Veterans Crisis LineDial 988 then Press 1 — or text 838255· Free & confidential, 24/7
Toxic Exposure Evidence Center shieldToxic ExposureEvidence Center
Free flagship tool

2026 VA Disability Calculator

Combine your service-connected ratings the way the VA actually does it — with the bilateral factor for paired limbs, dependents, education, Special Monthly Compensation, and your full annual economic impact.

Veteran reviewing a VA disability rating decision and benefit letters at a desk
Combined ratings method (38 CFR §4.25) + bilateral factor (38 CFR §4.26)·2026 rates (effective Dec 1, 2025)

Start here

How VA disability math actually works

Before you use the calculator, it helps to understand why VA ratings don’t simply add up — and why every point matters as you climb toward 100%. Knowing this is how you catch a rating decision that shorted you.

A veteran reviewing VA benefits paperwork with a calculator at home

How Does the VA Calculate Combined Ratings?

Instead of adding your disability percentages together, the VA uses a “percentage of the healthy part” method. If you have a 10% disability, the VA considers you 90% healthy. A second 10% disability is applied to the remaining 90% — so 10% of 90 is 9%. Add that to your first 10% and your combined rating is 19%, which the VA rounds to the nearest 10% — so you’d be rated at 20%.

This makes it harder to reach higher ratings. For example, 50% for PTSD, 50% for sleep apnea, 20% for diabetes, and 20% for a back problem combine to 80% — even though the numbers add up to 140%. Each new rating is only applied to what is left of your “healthy” percentage.

A veteran with a lower-limb prosthetic standing confidently at home

Why Does This Matter?

The difference in compensation can be significant. A veteran at 80% with no dependents receives far less than one at 100% — the jump to 100% can nearly double the monthly payment for what looks like a small increase in rating. That is why every point matters as you approach the top of the scale.

Your family situation counts too. From 30% and up, adding a spouse, children, or dependent parents raises your monthly payment — so a small rating change can mean hundreds of dollars a month, and tens of thousands over a lifetime.

Higher ratings also unlock benefits beyond the monthly check. At 100% — or through TDIU — many veterans gain no-cost VA health care, CHAMPVA coverage for their family, state property-tax relief, and Chapter 35 education benefits for dependents.

A veteran and their family together at home, reflecting financial peace of mind

Other Factors That Affect Your Rating

The VA also considers other factors. If you have disabilities in both arms or both legs, these paired (“bilateral”) extremities are combined in a special way that can boost your overall percentage. And if you cannot work because of your service-connected disabilities, you may qualify for a 100% rating through Total Disability based on Individual Unemployability (TDIU).

Two more factors carry real weight. Special Monthly Compensation (SMC) can pay above the 100% rate for the loss or loss of use of a limb, blindness, or the need for daily aid and attendance. And secondary conditions — new problems caused by a service-connected disability, such as depression stemming from chronic pain — can be rated and combined as well, raising your overall percentage.

Four steps · about two minutes

How to run it — and what to do with the answer

Run it, then put your own decision letter next to the result. That comparison is the entire reason this tool is on the site. Nobody at the VA is going to call you to say the math came out wrong.

  1. A veteran at his kitchen table tapping a rating percentage on a laptop, a VA decision letter beside him1

    Add every rating you already have

    In Step 1, tap a percentage button for each service-connected condition. Use the ratings on your decision letter, not the ones you think you should have — the point of this run is to see whether the VA’s own math matches the number they put on your letter.

  2. A veteran seated on a clinic bench with both knees braced, looking down at her legs2

    Mark arms and legs as arms and legs

    For an arm or a leg, select the matching extremity box first, then tap the percentage. When both sides of a pair are rated, the bilateral factor is applied automatically under 38 CFR §4.26. Tap the same percentage again to remove it. A missed bilateral factor is one of the quietest ways a rating comes out low.

  3. A veteran at the dining table in the evening with his wife and two children doing homework3

    Put your household in

    In Step 2, set marital status, children and dependent parents. From 30% up, dependents change the monthly payment. Plenty of veterans have been paid at the single rate for years because nobody ever told them a dependency change had to be reported to get counted.

  4. A veteran reading a printed benefits summary and re-checking the number on the page4

    Compare it to your letter

    Read the combined rating, the monthly payment, the benefits that tier opens, and the annual economic impact. Then put your own decision letter next to it. If the two numbers disagree, that gap is not a rounding error — it is money, and it has a cause worth finding.

Open the calculator

Your work is kept in this browser

Every percentage and dependent you enter is saved automatically on this device, so you can close the tab and finish later. There is no account and no sign-in, and nothing is sent anywhere unless you fill out a form and press send.

Step 1

Enter your disabilities using the buttons below

Add each service-connected condition and the percentage the VA assigned. The calculator combines them the way the VA actually does it — not a simple sum.

  • • If a disability affects an arm or leg, first tap the matching extremity box, then pick the percentage — the bilateral factor is applied automatically when both sides of a pair are present.
  • • For any other condition, just tap a percentage in the non-extremity row.
  • • To change an extremity, tap its box again and re-select. To remove any entry, click it in the disabilities list below.

Upper Extremities

Lower Extremities

Select a rating (non-extremity condition)

Disabilities list (click to remove)

No ratings selected.

Step 2

Number of dependents

Your family can raise your monthly payment. Tell us who you support and we add the dependent amounts to your compensation — they apply at a 30% rating or higher.

How many dependent children are under the age of 18?

How many dependent children are between the ages of 18 and 24 (in school)?

How many dependent parents do you have?

Step 3

Special Monthly Compensation (SMC)

SMC is extra compensation above the regular rating tables for serious losses — like loss or loss of use of a limb, being housebound, or needing the daily aid and attendance of another person. SMC-K is an add-on paid on top of your pay for a qualifying loss (available at any rating). The base levels — housebound, aid & attendance — replace your pay and are typically granted at a 100% combined rating (or on a permanently-housebound or anatomical-loss basis). Select whichever levels the VA has actually granted you — you can select more than one. Open any card to learn how you qualify.

Current disability rating

0%

Your combined rating is 0%.

Your monthly payment amount is

$0.00

Tax-free. Based on 2026 VA rates effective December 1, 2025.

VA-Accredited Agent #45147 · No fee unless you win
Free case evaluation

Free & no obligation — an accredited agent reviews every request.

Additional rating needed 100% to reach 100%.

The math

How VA actually got to that number

VA does not add your ratings together. Under 38 CFR §4.25 each rating is applied only to the part of you the previous ratings left healthy. That is the whole-person method, and it is why 50 plus 30 is not 80. Here is the entire derivation, line by line.

Education

Education benefits (VR&E) calculator

Chapter 31 (VR&E) is available at a 10% disability rating or higher. Your estimated monthly subsistence allowance is based on your program type, attendance level, and number of dependents.

Chapter 31 (VR&E) is available at a 10% disability rating or higher. Add a rated condition above to estimate your subsistence allowance.

Monthly benefits breakdown

A clear, line-by-line pocket sheet. Your disability compensation, dependent amounts, any SMC, and the VR&E subsistence you may receive while in a program.

Base disability (veteran alone)

$0.00

Dependent benefits

Spouse, children, and dependent parents

$0.00

Education benefits (VR&E)

Monthly subsistence while enrolled

$0.00

Total monthly benefits

$0.00

What this means for living: about $0.00 a year in tax-free income before any earnings from work, retirement, or Social Security. If you cannot work because of your service-connected disabilities, ask about Individual Unemployability (TDIU), which pays at the 100% rate.

Annual economic impact 2026

The full picture over a year — the compensation you receive plus the estimated value of the health care and tax advantages your rating unlocks. Dollar values marked as estimates are illustrative, not VA-published amounts.

Annual disability compensation

Veteran compensation

$0.00

Dependent compensation

$0.00

Healthcare & wellness annual value

Veteran healthcare (est.)

$500.00

Dependent healthcare / CHAMPVA (est.)

$0.00

Additional economic benefits (annual)

Education benefits (VR&E)

$0.00

Tax-free savings (est. 22% bracket)

$0.00

Healthcare value notes

  • • 0–40%: Veterans may pay copays for non-service-connected care, which reduces the net healthcare value.
  • • 50%+: No copays required for covered care — the full healthcare value is realized.
  • • 100% P&T: Maximum healthcare benefits plus dependent (CHAMPVA) coverage.
  • • These dollar figures reflect a rough net benefit after typical copay costs — they are estimates, not VA-published amounts.

Total annual economic impact

$500.00

Eligible VA benefits

These are the doors that open at your 0% combined rating. Click any benefit to see what it is and how to get started. Benefits may vary by state and individual circumstances.

Medical benefits

Other benefits

State benefits & local resources

Many benefits — like property-tax exemptions and tuition waivers — are run by your state, not the federal VA. Enter your ZIP code to open your state veterans department and the VA facility locator for the nearest Vet Center.

  • • State and local benefits are administered outside the federal VA and vary widely by location.
  • • Vet Centers provide free, confidential counseling and readjustment services — no VA rating required.
  • • Always confirm current eligibility with your state veterans department and va.gov.

Lifetime economic impact

Your economic impact does not stop next year — it continues for the rest of your life. Enter your age and we project the same yearly value out to an average life expectancy of about 80.

Enter your age above to project your lifetime economic impact.

Don’t leave money on the table — let a specialist handle your claim

These numbers are estimates. A VA-accredited claims agent can review your rating, find benefits you may have missed, and file or appeal your claim for you. Your first case evaluation is free, with no obligation.

Get a free case evaluation

Think your combined rating came out too low?

If the VA denied or under-rated a condition tied to your service, tell an accredited agent what happened. We review your situation first and tell you honestly whether we can help.

An accredited agent personally reviews every request — we’ll reach out within 48 hours.

About this calculator

When you have more than one service-connected disability, the VA combines the ratings instead of adding them. Each rating is applied to the part of your body considered “whole” after the previous ratings, then the total is rounded to the nearest 10%. This snapshot also applies the bilateral factor when both arms or both legs are affected, and shows the benefits, education subsistence, and real-world dollar value your rating unlocks for your whole family.

What it is reading: the combined ratings table at 38 CFR §4.25, the bilateral factor at 38 CFR §4.26, the 2026 compensation rates effective December 1, 2025, the dependency amounts that begin at 30%, and Chapter 31 (VR&E) subsistence. What it is not doing: it does not open your file, it does not know which of your conditions the VA has actually service connected, and it cannot tell you what a rater will do next. It runs the arithmetic the VA is supposed to run, with the numbers you give it.

So the useful part is the comparison. If the combined rating here comes out higher than the one printed on your decision letter, there are usually only a few explanations: a granted rating never made it into the combination, both sides of a paired limb were rated but the bilateral factor was never applied, or a spouse, child or dependent parent was never added to the award. None of those are exotic. All of them are money that was already yours, sitting unpaid because nobody in the building was checking.

There are more free calculators than this one Read the VA Disability Compensation guide

What it covers

  • Official VA “whole person” combined ratings method with nearest-10% rounding
  • The bilateral factor for paired limbs (38 CFR §4.26)
  • Dependent compensation for a spouse, children, and parents
  • Chapter 31 (VR&E) monthly subsistence allowance estimates
  • The benefits each rating tier opens up, plus your annual economic impact

This snapshot provides an estimate only. The bilateral factor, VR&E eligibility, and Individual Unemployability involve detailed rules and a VA determination. This tool is not affiliated with the VA — the VA makes all final decisions about eligibility and payment amounts. Always confirm details at va.gov.

More free calculators

This page is one calculator. There are five more, and they are all free.

Combining your ratings is only one of the numbers that decides what a claim is worth. The effective date decides how many months of back pay come with it. Unemployability can pay the 100% rate without a 100% rating. Special Monthly Compensation pays above the table entirely. Albert built a separate free site for the math side of a claim — no account, no email, nothing to buy — because a veteran who can check the numbers himself stops being easy to talk out of them.

Stacked VA decision letters with a calculator, reading glasses and a pen on a desk

Combined rating, step by step

Runs the same “whole person” math this page runs, laid out one rating at a time so you can watch where each percentage lands.

Two 30% ratings do not make 60%. Once you see why on paper, a decision letter stops being something you have to take on faith.

Open the calculator
A veteran alone in his home workshop with the tools put away, looking out the window

Total Disability based on Individual Unemployability

Checks the rating thresholds for TDIU and what the 100% rate would pay if it were granted.

TDIU pays at the 100% rate without a 100% rating. Veterans who cannot hold work sit at 70% for years without ever hearing the word.

Open the calculator
A wall calendar with dates circled beside an opened envelope on a desk

Retroactive back pay

Estimates what an earlier effective date would be worth in past-due benefits.

The effective date is a separate fight from the rating. Winning the condition and losing the date can cost more than the rating was worth.

Open the calculator
A veteran with a below-knee prosthetic putting on a jacket in his own front hallway

Special Monthly Compensation

Walks the SMC levels — the payments that sit above the rating table.

SMC pays on top of 100% for loss or loss of use, blindness, or needing daily aid and attendance. It is one of the most under-claimed benefits VA administers.

Open the calculator
A surviving spouse reviewing survivor benefit paperwork at a kitchen table

Survivor benefit amounts

Shows what a surviving spouse or child would actually receive.

A pending claim does not die with the veteran, and DIC is not automatic. Families go years without being told either of those things.

Open the calculator
A veteran reading a VA rating decision letter at home

Which protection rule has already attached

On this site: the 5, 10 and 20 year rating protection clocks, and which one your rating has already earned.

The fear that filing again will cost you the rating you have is the single biggest reason veterans never file. Protection is a rule, not a hope — you can check it.

Open it on this site

Every one of these is an estimate you run yourself. None of them is a VA decision, and none of them replaces reading your own rating decision. The five marked above live on VA Benefits Calculators, which is also free and also has no login.

Straight from the VA

The VA on its own math and its own deadlines

Combined ratings are not addition, and your effective date is usually worth more than most veterans realize. Both explained by the agency that applies them.

VA Math | How is VA Disability Calculated | Service-Connected Compensation | VA Benefits | theSITREP

Why two 50% ratings do not make 100% — the VA explains its own arithmetic.

Source: U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs

What is INTENT TO FILE for VA Disability | Applying for VA Disability | theSITREP

The filing date that protects your back pay, straight from the VA.

Source: U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs

These videos are published by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and are embedded here unedited. They are the agency’s own explanation of its rules, not ours, and they are not legal or medical advice. If what the VA said on camera does not match what your decision letter says, that gap is worth a conversation.

No cost to ask · No obligation

Talk to a VA-accredited claims agent

We focus on veterans the VA has already denied or under-rated. We do not take brand-new (initial) claims, and we do not take every case. We’ll review your situation first and tell you honestly whether we can help.

Straight talk on fees: Registering costs nothing. Fees are recovery only: 20% of past-due benefits, never hourly, nothing on a first-time claim, under 38 C.F.R. § 14.636.

An accredited agent personally reviews every request — we’ll reach out within 48 hours.

702-992-4883

VA-Accredited Agent #45147 · No fee unless you win

Both options are free · No obligation

Two ways to work with us — both free

Talking to a VA-accredited claims agent costs nothing either way. Pick the one that fits: get answers to your questions, or register to hire us to take on your claim.

A VA-accredited claims agent talking across a desk with an older veteran in a ball cap, coffee mugs between them, nothing being signed

Free information — just ask

You can ask Albert, our AI claims assistant, anything about exposure, evidence, or the claims process — he answers instantly. If you would rather have a direct, personal answer, send your question below and an accredited agent will come back to you. No cost, no obligation.

Or send your question
A veteran and his wife at a conference table with an accredited representative pointing to the paperwork in front of them

Ready to hire us? Register with us

For veterans who have decided they want us on their claim. Registering is free too, and it takes the registration form plus a signed VA Form 21-22a.

Until VA Form 21-22a is signed we cannot accept your claim, access your VA file, or do any work on your behalf. That is federal law, not firm policy.

What happens after you register

  • You register. This simply starts the conversation — you are not our client yet, and you owe us nothing.
  • You sign and return VA Form 21-22a. It appoints us as your accredited representative and gives us access to your VA file.
  • Once we have your signed 21-22a and access to your case, we verify everything is in order.
  • We review your case in full and conduct your interview with an accredited agent.
  • Only then do YOU decide whether to move forward with us. If you choose not to, we will not proceed on your behalf — no pressure, no obligation.
Call us: 702-992-4883

An accredited agent personally reviews every request — we’ll reach out within 48 hours.