If you are a Veteran suffering from a physical disability, you might have questions about how the VA determines your assigned rating. A higher rating translates to more compensation.
The VA assigns ratings based on specific criteria for different disabilities. When you have multiple disabilities, they are combined.
For example, a Veteran with a TBI and a back injury rated at 50% each would receive a combined rating of 80%.
Combined Ratings Table
When veterans submit disability ratings for multiple conditions, the VA uses what is known as VA math. This is a method of combining all of the individual ratings into one combined rating. This is the rating that determines how much compensation a veteran will receive.
It can be tricky to understand how this works because it doesn’t simply add all of the ratings together. For example, if a veteran has two disabilities with ratings of 50% each, their total combined rating would be 70%. However, this is not what is listed on their disability compensation check.
To calculate their combined rating, the VA looks at all of the individual ratings and ranks them in order of severity. Then, they look at the chart and find where the highest ratings intersect. For example, if the highest rating is 30%, they’ll identify that number in the table’s left column. From there, they’ll look at the top row of the table and find where the next highest rating intersects with it.
Percentage Rating Table
When a Veteran has multiple disabilities, the VA uses the Combined Rating Table below to calculate their disability compensation. The important thing to remember is that disability ratings are NOT additive, so if your first disability has a rating of 60% and the second is rated at 20%, they do not combine to make 80%. Instead, the VA ranks your disability ratings in order of severity and finds the point where they intersect (in this example, 76%), then rounds that number up to the nearest 10% to get your final disability rating. In addition, the VA disability pay chart outlines the compensation rates for veterans with service-connected disabilities, providing a clear reference for determining their monthly benefits.
This figure determines your benefit amount and will be adjusted yearly to reflect inflation and cost of living increases based on the Social Security COLA index. This process applies to Veterans receiving a 100% disability rating from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). This is a major reason why veterans with higher disability ratings tend to earn less than those without one.
Combined Ratings Chart
Those with multiple disabilities may be able to claim a higher combined rating. Determining a rating involves the VA reviewing service treatment records, private medical records and private exams that support your disability claims.
Once your ratings are assigned, the VA uses a “combination rating” to determine your monthly worth. This calculation is done by adding or subtracting each condition rating.
For example, if you’re rated 30% for PTSD and 20% for tinnitus, your total rating will be 70%. To get to this number, the VA will add your 30% for PTSD with the 20% for tinnitus and subtract it from 100%.
The next step is multiplying each rating by 10%, which will then be rounded to the nearest 10 percent. This creates the percentages you see across the top of the chart. Each represents your total combined rating, which the VA will pay you monthly for your disability compensation.
Percentage Chart
The number and type of dependents for veterans with a 10% and 20% rating do not affect their monthly compensation amount. This is because their disability is rated on a percentage basis.
When a veteran has multiple disabilities, the VA uses “VA math” to combine their ratings and create a single combined rating. This is done by multiplying a percentage of the healthy 90% by each disability.
The VA regularly updates disability compensation rates to reflect inflation and rising costs. In 2024, this was a 3.2% Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) increase.
Understanding how your rate will change as you move through the VA claims process is important. This includes knowing service treatment records, private medical records and other information will be used. This information will help your accredited attorney, claims agent, or Veterans Service Officer determine the best action to pursue your claim.
