VA Disability Compensation
How VA Disability Ratings Work
How Do VA Disability Ratings Work?
VA disability ratings measure how severe a service-connected condition is, in steps of 10% from 0% to 100%. VA rates each condition using the Schedule for Rating Disabilities, then combines the ratings with its combined ratings table instead of adding them, so 50% and 30% become 70%, not 80%. Your combined rating sets your monthly pay, from $180.42 at 10% to $3,938.58 at 100% for a veteran alone in 2026. Try your own numbers in the VA combined rating calculator.
What a VA Disability Rating Measures
A VA disability rating is a percentage that shows how much a service-connected condition affects you. VA assigns ratings in steps of 10%, from 0% to 100%. The higher the rating, the higher your monthly compensation.
VA’s rating rules are federal regulations called the Schedule for Rating Disabilities (38 CFR Part 4). The schedule says the percentages represent, as far as practical, the average loss of earning capacity a condition causes in civilian jobs. So the rating is about how a condition limits you, not just the diagnosis. Two veterans with the same diagnosis can get different ratings.
VA bases each rating on three things:
- the evidence you send, such as a doctor’s report or test results;
- the results of your VA claim exam, also called a compensation and pension (C&P) exam, if VA decides you need one;
- other information VA gets, for example from other federal agencies.
If you haven’t filed yet, start with the VA disability compensation overview, then the guide to filing a VA disability claim.
How VA Rates One Condition: PTSD as an Example
The schedule groups conditions by body system and gives each a diagnostic code with criteria for each percentage. Mental health conditions share one set of criteria. Posttraumatic stress disorder (diagnostic code 9411) is rated with the General Rating Formula for Mental Disorders:
| Rating | What the schedule describes, in short |
|---|---|
| 100% | Total occupational and social impairment |
| 70% | Deficiencies in most areas, such as work, school, family relations, judgment, thinking or mood |
| 50% | Reduced reliability and productivity at work and in social life |
| 30% | Occasional decrease in work efficiency, with periods of being unable to do work tasks |
| 10% | Mild or passing symptoms that affect work only under significant stress, or are controlled by continuous medication |
| 0% | Formally diagnosed, but not severe enough to affect work and social life or need continuous medication |
Source: 38 CFR 4.130, eCFR. The full criteria list example symptoms at each level.
Other conditions have their own criteria in the schedule. Your C&P examiner records findings that VA then compares with those criteria, and the exam results are one of the three things VA uses to pick your percentage.
How VA Combines Multiple Disability Ratings
Most veterans have more than one rated condition. VA doesn’t add ratings together. It uses the “whole person” approach: a veteran starts at 100% able, and each rating takes its share only from what’s left. That’s why a combined rating can’t go over 100%.
VA follows these steps:
- Put your ratings in order from highest to lowest.
- Find the highest rating in the left column of the combined ratings table and the next one in the top row. Where they meet is the combined value. For 50% and 30%, that’s 65.
- If you have a third rating, find the unrounded combined value in the left column and the third rating in the top row. Repeat for each rating.
- Round only the final value to the nearest 10%. Values ending in 1 to 4 round down, and values ending in 5 to 9 round up. So 65 becomes 70%.
Two 10% ratings combine to 19%, which rounds to 20%. Rounding happens once, at the very end, never in between.
Combined Rating Examples
These examples use the official combined ratings table in 38 CFR 4.25. VA’s own web copy of the table has one cell that differs from the regulation, so these figures come from the eCFR version.
| Your ratings | Combined value | Final combined rating |
|---|---|---|
| 50% and 30% | 65 | 70% |
| 40% and 40% | 64 | 60% |
| 30% and 20% | 44 | 40% |
| 30% and 30% | 51 | 50% |
| 70% and 30% | 79 | 80% |
| 50% and 50% | 75 | 80% |
| 70% and 50% | 85 | 90% |
| 90% and 50% | 95 | 100% |
| 60%, 40% and 20% | 60 and 40 make 76; 76 and 20 make 81 | 80% |
Small differences matter. 40% and 40% land at 60%, while 50% and 50% reach 80%. To try your own ratings, use the VA combined rating calculator.
The Bilateral Factor for Both Arms or Both Legs
When a condition affects both arms, both legs, or paired skeletal muscles, VA adds a little extra. Under 38 CFR 4.26, VA combines the right and left ratings as usual, then adds 10% of that combined value. The result counts as one disability when VA puts your ratings in order.
The regulation’s own example: ratings of 60, 20, 10 and 10, where the two 10s are bilateral. The two 10s combine to 19, and adding 10% of 19 gives 21. The order becomes 60, 21 and 20. Then 60 and 21 combine to 68, and 68 and 20 combine to 74, which rounds to 70%.
The bilateral factor applies only when there’s a compensable rating in each of the paired limbs or muscles. If leaving it out would give you a higher combined rating, VA leaves it out.
What Happens When You Add a New Condition
A new service-connected condition doesn’t add its full percentage to your rating. VA starts again from your unrounded values and runs every rating through the table.
Say you’re rated 60% for one condition and 30% for another. The table combines them to 72, which rounds to 70%. Later VA grants a third condition at 20%. VA combines 72 with 20 and gets 78, which rounds to 80%. Your new 20% rating raised your combined rating by 10 points, not 20.
The higher your combined rating, the less each new rating moves it, because each one applies only to the share of you not already counted. That’s also why reaching 100% on the table usually takes several high ratings. A veteran with 90% and 50% reaches a combined value of 95, which rounds up to 100%.
Before you file for a new condition, run your current and expected ratings through the VA combined rating calculator so you know what a new rating could change.
When a New Rating Takes Effect
Your rating comes with an effective date, and that date sets how far back VA pays you.
- A first claim for a condition caused or made worse by service: the later of the date VA gets your claim or the date your condition began. If VA gets your claim within 1 year of the day you left active service, the effective date can be as early as the day after separation.
- An increase for a rated condition: the earliest date you can show the condition got worse, if VA gets your request within 1 year of that date. Otherwise it’s the date VA gets the claim.
An intent to file gives you 1 year to complete your claim. VA reported an average of 68.4 days to complete disability-related claims in August 2026.
How Your Rating Turns Into Pay
Your combined rating, not any single rating, sets your payment. Here’s what a veteran with no dependents gets at each level, effective December 1, 2025:
| Combined rating | Monthly payment, veteran alone |
|---|---|
| 10% | $180.42 |
| 30% | $552.47 |
| 50% | $1,132.90 |
| 70% | $1,808.45 |
| 90% | $2,362.30 |
| 100% | $3,938.58 |
Rounding can move your pay a lot. A combined value of 64 rounds to 60% and pays $1,435.02. A value of 65 rounds to 70% and pays $1,808.45. The 2026 VA disability pay rates list every rating with dependent amounts.
Rating Levels That Open Other Benefits
Some thresholds matter beyond the monthly check:
| Rating | What it opens |
|---|---|
| 10% or higher | No VA copay for inpatient or outpatient care |
| 30% or higher | Extra monthly pay for a spouse, children or dependent parents |
| 50% or higher | VA health care priority group 1, with no copay for any medications |
| 100% (permanent and total) | Benefits for family, such as CHAMPVA health coverage |
If your conditions keep you from holding a steady job, Individual Unemployability (TDIU) can pay you at the 100% rate without changing your rating. The 100% rating benefits guide covers the full list at the top level.
Getting a Higher Rating or Challenging Your Rating
Ratings aren’t fixed. If a rated condition has gotten worse, file a claim for increased compensation. VA dates an increase back to the earliest date you can show the condition got worse, as long as VA gets your request within 1 year of that date.
If you think VA got the rating wrong in the first place, choose a decision review:
- Supplemental Claim: you add new and relevant evidence.
- Higher-Level Review: a senior reviewer looks at the same evidence, within 1 year of your decision letter.
- Board Appeal: the Board reviews your case, within 1 year of your decision letter.
If the PACT Act now covers a condition VA denied before, you can file a Supplemental Claim based on that change in law. A presumptive condition still gets a percentage from the same rating schedule once VA grants it.
Accredited Veterans Service Organization representatives help with increases and reviews at no cost. Find one with VA’s accredited representative search.
Social Security uses its own medical rules, not VA ratings. If you’re applying for SSDI too, see who qualifies for Social Security disability, what SSDI pays and SSA’s condition listings. If your conditions affect the kind of work you can do, your state’s vocational rehabilitation agency can help you plan a return to work.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why Is My Combined Rating Lower Than My Ratings Added Up?
VA uses the whole person approach. Each rating applies only to the part of you not already counted as disabled, so two 10% ratings combine to 19% rather than 20%, and a combined rating can never go above 100%.
Does a 0% Rating Do Anything?
A 0% rating means VA agrees the condition is connected to your service but isn't severe enough for a higher level. VA's monthly rate tables start at 10%. The rating stays on record, and you can ask for an increase if the condition gets worse.
Can VA Lower My Rating?
Yes. VA says it may increase or decrease your compensation in certain situations, and its rating schedule notes that a disability may be re-rated over the years as laws, medical knowledge and your condition change.
How Is PTSD Rated by VA?
PTSD (diagnostic code 9411) uses the General Rating Formula for Mental Disorders, with levels of 0%, 10%, 30%, 50%, 70% and 100% based on how much the symptoms affect work and social life.
Do Dependents Change My Rating?
No. Your rating reflects only your service-connected conditions. A spouse, children or dependent parents raise your monthly payment once your combined rating is at least 30%, but the percentage stays the same.
Do I Need a Representative to Get the Right Rating?
No, but free help is there. VA says accredited Veterans Service Organization representatives help with claims at no cost. This page explains the rules; for advice on your own rating, talk to an accredited representative.
More on VA Disability Compensation
- VA Disability BasicsVA disability compensation: service connection, ratings, monthly pay and how to file
- 2026 VA Pay Rates2026 VA compensation rates by rating, with spouse, child and parent amounts
- Filing a VA ClaimFiling a VA disability claim, the intent to file, evidence, and options after a decision
- TDIUTotal Disability Individual Unemployability: the rating requirements and how to apply
- 100% Rating BenefitsWhat a 100% VA rating brings: 2026 pay and the related federal benefits
- SSDIHow Social Security Disability Insurance works: work credits, the disability test, the waiting period, amounts and Medicare
This guide explains official rules in plain language. It isn't legal advice, and only the agency that runs a program can decide your case.