VA Disability Rating Calculator

Combined = 100 − [ (100 − r₁) × (100 − r₂) × ... × (100 − rₙ) ÷ 100^(n−1) ]

Equivalent step-by-step: start with the largest rating,
then apply each next rating to the remaining 'efficiency'.

The VA's logic: each disability reduces your remaining efficiency, not your total capacity. If you're 50% disabled, you have 50% efficiency remaining. A second, 30% disability then takes 30% of that remaining 50% — that is, 15 points — bringing you to 65% combined, not 80%.

Step-by-step: 50% + 30% + 20%

1. Order ratings from largest to smallest: 50, 30, 20.
2. Start: 50% disabled → 50% efficiency remains.
3. Apply 30%: takes 30% of the remaining 50 = 15 points → combined 65%, remaining 35%.
4. Apply 20%: takes 20% of the remaining 35 = 7 points → combined 72%.
5. Round to the nearest 10: 72% → 70% rating for payment purposes.

The bilateral factor

When disabilities affect both arms, both legs, or paired skeletal muscles, VA combines those ratings first and then adds 10% of that combined value before merging with other ratings (38 CFR §4.26). Example: 30% right knee + 20% left knee combine to 44%, plus 10% of 44 (4.4) = 48.4, carried forward as ~48 before combining with anything else. This calculator's core math covers standard combination; if you have bilateral conditions, your true combined value may be slightly higher.

Two structural jumps stand out. First, 30% is the dependents threshold: from 30% upward, spouses, children and dependent parents add to the monthly amount (e.g., a 100% veteran with a spouse receives $4,201.35). Second, the 90%→100% jump is the largest in the table — over $1,576/month — which is why veterans at 90% often pursue TDIU or additional service connections.

Why getting from 90% to 100% is so hard

VA math compresses at the top. A veteran at 90% combined has only 10% efficiency remaining, so even a new 50% rating adds just 5 points (95% combined → rounds to 100% only if it reaches 95). To move from 90 to 100 by combination alone requires enough new ratings to push the exact combined value to 95+. The alternative path is TDIU (Total Disability based on Individual Unemployability), which pays at the 100% rate when service-connected conditions prevent substantially gainful employment — typically requiring one 60% rating or a 70% combined with one condition at 40%+.

1. List every service-connected rating percentage, separated by commas — e.g., '50, 30, 20, 10'. Order doesn't matter; the calculator sorts them.
2. Read the exact combined value, the rounded rating VA pays on, and the 2026 monthly/annual compensation (veteran alone).
3. If you have dependents and rate 30%+, look up the added amounts on VA's official rate table — a spouse adds $60–$200+/month depending on rating.
4. Test scenarios: see what a pending claim's rating would do to your combined total before you file.

Common mistakes veterans make

• Adding ratings arithmetically and expecting 50+30+20 to equal 100%.
• Forgetting that combined values round to the nearest 10 — 74% pays as 70%.
• Overlooking the bilateral factor for paired limbs, which can lift a borderline combination into the next bracket.
• Not claiming secondary conditions (e.g., depression secondary to chronic pain, radiculopathy secondary to back injury) — each adds to the combination.
• Assuming 100% schedular is the only path to full compensation — TDIU pays the same rate.