VA Disability Rating Calculator
Calculate combined VA disability rating from individual service-connected disability ratings using the 38 CFR 4.25 combined ratings table.
About this calculator
The VA does not add disability ratings together — combining 50%, 30%, and 20% disabilities does not produce 100%. Instead, VA regulation (38 CFR 4.25) uses what's often called "VA math": each rating is applied not to the whole person, but only to whatever portion is still considered "able-bodied" after the ratings already applied. Starting from the highest rating, the VA combines it with the next-highest by applying that next rating only to the percentage still remaining, rounds the running total to a whole number, and repeats with each remaining rating in descending order — which is exactly why three 30% disabilities combine to a value well under 90%: the second 30% rating only applies to the 70% that's left after the first, and the third only applies to what's left after both. This per-step rounding is what the VA's official Combined Ratings Table encodes, and it is why the sort order (highest to lowest) is genuinely load-bearing, not cosmetic.
Once every rating has been combined, the VA rounds the running total to the nearest whole 10% for the final disability rating used to set compensation (a running total of 75 rounds up to 80% per 4.25(a)'s round-half-up rule). If you enter only a single disability rating, no combination is needed — the combined rating simply equals that one rating, since there's nothing else to reduce it against. This calculator does not apply the separate 38 CFR 4.26 "bilateral factor" — an additional 10% added when a veteran has compensable disabilities in both arms, both legs, or paired skeletal muscles — so veterans with paired-extremity conditions should expect their official VA rating to come out higher than the figure shown here.
Legal Disclaimer
This calculator provides general estimates only and does not constitute legal advice. Laws, regulations, and court procedures vary significantly by jurisdiction. Consult a licensed attorney in your area for advice specific to your situation.
Inputs
Results
Combined VA Rating
70%
Figures current as of 2018. Source: 38 C.F.R. § 4.25, Combined ratings table. Originally published 41 Fed. Reg. 11293 (Mar. 18, 1976); most recently amended 83 Fed. Reg. 18089 (Apr. 25, 2018).
How to Use This Calculator
- Enter each service-connected disability rating (0 if you don't have that many conditions).
- The order doesn't matter — the calculator automatically sorts ratings from highest to lowest before combining them, matching VA procedure.
- Review Combined VA Rating for the final result, rounded to the nearest 10% the way the VA rounds official ratings.
- Check Simple Product (Reference Only) for a quick one-step estimate and Remaining Healthy % to see how much of the 'whole person' the VA considers undisabled — but treat Combined VA Rating as the number that matches the VA's official 38 CFR 4.25 procedure.
How the result changes with Disability Rating 1
| Disability Rating 1 | Combined VA Rating |
|---|---|
| 25% | 60% |
| 38% | 70% |
| 75% | 90% |
| 100% | 100% |
What each input means
- Disability Rating 1
- Highest individual disability rating.
- Disability Rating 2
- Second disability rating (enter 0 if none).
- Disability Rating 3
- Third disability rating (enter 0 if none).
- Disability Rating 4
- Fourth disability rating (enter 0 if none).
- Disability Rating 5
- Fifth disability rating (enter 0 if none).
What each result means
- Simple Product (Reference Only)
- A one-step reference figure, not the VA's official method — the VA rounds after each pairwise combination, not once at the end. See Combined VA Rating for the official result.
How this is calculated
Worked example, using the default values
- Identify Input Parameters4 parametersDisability Rating 1 = 50, Disability Rating 2 = 30, Disability Rating 3 = 20, Disability Rating 4 = 0 = 5 input(s) provided
- Calculate Combined VA RatingCombined VA Rating70 = 70
- Calculate Exact CombinedExact Combined72 = 72
- Calculate Rounded to Nearest 10%Rounded to Nearest 10%70 = 70
Figures and sources
- VA Combined Ratings Table ("VA math") (2018) — 38 C.F.R. § 4.25, Combined ratings table. Originally published 41 Fed. Reg. 11293 (Mar. 18, 1976); most recently amended 83 Fed. Reg. 18089 (Apr. 25, 2018).
Engine last updated . Checked against 3 independently-derived tests — how we verify calculators. Built by Paul Gunder, a software engineer, not a licensed financial, medical, or legal professional.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why don't three ratings of 30%, 30%, and 30% just add up to 90%?
Because the VA never adds ratings directly — each additional disability rating is applied only to the portion of the person the VA still considers "undisabled" after the prior ratings, not to the full 100%. Combining the first two 30% ratings gives round(30 + 30 x 0.70) = 51; combining that running total with the third 30% gives round(51 + 30 x 0.49) = round(65.7) = 66; the VA then rounds 66 to the nearest 10%, landing on a 70% combined rating — well short of a naive 90% sum.
Does the order I enter my ratings in change the result?
No — this calculator automatically sorts your entered ratings from highest to lowest before combining them, which is exactly the order the VA's official 38 CFR 4.25 process requires. Whether you type your 50% rating first or last, the combined result comes out identical, because the calculator always re-sorts internally before running the step-by-step combination — it's the sorted order that's load-bearing, not the order you typed the ratings in.
Why does the VA round the combined percentage to the nearest 10%?
VA disability compensation is paid according to a fixed 10%-increment pay table (10%, 20%, 30%, and so on), so the combined value from the step-by-step 4.25 procedure — which is rarely a clean multiple of 10 once more than one disability is combined — gets rounded to whichever 10% increment it's closest to. That's why this calculator shows both a Combined VA Rating figure (the official, correctly-rounded result) and a Simple Product (Reference Only) figure for comparison.
What happens if I only have one disability rating?
With only one rating entered, there's nothing to combine it against, so the combined rating simply equals that single rating exactly, with no reduction or rounding step applied. The step-by-step combination math in this calculator only comes into play once a second (or further) disability rating is added.
Does this calculator apply the VA's bilateral factor?
No. The bilateral factor (38 CFR 4.26) is a separate rule that applies when a veteran has compensable disabilities affecting both arms, both legs, or paired skeletal muscles: those bilateral disabilities are combined with each other first, and then an additional 10% of that combined value is added before combining with everything else. This calculator only implements the plain 38 CFR 4.25 combined ratings table, with no bilateral adjustment — veterans with paired-extremity disabilities should expect their official VA rating to come out higher than what this tool shows.
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