VA Cross Referencing with the IRS on Income Prior to Date of Pension Application

Although there is currently no penalty look back period with regard to Non Service Connected Pension claims, the VA has started cross referencing with the IRS upon the initial application.

In doing so, income received prior to the date of entitlement is now under scrutiny.

This fairly new policy is also allowing the VA to discover previously transferred assets by tracking them through IRS income forms. As such, the VA has begun to question whether or not ownership and control has been relinquished and whether or not the claimant is benefiting from the transferred asset.

This policy can be a little frightening to claimants and to their advocates who may have to prove that certain assets were transferred in full prior to the date of filing.

One must keep in mind that just because the VA questions assets or income, it does not mean that the claim will be denied. With regard to income, this new policy does create an even bigger problem in that the IRS documents on a calendar year; whereas, the VA looks at income only from the date of filing. This means that income received in January may temporarily be the impetus to deny a claim with a June 1 date of entitlement.

However with a detailed explanation by the claimant or accredited advocate explaining that the income was received prior to the date of filing, this problem should be resolved.

Now, more than ever, our eligible veterans and their survivors need the help of an accredited attorney