Calculator
VA disability calculator
Combine your ratings with VA math, then see the 2026 monthly payment for your family.
Combined VA disability rating
70%
$2,074.45 a month · $24,893.40 a year
How VA combines them
- Bilateral 10% + 10%: 19% + 1.9 factor
- 21%
- 50% combined with 30%
- 65%
- 65% combined with 21%
- 72%
- Combined value 72% rounds to
- 70%
Monthly compensation
- Basic monthly rate
- $2,074.45
- Monthly payment (Dec 1, 2025 rates)
- $2,074.45
- Estimate after the 3.6% COLA (Dec 1, 2026)
- $2,149.13
VA math: each rating applies to the “efficiency” left after the larger ones; the final value rounds to the nearest 10 (5 rounds up).
Independent estimate tool. Not affiliated with the Department of Veterans Affairs. Your LES, finance office or VA decision letter is the official amount.
How VA math works
VA does not add ratings. It treats you as 100% “efficient” and applies each disability to the efficiency that is left, starting with the largest[cfr425]:
- Sort the ratings from highest to lowest.
- Combine the first two: a 60% rating leaves 40% efficiency; a further 30% takes 30% of that 40% (12 points), for a combined value of 72%.
- Combine that value with the next rating, and so on. Each step uses whole numbers from VA’s combined ratings table.
- Round only once, at the end, to the nearest 10. Values ending in 5 round up: 65% becomes 70%, 64% becomes 60%.
| Ratings | Combined value | Final rating |
|---|---|---|
| 50%, 30% | 65% | 70% |
| 40%, 20% | 52% | 50% |
| 60%, 40%, 20% | 76% → 81% | 80% |
| 60%, 20%, 10% + 10% bilateral | 60, 21, 20 → 68% → 74% | 70% |
The calculator reproduces every cell of VA’s Table I and all four official examples; the full table is on the VA combined rating calculator page.
The bilateral factor
When you have compensable ratings on both arms, both legs, or paired skeletal muscles, VA first combines those ratings, then adds 10% of that value before combining the result with everything else[cfr426]. Two 10% knee ratings combine to 19%; adding 1.9 gives 20.9, used as 21%. If leaving one bilateral rating out of the factor would give a higher final rating, VA must do that instead (38 CFR 4.26(d)); the calculator checks every split.
VA disability compensation calculator: from rating to monthly pay
Once you have the combined rating, the monthly payment comes from VA’s rate table for your dependents[varates]. At 10% and 20% dependents do not count. From 30%, a spouse, children and dependent parents each add money, and a spouse who needs Aid and Attendance adds more. The full table is on the VA disability pay chart 2026.
| Rating | Alone | Spouse + 1 child |
|---|---|---|
| 10% | $180.42 | $180.42 |
| 20% | $356.66 | $356.66 |
| 30% | $552.47 | $666.47 |
| 40% | $795.84 | $947.84 |
| 50% | $1,132.90 | $1,322.90 |
| 60% | $1,435.02 | $1,663.02 |
| 70% | $1,808.45 | $2,074.45 |
| 80% | $2,102.15 | $2,406.15 |
| 90% | $2,362.30 | $2,704.30 |
| 100% | $3,938.58 | $4,318.99 |
Common VA math mistakes
- Adding ratings. 50 + 30 is not 80; it is 65, rounded to 70.
- Rounding at every step. VA keeps the unrounded combined value until the very end.
- Applying the bilateral factor to one limb. It needs compensable ratings on both sides of a pair.
- Counting 0% ratings. A 0% service connection does not change the combined rating or pay.
Payments arrive at the start of each month for the month before; see the VA payment dates. Owed money for past months? Use the VA disability back pay calculator. Still serving? The military pay estimator covers active-duty pay.
Frequently asked questions
How does the VA disability calculator combine ratings?
It sorts ratings from highest to lowest and combines them with 100 − (100 − a)(100 − b)/100 at each step, using whole numbers as in 38 CFR 4.25 Table I, then rounds the final value to the nearest 10 (5 rounds up).
What does 50% and 30% make in VA math?
A combined value of 65%, which VA rounds up to a 70% rating.
Does the VA disability calculator include the bilateral factor?
Yes. Tick “arm/leg pair” for ratings on both arms or both legs; the calculator applies the 10% bilateral factor and the 38 CFR 4.26(d) exception.
How much is 90% VA disability with a spouse?
$2,559.30 a month in 2026, or $2,704.30 with a spouse and one child.