See exactly how the VA calculates your combined rating — and what it means for your compensation.
Your VA combined disability rating is not a simple sum of your individual ratings. The VA uses "whole person theory" (38 CFR § 4.25): each disability is applied to the portion of you that remains healthy after the previous one, so a 50% and a 30% rating combine to 65% — not 80% — which then rounds to the nearest 10% for a 70% combined rating. When paired extremities are involved (both knees, both arms), a 10% bilateral factor is added first under 38 CFR § 4.26. Your combined rating determines your tax-free monthly compensation, and dependents increase that amount at 30% and above. This free VA Combined Disability Rating Calculator does the VA math for you and shows every step, applies the bilateral factor automatically, estimates your monthly and annual payment with dependents and Special Monthly Compensation, projects retroactive back pay from your Intent to File date, and includes a searchable lookup of the official rating criteria for 200 service-connected conditions straight from 38 CFR Part 4.
Your Combined VA Rating
0%
$0.00/month · $0.00/year (tax-free)
Enter each service-connected condition, its rating, and which body part it affects. The bilateral factor is applied automatically when both sides of a pair are rated.
Dependents affect your compensation at 30%+ combined rating.
See exactly what the VA looks for at each rating level — straight from 38 CFR Part 4.
Source: 38 CFR Part 4 — Schedule for Rating Disabilities. These are the official federal criteria the VA uses during C&P exams.
Estimate the lump sum the VA owes you when your rating increase is granted.
The date you filed your ITF or claim. The VA back pays to this date.
When you expect (or received) the VA's decision. Can be a future date.
Common rating combinations and what they round to. See the FAQ below for how VA "whole person" math works.
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The combined rating is calculated under 38 CFR § 4.25 using "whole person theory." The calculator sorts your conditions from highest to lowest, applies each rating only to the percentage of health remaining after the previous one, sums the result, and rounds to the nearest 10%. When both sides of a paired body part are rated (arms, legs, knees, shoulders), it first applies the 10% bilateral factor (38 CFR § 4.26) to that group before combining it with everything else — exactly as a VA rater would.
Dollar figures use the 2026 VA compensation rates (effective December 1, 2025, after the 2.5% COLA). Dependents — spouse, children under 18, children 18–23 in school, and dependent parents — are added at ratings of 30% and above. Special Monthly Compensation (SMC) levels S through R/T replace the standard 100% rate, while SMC-K (loss or loss of use of a creative organ or extremity) stacks on top at $139.87 each. The back pay estimator multiplies the difference between your old and new monthly compensation by the number of months from your Intent to File date, using "veteran alone" rates.
The Disability Rating Criteria Lookup contains 200 service-connected conditions drawn directly from 38 CFR Part 4, the federal Schedule for Rating Disabilities. Each condition lists its diagnostic code, the criteria the VA evaluates at every rating percentage, C&P exam tips, and commonly-filed secondary conditions (38 CFR § 3.310). The same percentages a C&P examiner applies appear here, so you can see exactly what evidence each rating level requires.
This is an educational estimator, not an official VA rating decision. Actual ratings are determined by the VA based on your medical evidence and C&P exams. Always verify with your regional VA office or an accredited Veterans Service Organization (VSO).
The VA does not add your ratings together. Under "whole person theory" (38 CFR § 4.25), it starts at 100% healthy and applies each rating to the percentage of you that remains, combining from highest to lowest. A 50% rating leaves 50% healthy; a 30% rating then takes 30% of that remaining 50 (15 points) for a combined 65%, which rounds to a 70% combined rating. When both sides of a paired body part are rated, a 10% bilateral factor is added first under 38 CFR § 4.26.
Because VA ratings measure how much healthy function remains, not a simple sum. Your highest rating takes a slice of the whole 100%, and each additional rating can only take from what is left. A 50% rating leaves 50% healthy; a 30% rating applies to that remaining 50%, adding 15 points for a combined 65% that rounds to 70%. This is why it gets progressively harder to reach 100% as you stack ratings.
The bilateral factor (38 CFR § 4.26) is a 10% bonus the VA adds when both sides of a paired body part are service-connected — both knees, both arms, both shoulders, or both legs. The VA combines the affected extremities, adds 10% of that combined value, and only then combines the result with your other conditions. Because it is applied before the rest of the VA math, it can push your combined rating up a full 10-point bracket.
For a single veteran with no dependents in 2026 (rates effective December 1, 2025, with a 2.5% COLA): 10% pays $180.42, 30% pays $552.47, 50% pays $1,132.90, 70% pays $1,808.45, and 100% pays $3,938.58 per month — all tax-free. At 30% and above, dependents increase the amount (a 100% veteran with a spouse receives $4,158.17). Special Monthly Compensation can raise it further.
When the VA grants a new rating or an increase, it pays you back to your effective date — usually your Intent to File (ITF) date. Back pay equals the difference between your old and new monthly compensation, multiplied by the months between your effective date and the decision. Going from 0% to 70% over 14 months is roughly $25,000. Filing an Intent to File locks your effective date early, protecting months of back pay.