INTENT TO FILE (ITF)

Transcription

1 INTENT TO FILE (ITF) The Intent to File (ITF) form, VA Form , is a very important single-page form, which should be completed as soon as you have any intent to file a VA compensation claim. This form, once received by the VA, serves to lock in your effective date for any increased benefit as a result of the next claim you submit. EXAMPLE 1: You have a 90% rating; The VA receives your ITF on any day in January of 2018; 6 months later you submit your VA claim which is received June 2018; The VA completes a favorable decision on October 5, 2018 awarding 100%; The effective date for the 100% pay will begin the day the ITF was received, which was in January Therefore, February 2018 will be the first month of your new rate/pay; You will receive a retro-payment covering February 2018 through September 2018; You will receive October s payment on November Please Note: The first month of the new rate/pay is always the month following the effective date; which is when the ITF was received. Therefore, February 2018 will be the first month that 100% pay will be applied. - IF you had never submitted an ITF and your claim was received in June, then your effective date will be in June, and July 2018 will be the first month of your new 100% pay rate as it is the first month after the effective date of your award. (In this example, you would miss out on 5 months of your increased payments) Please Note: - Compensation payments are paid out the first(1 st ) of every month, which is for the previous month. Payment received on January 1 is for the month of December. Retro-payments are different than compensation payments. Retro-payments are a one-time payment for back-pay, from the time the VA received your claim or ITF to the time when your claim is decided. FOUR WAYS TO SUBMIT YOUR INTENT TO FILE (ITF) TO THE VA a. PREFERRED METHOD: Go on ebenefits and begin an application for a new claim, save, then exit. We have attached a guide to this . ebenefits Login: b. Fill out VA form (ITF) - Mail form to: Dept. of VA Intake Center PO Box 4444 Janesville, WI c. Fax ITF form to (844) d. Call the VA Customer Service and create an ITF with a call center operator. (Least preferred method, relying on VA employee to establish ITF) P: Page 1 of 8 E: info@reemedical.com

2 FAQ s: 1. How do I know if the VA received my ITF? - If you created an ITF in your ebenefits account you will be able to confirm instantly and will also receive a letter (please see attachment). - If you mailed the form you should get a confirmation letter within the next 2-3 weeks. - If you faxed the form you should get a fax response back within a few minutes of the fax being received by the VA with a confirmation number. - If you called the VA then the operator will confirm it and you will receive a letter within the next 1-2 weeks. Please Note: If you do not submit your ITF via ebenefits, it will not reflect in your ebenefits account. 2. What happens if I submit multiple ITFs? As long as your complete VA claim is received within a year of when the VA received your ITFs then the VA will honor the first ITF received; HOWEVER, once a VA claim is received all other ITFs on record are closed and only those conditions claimed will be subject to the ITF date. EXAMPLE 2: On May 29, you submit an ITF via ebenefits; On June 15 you call the VA to establish an ITF; On July 20 you mail a hard copy of the ITF to the VA, received on July 25; You finally submit your VA claim on September 5 for three disabilities; You decide to submit another VA claim on September 10 for five more disabilities you forgot to claim; If all disabilities are granted from both claims, only the three disabilities from the claim received on September 5 will have the effective date of May 29. The other five disabilities will have the effective date of September 10 since the other ITFs were closed due to a claim being received. (In this example, you would miss out 5 months of increased pay) Please note: This is why it is crucial that you only submit one claim with everything you want instead of submitting multiple claims. P: Page 2 of 8 E: info@reemedical.com

3 The following presentation was created in an effort to make opening a claim and creating an Intention to File (ITF) in ebenefits easier. Please follow the steps exactly as stated, unless otherwise instructed. Once complete, please or text your consultant to inform them of your status. Step 1: Log into your ebenefits account at Step 2: Click the check box, then enter DS Logon Username & Password on left. Note: If you have a Government CAC, select Login on right. P: Page 3 of 8 E: info@reemedical.com

4 Step 3: Click Disabilities Step 4: Click Apply Now P: Page 4 of 8 E: info@reemedical.com

5 Step 5: Accept the Privacy Act Info, then click Save & Continue Step 7: Click on Schedule the exam based on my current address on record then click Save & Continue. Note: You must make this selection, even though you will not attend any exams! We will send all supporting documentation the VA needs to make a decision. P: Page 5 of 8 E: info@reemedical.com

6 Step 8: Exit the website, then log back in at Step 9: Click the check box, then enter DS Logon Username & Password on left. Note: If you have a Government CAC, select Login on right. P: Page 6 of 8 E: info@reemedical.com

7 Step 10: Click on Manage, then Status Tracking Step 11: Click on Compensation Claim Status P: Page 7 of 8 E: info@reemedical.com

8 Step 12: You should see a 1 above Active Intents To File. If so, please text or your consultant to let them know your status. P: Page 8 of 8 E: info@reemedical.com