VA Disability Calculator: Combined Ratings & 2026 Pay Estimator
Estimate your combined VA disability rating the way the VA actually calculates it — “VA math,” where each rating applies to the whole person you have left, plus the bilateral factor most veterans miss. Enter your rated conditions and dependents to see your estimated combined rating and monthly compensation at 2026 rates (effective December 1, 2025). Every estimate links to the official VA.gov rate tables. Free, accredited help with your claim is always available through a VA-accredited VSO — never pay anyone to file an initial claim.
Combined rating
30%
Estimated monthly payment
$552.47
Veteran alone
Rates effective December 1, 2025, from VA’s published compensation rates. This is an estimate for planning purposes only and is not an official VA determination. Combined ratings use VA’s whole-person method, not simple addition. Only VA can decide your rating and payment.
How VA math actually works
Why 50% + 50% isn’t 100%
The VA doesn’t add your ratings together. It applies each rating to the “whole person” you have left:
Start with your highest rating. 50% disabled means 50% of you is still “whole.”
The next rating applies only to what’s left. 50% of the remaining 50% is 25% — so 50% + 50% = 75%.
Keep going down the list, largest to smallest, rounding at each step.
At the very end, the total rounds to the nearest 10. That 75% becomes an 80% combined rating.
The bilateral factor: if you have rated conditions on both sides of the same paired limbs (both knees, both hands, etc.), the VA combines those first and adds 10% of the combined value before mixing in everything else. It can bump you up a full rating level — and it’s one of the most commonly missed extras.
The bilateral factor is set out in 38 CFR 4.26. Combined ratings follow the combined ratings table in 38 CFR 4.25.
If VA has already denied or low-rated a claim, the Decision Support tool walks you through your appeal options.