Beneficiary travel, which almost everyone calls VA travel pay, is the money VA sends you for driving to an approved appointment. It is not a benefit most veterans are told about at enrollment, and the amounts are small per trip, which is exactly why it gets left on the table.
The numbers below were pulled from VA.gov, VHA Directive 1601B.05 and Title 38 of the Code of Federal Regulations on September 6, 2026. The mileage rate and the deductible are both set administratively rather than in statute, so they can change without a rule change, but they have been stable for a long time.
What VA Travel Pay Actually Pays
VA reimburses 41.5 cents ($0.415) per mile for approved, health-related travel. That is the rate published on VA’s own mileage page, and it traces back to a Federal Register notice that raised the beneficiary travel rate from 28.5 cents to 41.5 cents effective November 17, 2008. The rate has not moved since.
It is worth being blunt about what that means. GSA sets the federal employee privately owned vehicle rate at 76 cents per mile effective July 1, 2026. A veteran driving to a VA appointment is reimbursed at barely more than half the rate a federal employee gets for the same miles. Travel pay is a partial offset for the trip, not a full reimbursement of what the drive costs you.
VA measures distance “door to door” using Bing Maps, on the fastest and shortest route between your home and the closest VA or VA-authorized facility that could provide the care you need. If you choose a farther facility without preapproval, VA still pays only to the nearest one that could have handled it.
Scheduled appointments are paid round-trip. For unscheduled visits, including community urgent care, VA states it may pay return mileage only, based on the one-way distance.
2026 Rates and Deductibles at a Glance
| Item | 2026 amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Mileage | 41.5 cents ($0.415) per mile | Round-trip for scheduled appointments, one way for unscheduled care |
| Deductible, one-way trip | $3.00 | Withheld from the payment, not billed to you |
| Deductible, round trip | $6.00 | Two one-way deductions |
| Monthly deductible cap | $18.00 | Reached at $18 or six one-way trips, whichever comes first |
| Tolls and parking | Actual cost | No preapproval needed, keep receipts |
| Meals and lodging | Up to 50% of the local government employee rate | Preapproval required, all receipts required |
| Special mode transport (ambulance, wheelchair van) | Actual cost | Preapproval required except in emergencies; no deductible applies |
| Filing deadline | 30 days from the appointment | Late claims are usually denied |
The deductible amounts and the $18 cap come from VHA Directive 1601B.05 and from VA’s mileage page, which agree exactly. The statutory basis is 38 CFR 70.31, which says VA stops deducting once six one-way trips have been charged in a calendar month.
Who Qualifies for Beneficiary Travel
You must be traveling for care at a VA facility, or for VA-approved community care, and meet at least one of these tests:
- You have a VA disability rating of 30% or higher.
- You are traveling for treatment of a service-connected condition, at any rating, including a rating under 30%.
- You receive a VA pension.
- Your income is below the maximum annual VA pension rate.
- You cannot afford the travel under VA’s hardship guidelines.
- You are traveling for a scheduled VA claim exam (a compensation and pension exam), to get a service dog, or for VA-approved transplant care.
Notice how this differs from the copay rules. Travel pay uses a 30% rating threshold, while copay exemption for outpatient and inpatient care starts at a compensable service-connected rating. The two systems are not aligned, so a veteran can owe a copay and still get travel pay, or the reverse. The full copay picture is in VA priority groups.
Caregivers and attendants have their own path. VA may pay transportation, lodging and meals for a family caregiver under the National Caregiver Program, a medically required attendant traveling with you, or a transplant donor or support person. Travel by an attendant or a non-veteran is exempt from the deductible entirely.
Special mode transportation
Special mode means an ambulance or a specially equipped vehicle, used when your medical condition makes ordinary transportation unsafe. It requires a VA provider’s determination and advance approval, except in an emergency, and it carries no deductible.
If you had an emergency ambulance ride and waiting for approval would have put your life at risk, VA says to call within 72 hours of the transport so the bill can potentially be paid directly to the vendor. That matters, because an unreimbursed ambulance ride is one of the more expensive surprise bills in health care.
How the Deductible and the Waiver Work
The deductible is withheld from your payment rather than billed to you. Drive 40 miles round-trip to a VA clinic and the math is 40 x $0.415 = $16.60, minus a $6 round-trip deductible, leaving $10.60 deposited.
The cap makes frequent travel much better value than occasional travel. Once VA has taken $18 in deductions in a calendar month, everything else that month is paid in full. A veteran in weekly physical therapy hits the cap in the second week and rides free for the rest of the month. A veteran with one appointment a quarter pays the $6 every single time.
The waiver removes the deductible completely. Under 38 CFR 70.31(c), VA must waive it when it would cause severe financial hardship, and VA.gov lists the qualifying conditions:
- You receive a VA pension.
- You are non-service-connected and your income last year was below the maximum annual VA pension rate, or you expect this year’s income to stay below it.
- You are service-connected and your income falls below the VA national income limit for health care benefits and prescriptions.
- You are traveling for a scheduled VA claim exam.
VA says it applies the waiver automatically when it determines you qualify, but you can also request one in person or in writing. A waiver lasts through the end of the calendar year in which you applied, and you are required to tell VA if your household income rises above the threshold during that period. VA also notes that Aid and Attendance and Housebound benefits for 100% service-connected veterans count as special monthly compensation, not as a pension, so they do not by themselves trigger the waiver.
Meals and Lodging
This is the part most veterans never claim. Under 38 CFR 70.30(a)(3) and VA’s own guidance, VA may reimburse the actual cost of meals, lodging, or both, up to 50% of the amount allowed for federal employees in that location, when VA determines an overnight stay is required.
Three conditions apply and all three matter. You need preapproval before you travel, arranged through your facility’s travel clerk. You need every receipt. And VA will not pay for lodging or meals if you chose to stop along the way or take a less direct route.
VA weighs distance, the time of day of your appointment, weather, and your medical condition when deciding whether an overnight stay was required.
How to File
There are three routes, and the online one is by far the fastest.
BTSSS online. The Beneficiary Travel Self-Service System is VA’s claim portal. Veterans generally start from the travel reimbursement page on VA.gov and file for expenses incurred as a veteran; caregivers go directly to the BTSSS website. Payments arrive by electronic funds transfer.
Smartphone check-in. If your facility supports it, you can file a mileage claim as part of appointment check-in. This only works if all three are true: you drove your own vehicle, you traveled from your home address, and you are claiming mileage only with no other expenses.
VA Form 10-3542 on paper. Mail or hand-deliver the completed form and your receipts to the VA facility where you received care. If you mail it, VA counts the postmark as the filing date.
Two setup steps trip people up. Travel pay uses a separate direct deposit from your other VA benefits, so having direct deposit for compensation does not mean travel pay will reach your account. And for community care appointments you need proof of attendance, such as a work or school release note or a document on the provider’s letterhead showing the date the appointment was completed.
File a separate claim for each appointment, and file within 30 days.
The Bottom Line
For a veteran making a 60-mile round trip twice a month, travel pay is roughly $37 in mileage after $12 in deductibles, or about $440 a year. That is not life changing, but it is real money for a benefit that takes about two minutes to claim online, and it stacks with the rest of what VA covers.
If you are trying to work out your full out-of-pocket picture at VA, the two companion numbers are your copays by priority group and your prescription costs. Both are covered in VA priority groups and VA pharmacy costs. Family members are on a different system entirely, which is CHAMPVA.