-approved

Lodging & Meals

Reimbursable when an overnight stay is medically necessary and pre-approved by the VA, for example an early-morning specialty appointment far from home, or a multi-day evaluation. Reimbursed up to 50% of the local federal government per diem rate. Receipts required.

Not Covered

• Rental cars
• Travel to non-VA facilities without prior community-care authorization (except true emergencies)
• Entertainment, alcohol, or non-clinical hotel nights
• Mileage on trips where you used a free transportation service (DAV van, Veterans Transportation Service shuttle, municipal senior shuttle). No double-claiming
• Two veterans claiming the same trip when riding together. Only the driver is reimbursed

Special Mode Transportation covers ambulance, wheelchair van, or specially equipped vehicle transport when standard travel is not medically possible. This is a separate claim type from regular mileage. You qualify only if all three are true: you meet one of the eligibility rules in Who Qualifies, a VA clinician finds that your medical condition requires an ambulance or a specially equipped van, and VA approved the trip in advance. Advance approval is not needed in an emergency where a delay would be hazardous to life or health.

• Requires: medical justification (you cannot safely travel by car)
• Pre-approval: required. You must also meet one of the basic travel eligibility rules, and a VA clinician must find the special transport medically needed. The only exception is an emergency where waiting would be hazardous to life or health.
• Filing: separate claim form / category in BTSSS, not combined with mileage

Method 1: Online (Recommended, Fastest)

The Beneficiary Travel Self-Service System (BTSSS) is the fastest way to file. Direct deposit usually arrives within 3-5 business days.

1. Go to va.gov/health-care/file-travel-pay-reimbursement
2. Sign in with Login.gov, ID.me, or CLEAR
3. Select the appointment from your list (BTSSS pulls them from your VA record)
4. Confirm origin and destination (the system calculates mileage automatically)
5. Upload receipts for tolls, parking, or lodging
6. Submit. You'll get a confirmation and tracking number.

Method 2: Paper (VA Form 10-3542)

1. Get VA Form 10-3542 (Veteran/Beneficiary Claim for Reimbursement of Travel Expenses) from the Beneficiary Travel office at your VA facility, or download from va.gov
2. Complete every field (incomplete forms are returned without payment)
3. Attach receipts for tolls, parking, lodging
4. Submit in person at the Beneficiary Travel office, or mail to your VA medical center's travel office
5. Keep copies of everything

1. Filed more than 30 days after the appointment. By far the most common denial. File the day of the appointment if possible.
2. Rode a free service and also claimed mileage. If the DAV van or VTS shuttle took you, you can't claim mileage for that trip too.
3. Traveled to a non-VA facility without pre-authorization. Community-care appointments need prior approval to be travel-reimbursable.
4. Two veterans claiming the same car trip. Only the driver gets reimbursed.
5. Missing receipts for tolls, parking, or lodging. Mileage is calculated automatically. Everything else needs documentation.
6. The appointment wasn't an approved VA healthcare appointment. Walk-ins, missed appointments, and visits to a VA facility for non-clinical reasons (records pickup, benefits questions) don't qualify.
7. Claimed a route longer than the shortest/fastest route. The VA uses Bing Maps to calculate distance, not the route you actually drove.

This is a different program from travel pay. If you are enrolled and plan to be away from home, VA can set up your care at another VA facility so it stays consistent. VA asks you to tell your Patient Aligned Care Team (PACT) and any specialty care providers four to six weeks before you travel, or as soon as you can. Your PACT works with the facility's Traveling Veteran Coordinator to arrange care at the other VA site, and that care is recorded in your VA health record.

Give your PACT:

• Where you are going and your temporary address
• A phone number that works
• Your arrival and departure dates
• Any specific care concerns

For more information, contact your PACT or the Traveling Veteran Coordinator at your local VA facility.