When you have an intent to file (VA Form 21-0966) on record, filing your actual claim before it expires preserves your effective date, which determines how far back your compensation can be paid if the claim is later granted. Missing that window means your effective date would instead be the date VA receives your formal claim, potentially costing you months of retroactive pay. Because of this, most veterans in your situation are better off filing before the intent to file lapses rather than waiting for outside testing to be completed.
You do not need a completed diagnostic workup, such as a pulmonary function test, before filing. VA's duty to assist under 38 CFR 3.159 requires VA to schedule a Compensation and Pension (C&P) exam once you file a claim for a condition that is not already clearly documented in your treatment records. The C&P examiner, who may be a physician, physician assistant, or nurse practitioner, can order or perform the PFT themselves as part of that exam, and many respiratory claims are in fact confirmed this way rather than through prior private or VA primary care testing.
Official 2026 VA monthly compensation, including the 2.8% COLA increase.
Dependent add-ons start at a 30% rating. Child-only and dependent-parent rates: see the full 2026 pay chart.
| Rating | Monthly (2026, incl. 2.8% COLA) |
|---|---|
| 10% | $180.42 |
| 20% | $356.66 |
| 30% | $552.47 |
| 40% | $795.84 |
| 50% | $1,132.90 |
| 60% | $1,435.02 |
| 70% | $1,808.45 |
| 80% | $2,102.15 |
| 90% | $2,362.30 |
| 100% | $3,938.58 |
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Analyze my claim free →That said, if you can get a PFT completed and uploaded to your claims file (via your VA patient portal or given to your rating team) before the C&P exam takes place, it will not hurt your case and may support consistency between your existing records and the examiner's findings. If scheduling makes that unrealistic before your intent to file expires, filing without it and letting the C&P process establish the diagnosis is a normal and accepted path, particularly for respiratory conditions under the PACT Act's presumptive framework, where the main issues are typically establishing a current diagnosis and qualifying exposure/service history rather than a nexus opinion.
Keep in mind that a rating decision does not automatically follow prior treating-physician impressions; VA relies primarily on the C&P examiner's findings and any objective testing in the file, so an unconfirmed verbal diagnosis alone is unlikely to be the deciding factor either way.
The concrete next step is to file your formal claim (VA Form 21-526EZ) now, before your intent to file expires, and separately continue pursuing the PFT so you can submit the results as evidence if they come back before your C&P exam or rating decision is issued.
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