VA Combined Rating Table
How the VA combines multiple disability ratings under 38 CFR §4.25 and §4.26
Combine your own ratings
Enter your conditions — including a bilateral pair, if you have one — and get your combined rating and monthly VA pay.
Open the VA Disability Calculator →How VA math works
Under 38 CFR §4.25, the VA orders all of a veteran's disability ratings from highest to lowest, then combines them one pair at a time. Each additional rating is applied only to the share of function VA considers not already accounted for by the combination so far — formally, combining ratings a and b gives a + b × (100 − a) / 100, rounded to the nearest whole number after every combine step. Only after every rating has been folded in does the VA round the final result to the nearest multiple of 10 — that rounded figure is the veteran's combined disability rating, which then determines the row on the 2026 VA disability pay table.
Under 38 CFR §4.26, when two of a veteran's ratings are for a paired ("bilateral") body part — both knees, both hands, both shoulders, both feet, and similar pairs — the VA combines that pair first using the same formula, then adds a further 10% of that combined value before folding the result in with the veteran's other ratings as if it were a single rating. This bilateral factor exists because VA regulation recognizes that disabilities affecting corresponding paired body parts create a greater combined impairment than the same ratings on unrelated body parts.
§4.25 worked example
A veteran with a 50% rating and a 30% rating (no bilateral pair):
| Step | Result |
|---|---|
| Combine 50% + 30% (§4.25) → 65% | — |
| Round 65% to nearest 10 → 70% (final combined rating) | — |
| Final combined disability rating | 70% |
§4.26 bilateral factor worked example
A veteran with a 60% rating, a 20% rating, and a bilateral pair of two 10% ratings (e.g. both knees):
| Step | Result |
|---|---|
| Bilateral pair 10% + 10%: combine (§4.25) → 19%; add 10% bilateral factor (§4.26, +2) → 21% | — |
| Combine 60% + 21% (§4.25) → 68% | — |
| Combine 68% + 20% (§4.25) → 74% | — |
| Round 74% to nearest 10 → 70% (final combined rating) | — |
| Final combined disability rating | 70% |
Combined ratings table (10-90% pairs)
Each cell is the §4.25 combined value for that pair of ratings, BEFORE the final round-to-nearest-10 step. A veteran with just those two ratings would then round this combined value to the nearest multiple of 10 to get their combined disability rating — for example, 50% combined with 30% gives 65%, which rounds up to a 70% combined rating.
| Rating | 10% | 20% | 30% | 40% | 50% | 60% | 70% | 80% | 90% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10% | 19 | 28 | 37 | 46 | 55 | 64 | 73 | 82 | 91 |
| 20% | 28 | 36 | 44 | 52 | 60 | 68 | 76 | 84 | 92 |
| 30% | 37 | 44 | 51 | 58 | 65 | 72 | 79 | 86 | 93 |
| 40% | 46 | 52 | 58 | 64 | 70 | 76 | 82 | 88 | 94 |
| 50% | 55 | 60 | 65 | 70 | 75 | 80 | 85 | 90 | 95 |
| 60% | 64 | 68 | 72 | 76 | 80 | 84 | 88 | 92 | 96 |
| 70% | 73 | 76 | 79 | 82 | 85 | 88 | 91 | 94 | 97 |
| 80% | 82 | 84 | 86 | 88 | 90 | 92 | 94 | 96 | 98 |
| 90% | 91 | 92 | 93 | 94 | 95 | 96 | 97 | 98 | 99 |
Values shown are pre-final-rounding combined percentages. Round each value to the nearest multiple of 10 (values ending in 5 round up) to get the veteran's combined disability rating for that pair. With 3 or more ratings, the VA folds them in one at a time, highest to lowest, before this final rounding step — use the calculator for more than two ratings or a bilateral pair.
Frequently asked questions
Why is it called "VA math"?
Veterans call it "VA math" because combining ratings almost never matches simple addition. Each additional rating is applied only to the portion of a veteran's function VA considers not already accounted for by the prior ratings, so two ratings that "should" add to a round number usually combine to something lower, then get rounded.
Is the combined rating always rounded up?
No — it rounds to the NEAREST 10%, not always up. A combined value like 84% rounds down to 80%, while 85% and 86% round up to 90%. Only a combined value ending exactly in 5 rounds up by VA convention, which happens to match how JavaScript's Math.round already behaves for these always-nonnegative combined values.
Sources
Related Calculators
VA Disability Calculator
Combine multiple VA disability ratings with official §4.25/§4.26 math and estimate 2026 monthly and annual compensation
VA Disability Rates 2026
Full 2026 VA disability compensation table — 10-100% ratings by dependent status, plus added dependent amounts
SSI Calculator
Estimate your Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payment — federal 2026 rates with income and asset tests