How VA disability ratings work — the honest version.
Two things confuse veterans more than anything: what the possible rating levels are for a condition, and why several ratings don't just add up. Here's both, plainly. We explain the rules; we don't tell you how they apply to you — that's between you, the evidence, and the VA.
Read this first. The levels below come straight from the VA's rating schedule (38 CFR Part 4). They show what levels exist for a condition — not what you'll receive. Your actual rating depends on your specific medical evidence and a VA examiner's findings. Nothing here is a prediction, a promise, or medical or legal advice.
What levels the schedule allows.
A rating ladder shows the steps the VA can assign for a condition and, in plain terms, what generally distinguishes each step.
Tinnitus
38 CFR 4.87, DC 6260Tinnitus has one rating level under the schedule.
PTSD & other mental health
38 CFR 4.130The same general formula applies to most mental-health conditions.
Sleep apnea
38 CFR 4.97, DC 6847Lumbar / back strain (general spine)
38 CFR 4.71aSpine ratings turn on measured range of motion.
Migraine headaches
38 CFR 4.124a, DC 8100Asthma (respiratory)
38 CFR 4.97, DC 6602Rated largely on pulmonary function test results.
These are common examples, not the full schedule. Every condition in 38 CFR Part 4 has its own criteria.
VA math: 50 + 30 + 20 is not 100.
The VA doesn't add ratings. It uses a 'whole person' formula — each new rating applies only to the healthy part you have left.
Think of your body as 100% whole. Your highest rating comes off first. Every rating after that applies only to what's left — so the total shrinks as you stack conditions, and it can never exceed 100%.
Say you have 50%, 30%, and 20%. The 50% leaves 50% of you. The 30% applies to that 50% — adding 15%, for 65%. The 20% applies to the 35% still remaining — adding 7%, for 72%. That rounds to a 70% combined rating — not 100%.
Two rules worth knowing: the VA rounds only at the very end, to the nearest 10% (a 5 rounds up). And for paired limbs — both knees, both arms — a bilateral factor adds 10% of their combined value before the rest is combined.
Knowing the math won't change your ratings — but it helps you check the VA's work and see how close you are to the next threshold.
Combined rating calculator
For context, the 2026 monthly compensation at 70% for a single veteran with no dependents is about $1,759.19. Dependents and Special Monthly Compensation can add more. This is a general estimate — the VA determines your actual rating and pay.
A rating isn't a check. It's an income for life.
This is why filing matters: a rating pays every month for the rest of your life, and rises with cost of living. Here's a way to understand the scale — honestly, with the assumptions shown.
Most tools that show you a "lifetime value" give one big, inflated number, because a scary-large figure sells their fee. We'd rather show you the real picture, with the levers visible.
Two things change the number a lot. Cost-of-living raises (COLA) push it up — your payment grows most years. Present value pulls it down — a dollar you'll receive in 2050 isn't worth a full dollar today. A calculator that ignores either is lying to you in one direction or the other.
So this shows both, and lets you adjust the assumptions. Use it to understand the scale of what's at stake — not to bank on an exact figure.
Life-expectancy figures come from the Social Security Administration's period life table. They're population averages — many veterans live well beyond them.
What a rating is worth over a lifetime
See what each 10% step is actually worth.
A single combined number doesn't tell the whole story. The ladder shows the monthly pay at every step — and how much each increase would add.
What each 10% is worth
Monthly amounts are 2026 rates for a single veteran, no dependents. Notice the jump from 90% to 100% — it's far bigger than any other step, which is why that last push matters most. These are the schedule's amounts, not a prediction of your rating.
It's not just the monthly check.
Each rating threshold opens up more — for you and your family. Benefits are cumulative: every level includes the ones before it. This is what's on the table, not a promise you'll receive any of it.
- VA health care for your service-connected conditions
- VA home loan funding-fee waiver (10%+) — can save thousands at closing
- Commissary, exchange, and MWR access (in person and online)
- Voc-rehab / VR&E eligibility (Chapter 31) with an employment handicap
- Additional monthly compensation for dependents (spouse, children, dependent parents) — file VA Form 21-686c; it isn't automatic
- 10-point federal hiring preference
- Free VA health care and prescriptions for ALL conditions — not just service-connected ones (Priority Group 1)
- Eligibility for VA nursing-home care based on the service-connected rating
- Often the threshold where TDIU is discussed (combined 70%+ with one condition at 40%+)
- Maximum monthly compensation, tax-free
- Highest-priority free VA health care
- Eligibility for many state property-tax exemptions (varies by state)
- VA-backed life insurance (VALife)
- CHAMPVA — civilian health coverage for your spouse and dependent children
- Chapter 35 (DEA) — up to 36 months of education benefits for dependents
- No future re-examinations — the rating is protected
- The strongest state and local benefits (full property-tax exemptions in many states, dependent tuition programs)
Important: several of the biggest family benefits — CHAMPVA and Chapter 35 — require 100% PERMANENT AND TOTAL, not just 100%. A 100% schedular rating without P&T, or TDIU without P&T, may not extend these to your family. The sharks often blur this; we won't.
Federal benefits shown; many states add their own. Thresholds and rules change — the VA and your state are the authoritative sources.
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