VA Disability Calculator
Combine your disability ratings the way the VA actually does, apply the bilateral factor, and see your estimated tax-free monthly payment using the official rates effective December 1, 2025.
No ratings yet. Tap a percentage above for each service-connected condition on your rating decision.
Add at least one rating to see your combined rating, payable rating, and estimated monthly payment.
VA math starts from the idea that you begin 100% able, and each rating takes a share of whatever ability remains. Ratings combine largest first, and every new rating applies only to the part of you not already rated.
Say you're rated 90% and 50%. The 90% rating leaves 10% unrated. The 50% rating then takes half of that remaining 10, which is 5 points. Combined value: 95%. Since the VA pays in steps of 10, that rounds up to a 100% payable rating.
Now try two 50s. The first covers half of you. The second covers half of what's left, another 25 points. Combined value: 75%, which rounds to 80%. That's why 50 plus 50 never makes 100, and why each new rating moves the total less than the one before it.
When disabilities affect both arms, both legs, or paired skeletal muscles, the VA applies the bilateral factor under 38 CFR 4.26. The paired ratings combine first, then 10% of that combined value is added on top, and the result is rounded to the nearest whole number. From there it counts as a single rating in the normal largest-first combination.
Example: a right knee at 30% and a left knee at 20% combine to 44. The bilateral factor adds 4.4 more, giving 48.4, which rounds to 48. That 48% rating then combines with the rest of your ratings. Mark paired ratings as bilateral in the calculator above and the step-by-step math will show this exact sequence.
After all your ratings combine, the exact value converts to the nearest degree divisible by 10, and anything ending in 5 rounds up. A combined 74 pays as 70%. A combined 75 pays as 80%.
Those single points carry real money. The step from 70% to 80% is worth $293.70 a month for a veteran alone in 2026, and a combined 94 versus 95 is the difference between a 90% and a 100% payable rating, a gap of $1,576.28 every month.
| Payable rating | Veteran alone | Veteran with spouse |
|---|---|---|
| 10% | $180.42 | $180.42 (no dependent add-ons) |
| 20% | $356.66 | $356.66 (no dependent add-ons) |
| 30% | $552.47 | $617.47 |
| 40% | $795.84 | $882.84 |
| 50% | $1,132.90 | $1,241.90 |
| 60% | $1,435.02 | $1,566.02 |
| 70% | $1,808.45 | $1,961.45 |
| 80% | $2,102.15 | $2,277.15 |
| 90% | $2,362.30 | $2,559.30 |
| 100% | $3,938.58 | $4,158.17 |
Ratings of 30% and up also add amounts for children and dependent parents, and for a spouse who receives Aid and Attendance. Use the calculator above for those combinations. Source: VA.gov compensation rate tables.
Secondary conditions. Anything caused or made worse by a service-connected condition can be rated on its own. Radiculopathy from a bad back, depression tied to chronic pain, or hypertension linked to sleep apnea each add a new rating to the combination. Because VA math discounts every added rating, a few well-documented secondaries often do more for your combined total than fighting to raise one existing rating.
TDIU. If your service-connected conditions keep you from holding substantially gainful work, Total Disability based on Individual Unemployability pays at the 100% rate without a 100% combined rating. The schedular threshold is one condition rated 60% or higher, or a combined 70% with at least one condition at 40%.
This calculator is a planning tool. It isn't affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to the Department of Veterans Affairs. Your actual payment depends on the VA's rating decisions, effective dates, and situations this tool doesn't model, such as Special Monthly Compensation. Rates shown are the official amounts effective December 1, 2025. For your exact benefit, check your award letter or VA.gov.