VA Disability Calculator
Combine VA disability ratings the way 38 CFR 4.25 does, with the bilateral factor under 4.26 — including the 2023 most-favorable exception — and 2026 monthly pay.
VA Disability Calculator: with the default inputs, combined disability rating is 70%.
Every rating except those on a paired arm or leg — put those in the fields below. Order does not matter.
Upper extremity as a whole — shoulder, arm, forearm, wrist or hand.
Lower extremity as a whole — hip, thigh, knee, leg, ankle or foot.
A spouse raises the payment only at 30% and above.
The rounded figure VA pays on.
- Combined value before rounding
- 74§ 4.25 rounds this to the nearest 10 once, at the very end.
- Straight sum of your ratings
- 100What the ratings would total if VA simply added them. It does not.
- Added by the bilateral factor
- 210% of the combined value of the paired-extremity disabilities, added rather than combined (§ 4.26).
- Monthly compensation
- $1,808.45
- Annual compensation
- $21,701
- To reach the next rating
- A further 10% rating would reach 80%.
Assumptions
- Ratings are combined under 38 CFR 4.25: combined = a + b × (100 − a) ÷ 100, rounded to a whole number at each step, in descending order of severity.
- Conversion to the nearest degree divisible by 10, with 5s adjusted upward, happens once after all disabilities are combined, as 38 CFR 4.25(b) requires.
- The bilateral factor adds 10 percent of the paired-extremity combined value, not combined, and is applied only where there is a compensable disability in each of two paired extremities (38 CFR 4.26(c)). With all four extremities affected, one factor is applied to the four combined (38 CFR 4.26(b)).
- Where leaving a bilateral disability out of the bilateral calculation gives a higher combined evaluation, it is left out, as 38 CFR 4.26(d) directs.
- Monthly amounts are the VA's published rates effective 1 December 2025 and exclude Special Monthly Compensation, individual unemployability, and any offset against military retired pay or severance.
- The basic rate for a veteran with children already covers one child; further children are added at the VA's published added amounts, following the worked example on VA.gov.
- This is an estimate for planning. Only a VA rating decision sets your actual rating and payment.
| Rating | From your current combined value |
|---|---|
| 80% | one further 10% rating |
| 90% | one further 50% rating |
| 100% | one further 80% rating |
Your combined value is 74 before rounding. A rating rounds up once the combined value reaches the midpoint, so 75 is the number that matters, not 80.
| Rating | Your household | Veteran alone | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10% | $180.42 | $180.42 | |
| 20% | $356.66 | $356.66 | |
| 30% | $552.47 | $552.47 | |
| 40% | $795.84 | $795.84 | |
| 50% | $1,132.90 | $1,132.90 | |
| 60% | $1,435.02 | $1,435.02 | |
| 70% | $1,808.45 | $1,808.45 | ← your rating |
| 80% | $2,102.15 | $2,102.15 | |
| 90% | $2,362.30 | $2,362.30 | |
| 100% | $3,938.58 | $3,938.58 |
VA rates, effective December 1, 2025. A 0% rating pays nothing but still establishes service connection.
How this is worked out
The formula
Combined value (38 CFR 4.25), disabilities in order of severity, greatest first: combined = round(a + b × (100 − a) ÷ 100) a = the combined value so far b = the next rating round = to the nearest whole number, halves upward Bilateral factor (38 CFR 4.26), for paired arms or legs: bilateral = round(c + 0.10 × c) c = the paired ratings combined as usual The bilateral block is then treated as a single disability. The conversion to the nearest degree divisible by 10 — final 5s upward — happens once, after everything is combined.
Open How it’s calculated above to see this worked through with your own numbers.
What you enter
- Disability ratings
- Every rating except those on a paired arm or leg — put those in the fields below. Order does not matter.up to 90 characters · defaults to "60, 20"
- Left arm ratings
- Upper extremity as a whole — shoulder, arm, forearm, wrist or hand.up to 60 characters · defaults to ""
- Right arm ratings
- Free text.up to 60 characters · defaults to ""
- Left leg ratings
- Lower extremity as a whole — hip, thigh, knee, leg, ankle or foot.up to 60 characters · defaults to "10"
- Right leg ratings
- Free text.up to 60 characters · defaults to "10"
- Married
- A spouse raises the payment only at 30% and above.defaults to off
- Dependent parents
- Choose one of 3 options.None · 1 dependent parent · 2 dependent parents
- Children under 18
- A number.from 0 to 20 · whole numbers only · defaults to 0
- Children 18+ in a qualifying school programme(under More options)
- A number.from 0 to 20 · whole numbers only · defaults to 0
- Spouse receives Aid and Attendance(under More options)
- Turn this on or off.defaults to off
What you get back
- Combined disability ratingmain answer
- The rounded figure VA pays on.
- Combined value before rounding
- § 4.25 rounds this to the nearest 10 once, at the very end.
- Straight sum of your ratings
- What the ratings would total if VA simply added them. It does not.
- Added by the bilateral factor
- 10% of the combined value of the paired-extremity disabilities, added rather than combined (§ 4.26).
- Monthly compensation
- Annual compensation
- To reach the next rating
What this assumes
- Ratings are combined under 38 CFR 4.25: combined = a + b × (100 − a) ÷ 100, rounded to a whole number at each step, in descending order of severity.
- Conversion to the nearest degree divisible by 10, with 5s adjusted upward, happens once after all disabilities are combined, as 38 CFR 4.25(b) requires.
- The bilateral factor adds 10 percent of the paired-extremity combined value, not combined, and is applied only where there is a compensable disability in each of two paired extremities (38 CFR 4.26(c)). With all four extremities affected, one factor is applied to the four combined (38 CFR 4.26(b)).
- Where leaving a bilateral disability out of the bilateral calculation gives a higher combined evaluation, it is left out, as 38 CFR 4.26(d) directs.
- Monthly amounts are the VA's published rates effective 1 December 2025 and exclude Special Monthly Compensation, individual unemployability, and any offset against military retired pay or severance.
- The basic rate for a veteran with children already covers one child; further children are added at the VA's published added amounts, following the worked example on VA.gov.
- This is an estimate for planning. Only a VA rating decision sets your actual rating and payment.
About this calculator
Why 50% + 30% is not 80%
The VA does not add disability ratings. Under 38 CFR 4.25 it combines them by what the regulation calls efficiency: a veteran who is 50% disabled is 50% efficient, and a further 30% disability takes 30% of what is left, not 30% of the whole person. So 50 and 30 combine to 65, and 65 rounds to 70 — not 80.
This calculator runs the regulation itself. It reproduces every one of the 684 cells of Table I in § 4.25, and the tests pin that table so a wrong result fails before it ships.
How to use it
Put every rating that is not on a paired arm or leg in the first box, separated by commas — order does not matter, the calculator sorts them. Ratings on an arm or a leg go in their own box, because they may attract the bilateral factor.
The bilateral factor, which most calculators get wrong
38 CFR 4.26 says that when both arms, or both legs, are partly disabled, those ratings are combined as usual and then 10 percent of that value is added — not combined — before anything else happens. The block is then treated as one disability. The regulation's own example: 60, 20, 10 and 10, where the two 10s are bilateral. The 10s combine to 19, 10% of 19 is 1.9, giving 21. The order of severity becomes 60, 21, 20. Sixty and 21 combine to 68, 68 and 20 combine to 74, and 74 rounds to 70 percent.
Three details decide whether a calculator is right:
- § 4.26(c) — the factor needs a compensable disability in each of two paired extremities. One bad knee is not bilateral.
- § 4.26(b) — if all four extremities are affected, you combine all four and add 10% of that single value. Not two separate bilateral factors.
- § 4.26(d), added in April 2023 — if including a bilateral disability makes the combined evaluation lower, it comes out of the bilateral calculation and is combined separately, "to achieve the combined evaluation most favorable to the veteran". This is rare but it is worth up to a whole 10-point step. This calculator tries every permitted way of splitting the bilateral group and keeps the best one, and tells you when it has done so.
Reading the results
The combined value is the exact figure before rounding; the combined rating is that value rounded to the nearest 10, with 5s going up. That rounding is what makes the last few points so valuable — a combined value of 64 pays at 60%, and 65 pays at 70%. The table under the results shows what single further rating would move you up.
What it does not do
It is an estimate, not a rating decision. It excludes Special Monthly Compensation, total disability based on individual unemployability, and every other adjustment a real decision can carry. The dollar amounts are the VA's published rates effective 1 December 2025 and change each December.
Frequently asked questions
▸Why doesn't the VA just add my ratings?
Because 38 CFR 4.25 treats each disability as taking a share of the efficiency you have left, not a share of the whole person. A 60% disability leaves 40% efficiency, and a further 30% disability removes 30% of that 40%, giving 72% disabled overall.
▸What is the bilateral factor?
Under 38 CFR 4.26, when both arms or both legs are partly disabled, those ratings are combined and then 10% of the combined value is added rather than combined. It applies only if there is a compensable disability in each of the two paired extremities.
▸How does the VA round the final figure?
To the nearest number divisible by 10, with combined values ending in 5 adjusted upward. It happens once, after every disability has been combined — so 64 pays at 60% and 65 pays at 70%.
▸Can the bilateral factor ever lower my rating?
It can, through the order in which the combinations round. 38 CFR 4.26(d), added in April 2023, fixes that: a bilateral disability that lowers the result is taken out of the bilateral calculation and combined separately, whichever way is most favorable. This calculator applies that rule and says when it has.
▸Are the dollar amounts current?
They are the VA's published rates effective 1 December 2025, taken from VA.gov. VA is required to match the Social Security cost-of-living adjustment, so the rates change every 1 December. The figure here excludes Special Monthly Compensation and individual unemployability.
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