VA Disability Calculator: 2026 Rates
Run your ratings through the VA's own combined ratings table, then see what the result pays each month with your family counted, and what a higher rating could be worth in back pay.
Combine Your VA Ratings
Tap each percentage from your rating decision. The tool sorts them largest first and runs them through the combined ratings table one at a time, the way a VA rater does.
Estimate only. Does not include the bilateral factor. The VA makes all final rating decisions.
Add ratings to calculate
Estimate Your Monthly VA Payment
Set the rating you have and the one you think you should have, add your family, and the panel lays out both payments, the monthly difference and a rough back pay figure.
Monthly payment
How each payment is built
Disability income over time
Think your rating should be higher?
Free Case ReviewFigures come from the VA's published tables in effect since December 1, 2025: disability compensation rates and special monthly compensation rates. SMC-K adds $139.87 a month and is counted once here. Projections over time leave out future cost-of-living raises. Every figure is an estimate, and the VA decides the actual amount.
How the VA Combines Ratings Under 38 CFR 4.25
The VA pictures you as a whole person who starts out 100% able. After the first rating, each one takes its share from whatever ability is left rather than from the full 100. In practice a rater follows four steps:
- Line the ratings up from largest to smallest.
- Combine the first two using Table I in 38 CFR 4.25. Every value in that table is a whole number, so each step lands on a whole number.
- Combine that result with the next rating, and repeat until every rating has been used.
- Round the final value to the nearest 10. A value ending in 5 goes up.
Take ratings of 50, 30 and 20. Start at 50. The 30 applies to the remaining 50, adding 15, for 65. The 20 applies to the remaining 35, adding 7, for 72. Rounding turns 72 into 70%. Plain addition would have said 100.
Rounding cuts both ways. A 40 and a 20 combine to 52, which drops to 50%. A 50 and a 10 combine to 55, which climbs to 60%. That rule is why one small rating can push a veteran up a full tier, while the same rating barely registers for someone else. The calculator shows both numbers: the unrounded value and the rating the VA would assign.
What This Calculator Leaves Out
- The bilateral factor. When both arms, both legs or paired skeletal muscles carry ratings, 38 CFR 4.26 has the VA combine those first and then add 10% of that combined value before bringing in your other ratings. The tool skips this step, so with ratings on both sides your real number can come out higher.
- Special monthly compensation beyond K. Higher SMC levels for the veteran, such as housebound or aid and attendance awards, aren't modeled.
- TDIU. Individual Unemployability is paid at the 100% rate. If you think you qualify, set the potential rating to 100% to see that payment, and read our TDIU page for the rules.
- Offsets. Military retired pay, drill pay and separation or severance pay can reduce what the VA actually deposits.
- Your real effective date. The back pay box multiplies the monthly difference by the months you pick. Actual back pay depends on your effective date, covered in our guide to effective dates and back pay.
2026 VA Disability Pay by Rating
Monthly compensation at each rating, in effect since December 1, 2025. For children over 18 in school, dependent parents or more than one child, use the calculator above.
| Rating | Veteran alone | With spouse | Spouse + 1 child |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10% | $180.42 | $180.42 | $180.42 |
| 20% | $356.66 | $356.66 | $356.66 |
| 30% | $552.47 | $617.47 | $666.47 |
| 40% | $795.84 | $882.84 | $947.84 |
| 50% | $1,132.90 | $1,241.90 | $1,322.90 |
| 60% | $1,435.02 | $1,566.02 | $1,663.02 |
| 70% | $1,808.45 | $1,961.45 | $2,074.45 |
| 80% | $2,102.15 | $2,277.15 | $2,406.15 |
| 90% | $2,362.30 | $2,559.30 | $2,704.30 |
| 100% | $3,938.58 | $4,158.17 | $4,318.99 |
Questions About VA Pay and Ratings
What does a 100% rating pay in 2026?
$3,938.58 a month for a veteran with no dependents, $4,158.17 with a spouse, and $4,318.99 with a spouse and one child, at the rates in effect since December 1, 2025.
Why is my combined rating lower than my ratings added together?
Each rating is applied to the ability left over after the ones before it, then the final value is rounded to the nearest 10. Three ratings that add to 100 can combine to 70%. The worked example above walks through it.
Why don’t dependents change my pay at 10% or 20%?
Added amounts for a spouse, children or parents start at a combined rating of 30%. Below that, every veteran at the same rating gets the same amount: $180.42 at 10% and $356.66 at 20%.
What is SMC-K and how much is it?
Special monthly compensation at the K level adds $139.87 a month on top of regular compensation for the loss, or loss of use, of certain organs or limbs. Loss of use of a creative organ from service-connected erectile dysfunction is one example. Our ED and SMC-K guide covers it.
Is the back pay estimate what I’ll actually get?
Treat it as a rough figure. Real back pay is counted from your effective date, which usually depends on when the VA received your claim or Intent to File, and payments begin the first day of the month after that date. Rate changes each December also shift the total.
When do VA disability rates change?
Every December 1, when compensation rises by a cost-of-living adjustment, usually the same percentage Social Security uses. The figures on this page are the 2026 rates, in effect since December 1, 2025.
Does Your Rating Match Your Conditions?
If the numbers above show a gap between your rating and what your conditions look like today, that gap is worth a conversation. Wisconsin veterans can get a free review by phone or video.
Thank you!
A member of our team will reach out within one business day to schedule your free case review.