Understanding VA Disability Ratings: How They Work and What Yours Means

A VA disability rating is VA's estimate of how much a service-connected condition reduces your ability to work and function. VA assigns ratings in 10% increments, from 0% to 100%, based on how severe the condition is.

Every condition VA service-connects gets its own rating. If you have 3 service-connected conditions, you have 3 individual ratings and 1 combined rating. The combined rating is the number that drives your pay and most of your other benefits.

A 0% rating is not a denial. VA agrees the condition is service-connected but does not find it disabling enough to pay for yet. It still counts for health care, future increases and secondary conditions.

The ratings come from the VA Schedule for Rating Disabilities (VASRD), which is Part 4 of Title 38 of the Code of Federal Regulations (38 CFR Part 4). The schedule lists conditions by body system, gives each one a 4-digit diagnostic code, and sets the criteria for each percentage. How to read that schedule is its own topic; see the VA disability rating schedule guide.

VA says it uses 3 kinds of evidence to decide a rating:

1. The evidence you send with your claim, such as doctor's reports and test results.
2. The results of a VA claim exam (also called a C&P exam), if VA schedules one. The examiner usually fills out a Disability Benefits Questionnaire (DBQ), a standard form that records the exact findings the schedule asks about.
3. Information from other federal agencies.

Who decides the rating: the examiner or the rater? The rater. The examiner's job is to record findings on the DBQ. A rater at the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) then compares those findings to the criteria under the condition's diagnostic code and picks the percentage that best fits. 2 rules tilt close calls your way:

• Higher of two evaluations. 38 CFR 4.7 says that when your condition sits between 2 percentages, VA assigns the higher one if your "disability picture more nearly approximates" that level.
• Benefit of the doubt. 38 CFR 4.3 requires VA to resolve reasonable doubt about the degree of disability in your favor. The statute behind it is 38 U.S.C. 5107(b). It says that when the evidence for and against is in "approximate balance," you get the benefit of the doubt.

Because the exam creates most of the rating evidence, it helps to know what VA looks for at a C&P exam. The medical evidence requirements guide covers what VA accepts as evidence.

VA does not add ratings together. It rates the "whole person." Under 38 CFR 4.25, a person with a 60% disability is considered 40% efficient. The next disability can only take away part of that remaining 40%, so nothing ever adds past 100%.

The method, in short:

1. Order your ratings from highest to lowest.
2. Apply the second rating to what is left. 50% plus 30%: 30% of the remaining 50 is 15, so 50 + 15 = 65.
3. Repeat for each additional rating, using the unrounded number.
4. Round once, at the end, to the nearest 10. Values ending in 5 go up. So 65 becomes 70%.

A few examples straight from the regulation and VA's page: 40% and 20% combine to 52, which rounds down to 50%. 60%, 40% and 20% combine to 76, then 81, which rounds to 80%. Two 10% ratings combine to 19%, which rounds to 20%.

One wrinkle: the bilateral factor in 38 CFR 4.26. It applies when you have compensable ratings in both arms, both legs, or paired muscle groups. VA combines those first, adds 10% of that combined value, and then combines the result with everything else. In the regulation's own example, a pair of 10% leg ratings becomes 21 instead of 19 before the rest of the math is done.

The full method, a combined ratings table you can read, and a calculator are in VA math and the combined rating calculator. The VA disability pillar guide has the wider picture.

VA disability compensation is a monthly tax-free payment. The rates below took effect December 1, 2025. They follow the 2.8% Social Security cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for 2026, which VA is required by law to match.

Source: https://www.va.gov/disability/compensation-rates/veteran-rates/, effective December 1, 2025.

For comparison, the 100% veteran-alone rate was $3,831.30 and the 10% rate was $175.51 under the rates effective December 1, 2024. The full tables with every dependent combination are in VA disability rates for 2026. The VA disability compensation guide explains how payments start and change.

Notice the jump between 90% and 100%: more than $1,500 a month. That gap is why the Total Disability based on Individual Unemployability (TDIU) rules below matter.

A rating means more than the check. Each step opens different doors. The list below covers the federal benefits that key directly off a rating.

• Any compensable rating (10% or more). You receive monthly compensation. You are exempt from the VA home loan funding fee if you are receiving compensation for a service-connected disability. At 10% or 20% you are in VA health care Priority Group 3.
• 30%. You can add dependents. Veterans rated 30% or higher get extra monthly pay for a spouse, dependent children and dependent parents; VA pays no dependent add-on at 10% or 20%. A 30% or 40% rating places you in Priority Group 2.
• 50%. Priority Group 1 for VA health care.
• 60% and 70%. These are the TDIU thresholds under 38 CFR 4.16, explained in the next section.
• 100%. The highest schedular rate. If VA also finds the rating permanent and total, your spouse and children may be eligible for CHAMPVA (the Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Department of Veterans Affairs) health coverage.

Special Monthly Compensation (SMC) is not tied to a rating band. It is extra pay for specific losses or needs. SMC-K, for loss or loss of use of certain organs or body parts, is $139.87 a month and can be added at any rating from 0% to 100%. SMC-S (housebound) and SMC-L (aid and attendance) are higher rates for veterans who are confined to home or need daily help. The veteran-alone SMC-S rate is $4,408.53 a month. All figures are from the VA SMC rates page, effective December 1, 2025.

These 3 terms are different things.

Schedular 100% means your combined rating, calculated from the schedule, is 100%. You can work full time with a schedular 100% rating. Nothing in the rating rules stops you.

TDIU pays the 100% rate to a veteran whose combined rating is lower, because service-connected conditions keep that veteran from holding a job. Under 38 CFR 4.16(a), you may be eligible if at least 1 of these is true:

• You have 1 disability rated 60% or more, or
• You have a combined rating of 70% or more, with at least 1 condition rated 40% or more.

For a veteran below those numbers, 4.16(b) still requires VA to refer the case for extra-schedular review when the evidence shows the veteran cannot work. The application is VA Form 21-8940, with VA Form 21-4192 for employer information. With TDIU you cannot keep "substantially gainful" work. Marginal employment, generally earnings at or below the Census Bureau poverty threshold for 1 person, is allowed. The total disability benefits guide goes deeper.

Permanent and Total (P&T) is a finding VA adds when it decides a total rating (schedular or TDIU) is not expected to improve. VA defines it as a disability "rated as 100% disabling and that's not expected to improve." P&T is what triggers CHAMPVA for your family and ends routine re-examinations. A 100% rating on its own does not.

How often VA re-evaluates a rating depends on whether VA expects the condition to change.

Under 38 CFR 3.327, when VA thinks a condition may improve, it schedules a re-examination "within not less than 2 years nor more than 5 years" after the first exam. VA does not schedule routine re-exams in 5 situations: the condition is static; the rating has stayed the same for 5 or more years without material improvement; you are over 55; you are at the minimum rating for the condition; or reducing that 1 condition would not change your combined rating.

3 more rules protect long-standing ratings:

• 5 years. 38 CFR 3.344: a rating that has continued at the same level for 5 or more years cannot be reduced on 1 exam. VA must show that all the evidence clearly reflects sustained improvement that will hold up "under the ordinary conditions of life." Read more in the VA 5-year rule post.
• 10 years. 38 CFR 3.957: service connection in place for 10 or more years cannot be severed except for fraud, or where the record shows you did not have qualifying service. The percentage can still change; the service connection cannot be taken away.
• 20 years. 38 CFR 3.951(b): a rating held continuously at or above a level for 20 or more years cannot be reduced below that level except for fraud.

Will filing for an increase get my existing rating reduced? Filing for an increase does not remove any of the protections above. VA will usually schedule a new exam. A rating can go down as well as up if the new evidence shows improvement. But the same 3 rules still apply. A rating at the same level for 5 or more years needs sustained improvement shown by all the evidence (38 CFR 3.344). Service connection in place 10 or more years cannot be severed except for fraud (38 CFR 3.957). A rating held 20 or more years cannot drop below that level except for fraud (38 CFR 3.951). Any reduction also has to go through the notice process below.

Watch out: VA cannot reduce a compensable rating without notice. Under 38 CFR 3.105(e), you get a proposed-reduction letter, 60 days to send evidence, and 30 days to request a predetermination hearing. If you request the hearing on time, your pay continues at the old level until VA makes a final decision.

Your rating decision arrives by mail and can also be downloaded from the claim status tool on VA.gov. It has 4 parts:

1. The decision list. Each claimed condition, whether it was granted or denied, the percentage, and the effective date.
2. The evidence list. Every record VA says it considered. If a report you sent is missing, that is a fixable problem.
3. Reasons for decision. For each condition, the criteria VA applied and why the evidence matched 1 percentage and not the next one. This is where the diagnostic code appears, and where VA's findings can be compared against the schedule.
4. The code sheet. The back page lists each diagnostic code, the individual percentages, the combined rating, and any TDIU, P&T or SMC finding. If "permanent and total" is not on the code sheet, VA has not found you P&T.

A code that does not fit, or a tier lower than the exam findings support, is the basis for a review.

Does back pay go to the original date? The effective date on the decision list is the day VA starts owing you benefits, and back pay runs from that date. When a decision review is filed within 1 year of the decision, the original effective date is kept. The VA disability appeal guide explains how that rule works and what happens after the year ends.

You have 2 different paths, and picking the right one matters.

Your condition got worse. File for an increase with VA Form 21-526EZ, the same form used for a first claim. VA will usually schedule a new exam. You have up to a year from the date VA receives the claim to turn in evidence. See filing your first claim for the process; it is the same form and the same steps.

VA got the decision wrong. Use a decision review. All 3 options are described on the VA decision reviews page:

• Higher-Level Review, VA Form 20-0996. A senior reviewer looks at the same evidence for error. Request it within 1 year of the date on your decision letter. No new evidence.
• Supplemental Claim, VA Form 20-0995. For when you have new and relevant evidence VA has not seen, such as a new medical opinion.
• Board Appeal, VA Form 10182. A Veterans Law Judge reviews your case, by direct review, with new evidence, or after a hearing. Request it within 1 year of the decision.

The VA disability appeal guide walks through choosing among them. Is your VA disability rating too low? explains the common under-rating patterns. A VA-accredited representative can review your decision letter free of charge.

Most state veteran benefits key off your VA rating. Property tax exemptions often start at a specific percentage or at 100% P&T. Free or reduced vehicle registration, hunting and fishing licenses, state park passes, and in-state tuition for dependents frequently require a minimum rating or a P&T finding. Rules differ by state and change every session, so check your state's current list.