Payments and debts

Considerations

When we write about debt, we want to always communicate these things:

• Help is always available. We always aim to include the message that we’re here to help Veterans manage their debt through repayment plans or debt relief options.
• Timely action is important. Veterans can avoid issues such as late fees and collection action by either paying their debt balance or requesting help within 30 days. We always aim to communicate this to make clear the importance of taking timely action.

Related terms

benefit overpayment (or overpayment)

We use this term to describe when VA pays a Veteran too much money related to a VA benefit (such as disability, education, or pension benefits) and the Veteran now owes that money back to VA.

• Note: Use “benefit overpayment” on first mention and “overpayment” for all subsequent mentions. “Overpayments” alone is OK for all instances with limited character counts.

balance (used with “debt balance” and “copay bill balance”)

We use this term to describe the remaining amount a Veteran owes on a debt or copay bill.

• Note: We use this term mainly within the online debt portal itself.

benefit debt

Go to the “benefit debt” entry in the Retired terms section.

compromise offer

We use this term to describe this specific debt repayment or relief option. A compromise offer means that the Veteran offers VA a lesser one-time lump sum amount as full payment.

• Note: Compromise offers are a debt repayment or relief option for both benefit overpayment and copay debt. Other options include monthly repayment plans, monthly offsets (overpayment debt only), waivers, and write-offs (copay debt only).

copay (or copayment, or health care copay)

We use this term to describe the amount some Veterans pay for certain health care services and prescriptions.

• Note: Use “health care copay” on first mention in general content where the context of health care is necessary and then “copay” on subsequent mentions.

copay bill (or patient statement, or billing statement)

We use these terms to describe the bill or statement that a Veteran receives for their health care copay.

debt

We use this term as the overarching term for any money the Veteran owes to VA. “Debt” encompasses money owed for overpayments as well as copays.

debt relief

We use this term to describe help that VA offers Veterans for their debt (such as a compromise offer or waiver).

monthly offset

We use this term to describe when VA keeps (or “offsets”) all or part of a Veteran’s VA benefit payments each month to pay down a debt.

• Note: Monthly offsets are a debt repayment or relief option for benefit overpayment debt. Other options include compromise offers, monthly repayment plans, and waivers.

outstanding debt

We use this term to describe a debt that the Veteran currently owes to VA. We currently use “outstanding debt” in headers within MyVA and the VA mobile app.

overpayment (or overpayment debt)

We use this term to refer to a debt that’s because of an overpayment. In some cases, we can go with “overpayments” (and not add “overpayment debts”).

payment (or payments, or VA payment)

We use these terms in different contexts. We typically use VA payment to describe a payment that VA makes to the Veteran. However, we do use payment (without the VA) in the context of payment history to describe the display of a historical record of payments from VA to the Veteran. We also use the plural version of this term (Payments) as the top-level category to house debts and payment history in the VA mobile app. We also use payment in the context of a payment a Veteran can make to pay down a debt.

payment history

We use this term for displaying a history of payments from VA to a Veteran.

pay

We use this term to describe paying a copay bill.

• Note: We use the term “repay” to describe repaying an overpayment from VA. We use “make a payment” in both contexts.

pay down a debt

We use this phrase to describe how a Veteran makes payments toward paying down a debt over time.

repay

We use this term (instead of “pay”) to describe repaying an overpayment from VA.

• Note: We use the term “pay” to describe paying a copay bill. We use “make a payment” in both contexts.

repayment plan (or monthly repayment plan)

We use this term to describe a debt repayment or relief option in which a Veteran pays a smaller amount each month to pay down a debt.

• Note: Repayment plans are a debt repayment or relief option for both benefit overpayment and copay debt. Other options include compromise offers, monthly offsets (overpayment debt only), waivers, and write-offs (copay debt only).

waiver

We use this term to describe a debt repayment or relief option in which a Veteran asks VA to forgive (or “waive”) part or all of a debt.

• Note: Waivers are a debt repayment or relief option for both benefit overpayment and copay debt. Other options include compromise offers, monthly offsets (overpayment debt only), monthly repayment plans, waivers, and write-offs (copay debt only).

write-off

We use this term to describe a debt repayment or relief option in which a Veteran asks VA to cancel a debt.

• Note: Write-offs are a debt repayment or relief option for copay debt. Other options include compromise offers, monthly repayment plans, and waivers.

Retired terms

benefit debt

Previously we used this term to describe a debt related to VA benefits and to distinguish it from copay-related debt. We now refer to all benefit-related debts as “overpayments,” as this is a less negative term.

• Note: Use “overpayment” instead.

Resources

• Examples of published content on VA payments and debts
• Organic SEO and VA.gov search for VA payments and debts
• Content-specific research findings for VA payments and debts
• Full content brief for VA payments and debts