Stop guessing your VA combined rating — and what it's worth.

The VA does not add disability ratings together. Instead, it uses the "whole person" method defined in 38 CFR § 4.25. Your body starts at 100% functional capacity. Each disability reduces from whatever capacity remains, not from the original 100%.

Step-by-step example: 50% + 30%

1. Start: 100% whole person
2. Apply highest rating first (50%): 100 − 50 = 50% remaining
3. Apply next rating to what's left (30% of 50): 30% × 50 = 15 → remaining = 35%
4. Combined disability: 100 − 35 = 65%
5. Round to nearest 10%: 70%

In a standard non-bilateral calculation, VA combines the conditions first, then rounds the final combined value to the nearest 10%. Values ending in 1–4 round down; values ending in 5–9 round up.

Why this matters: The difference between 64.4% and 65% is the difference between a 60% rating ($1,435.02/month) and a 70% rating ($1,808.45/month) — a gap of $373.43/month or $4,481/year. Knowing your exact combined value tells you how close you are to the next threshold and what an additional condition could do.

The bilateral factor under 38 CFR § 4.26 works in your favor. If you have compensable ratings (greater than 0%) on both sides of a paired body part — both knees, both hips, both shoulders, both ankles, both hands, both feet, or both eyes — the VA applies a 10% increase to the combined value of those bilateral ratings before mixing them into the main calculation.

Example: Left knee 30% + Right knee 20% + PTSD 50%

Step 1 — Combine the bilateral pair:

• Start: 100; Apply 30% → 70 remaining; Apply 20% to 70 → 70 × 0.80 = 56 remaining
• Bilateral combined value: 100 − 56 = 44%

Step 2 — Apply bilateral factor (+10%):

• 44 × 1.10 = 48.4% (replaces 44% in main calc)

Step 3 — Combine with PTSD (50%):

• Apply 50%: 50 remaining; Apply 48.4% to 50 → 25.8 remaining
• Final: 100 − 25.8 = 74.2% → rounds to 70%

Near a rounding boundary, the bilateral factor can push you across a threshold worth hundreds per month. If symptoms affect both sides of a paired extremity, reviewing both sides with a VSO or accredited representative can help ensure your claim reflects the full medical picture.

VA disability compensation is excluded from federal taxable income.

2026 monthly rates (veteran alone, no dependents):

Dependent additions apply at 30% and above only — veterans rated at 10% or 20% receive the flat base rate regardless of dependents. Additions include approximately $60–$160/month for a spouse, $32–$96/month per child under 18, and $47–$135/month per dependent parent, depending on rating tier.

TDIU: Veterans whose service-connected conditions prevent substantially gainful employment may qualify for Total Disability based on Individual Unemployability, which pays at the 100% rate even if the combined schedular rating is lower. Generally requires a single disability rated 60%+ or combined 70%+ with at least one condition at 40%+.

In some cases, veterans who do not meet these percentage thresholds may be considered on an extraschedular basis, but that process is more situation-specific.

Filing early matters for two reasons that directly affect how much money you receive:

1. Effective date and timing. Filing before separation or within one year after separation can help preserve the earliest possible effective date, which is often the day after separation for direct service-connected claims.

2. Effective date and BDD processing.The VA's effective date for BDD claims is generally the day after separation, not the filing date itself. Filing early through BDD gives VA time to review records and schedule exams while you're still in, which may speed the decision. File using VA Form 21-526EZ, 180 to 90 days before separation.

Your military medical records are the foundation of any service-connection claim. They are most accessible — and most complete — while you're still in uniform. Once you separate, requesting records can take months.

Rating stability protections: VA disability ratings are not always permanent, but procedural protections limit re-evaluation over time. Ratings in place for 5+ years receive a stabilization protection (higher evidence threshold for reduction). Ratings held for 10+ years cannot be severed unless fraud was involved. Ratings held for 20+ years are considered permanent and protected.

If you're not ready to submit a full VA disability claim, an Intent to File can protect a potential earlier effective date while you gather records and evidence. After submitting, you generally have one year to complete and file the claim.

This can be done online at VA.gov, by phone, or through a VSO. It takes only a few minutes and requires no supporting documentation upfront.

If you are still on active duty within the BDD window (90–180 days before separation), use BDD instead — Intent to File is for veterans who have already separated or who are outside the BDD window.

A 0% (noncompensable) rating does not pay monthly compensation, but it establishes that the VA recognizes the condition as service-connected. If the condition worsens later, that existing service connection can make a future increase claim simpler than establishing service connection from scratch.

A 0% rating may also provide access to VA healthcare for that specific condition, depending on your overall priority group.

Veterans sometimes overlook 0% conditions at claim time because there is no immediate payment. Filing for them anyway preserves the record and may make future claims easier.

The historical rule:Until 2004, veterans had to waive one dollar of retirement pay for every dollar of VA disability compensation they received — you couldn't receive both in full.

CRDP (Concurrent Retirement and Disability Pay): Since 2004, eligible military retirees with a VA disability rating of 50% or higher and 20+ years of qualifying service generally receive retired pay restored, allowing them to receive both military retired pay and VA disability compensation without the old dollar-for-dollar offset.

CRSC (Combat-Related Special Compensation): Veterans whose disabilities are specifically combat-related may elect CRSC instead. CRSC has the added benefit of being non-taxable income, whereas retirement pay is taxable. Veterans with combat-related disabilities below 50% may find CRSC produces more after-tax income than CRDP despite identical gross amounts.

You can receive CRDP or CRSC — not both. You must apply for CRSC through your branch's finance center. The decision requires calculating your specific numbers.

SGLI (Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance) provides up to $500,000 in coverage at $26/month for most service members with maximum coverage while on active duty. It continues at no cost for 120 days after separation, then ends unless converted.

VGLI (Veterans' Group Life Insurance): You can convert SGLI to VGLI by applying within 1 year and 120 days after separation. It is not automatic — you must apply. No medical exam is required if you apply within 240 days. Premiums start low for younger veterans but increase substantially with age. By the mid-40s, VGLI often costs more than comparable private coverage.

Private term life insurance: For veterans in good health, private term life frequently offers better value than VGLI by the mid-30s to 40s. The advantage of VGLI is guaranteed issuance — which matters significantly if you have serious service-connected health conditions that could disqualify you from private coverage.

VA disability ratings are not always permanent — the VA can re-evaluate ratings if it believes a condition has improved. However, several procedural protections limit this over time, and understanding them is part of long-term financial planning.

• 5+ years:Ratings receive a "stabilization" protection. The VA must produce stronger evidence to reduce a rating it has held for five or more years — it cannot simply reassess at a lower level without justification.
• 10+ years: Service connection cannot be severed unless the VA can prove the original grant was based on fraud. The rating can still be reduced, but the connection itself cannot be eliminated.
• 20+ years: Ratings held for 20 or more continuous years are considered permanent and protected from reduction. The VA cannot reduce a rating that has been in place for two decades.

These timelines make the effective date of your original claim critically important — every year of delay in filing is a year of protection you will not have for another decade.