# How much VA disability will I get?

Combines your VA disability ratings with the 38 CFR 4.25 table and the bilateral factor, then finds your monthly VA disability compensation for 2026 from your dependents.

- Page: https://www.acalculator.org/finance/va-disability-calculator
- JSON spec: https://www.acalculator.org/finance/va-disability-calculator.json
- Version: f5e6934d5fa6

## Default answer

Example with the default inputs (Your disability ratings [Rating 50%; Rating 30%], Married No, Dependent parents None, Children under 18 0, Children 18 to 23 in school 0): With a combined rating of 70%, your VA disability pay is $1,808.45 a month.

## Inputs

| Key | Label | Description |
| --- | --- | --- |
| r | Your disability ratings | One row per service-connected disability: its percent rating, and whether it is part of a pair (both arms, both legs, or paired skeletal muscles). |
| spouse | Married | On when you have a spouse VA counts as your dependent. |
| aa | Spouse gets Aid and Attendance | On when your spouse needs the regular aid and attendance of another person or lives in a nursing home. |
| parents | Dependent parents | How many of your parents depend on you for support. |
| kids | Children under 18 | Dependent children under age 18 (or any age if they became permanently unable to support themselves before 18). |
| school | Children 18 to 23 in school | Dependent children age 18 to 23 in an approved school program. |

## Outputs

| Key | Label | Description |
| --- | --- | --- |
| monthly | Monthly VA disability pay | The 2026 monthly compensation for your combined rating and dependents. |
| combined | Combined rating | The combined value rounded to the nearest 10%, with a value ending in 5 rounded up. |
| exact | Combined value before rounding | The combined value from the 38 CFR 4.25 table, before the final rounding to 10. |
| yearly | A year | The monthly pay times 12. |
| order | Ratings in order of severity | The ratings combined, largest first, with a bilateral pair counted as one rating. |

## Method

Combine the ratings largest first with Table I of 38 CFR 4.25 (a + b × (100 − a) ÷ 100, rounded to a whole number), adding the 4.26 bilateral factor first; round the result to the nearest 10 (5 up); then read the monthly rate for that rating and your dependents from VA’s 2026 table.

## Assumptions

- Rates effective December 1, 2025 (VA’s 2026 table).
- Special monthly compensation (SMC), individual unemployability and temporary ratings are not included.
- Dependents count only at a combined rating of 30% or more.
- Each child 18 to 23 in school is paid the school-child amount in place of a child amount (38 U.S.C. 1115(1)(F)).

## Worked examples

1. r = {"rating":"50"} or {"rating":"30"}, spouse = yes, parents = 0, kids = 0, school = 0 gives exact = 65%, combined = 70%, monthly = $1,961.45. Source: 38 CFR 4.25(a): 50% and 30% combine to 65%, converted to 70%; VA 2026 rates (https://www.va.gov/disability/compensation-rates/veteran-rates/): 70% with spouse $1,961.45.
2. r = {"rating":"60"} or {"rating":"40"}, spouse = no, parents = 0, kids = 0, school = 0 gives exact = 81%, combined = 80%, monthly = $2,102.15. Source: 38 CFR 4.25(a): 60%, 40% and 20% combine to 81%, converted to 80%.
3. r = {"rating":"60"} or {"rating":"20"}, spouse = no, parents = 0, kids = 0, school = 0 gives exact = 74%, combined = 70%, order = 60%, 21%, 20%. Source: 38 CFR 4.26 example: 60, 20 and two bilateral 10s.
4. r = {"rating":"70"} or undefined, spouse = yes, aa = yes, parents = 0, kids = 3, school = 0 gives combined = 70%, monthly = $2,367.45.
5. r = {"rating":"30"} or undefined, spouse = yes, parents = 0, kids = 0, school = 0 gives monthly = $617.47.
6. r = {"rating":"100"} or undefined, spouse = no, parents = 0, kids = 0, school = 2 gives monthly = $4,643.48, yearly = $55,721.76. Source: 38 U.S.C. 1115(1)(F) (each school child at the school rate).

## FAQ

### How does VA combine disability ratings?

VA does not add ratings. It takes the largest rating first and treats the rest of you as "efficient". A 50% rating leaves 50% efficiency; a 30% rating then takes 30% of that 50%, which is 15. So 50% and 30% combine to 65%, and VA rounds 65 to 70%.

### What is the bilateral factor?

When disabilities affect both arms, both legs, or paired skeletal muscles, VA combines those ratings first and adds 10% of the result. Two 10% ratings combine to 19, and 10% of 19 is 1.9, so the pair counts as 21 before the other ratings are combined.

### How much is 100% VA disability in 2026?

From December 1, 2025, a Veteran rated 100% with no dependents gets $3,938.58 a month. With a spouse it is $4,158.17, and with a spouse and one child under 18 it is $4,318.99.

### Do dependents raise my pay at 10% or 20%?

No. VA pays added amounts for a spouse, children and parents only at a combined rating of 30% or more. At 10% the 2026 rate is $180.42 and at 20% it is $356.66, with or without dependents.

### When do VA rates change?

Each December 1, by the same percentage as the Social Security cost-of-living adjustment. The rates here took effect on December 1, 2025, with a 2.8% increase.

## Sources

- U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Current Veterans disability compensation rates (effective December 1, 2025): https://www.va.gov/disability/compensation-rates/veteran-rates/
- Code of Federal Regulations, 38 CFR 4.25 (Combined ratings table): https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-38/section-4.25
- Code of Federal Regulations, 38 CFR 4.26 (Bilateral factor): https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-38/section-4.26
- United States Code, 38 U.S.C. 1115 (Additional compensation for dependents): https://www.govinfo.gov/link/uscode/38/1115?type=usc&year=mostrecent&link-type=html