VA Disability Calculator
Calculate your combined VA rating and see your 2026 monthly payment with dependents. Uses the official VA formulas from 38 CFR §§ 4.25 (combined rating) and 4.26 (bilateral factor), with rates effective December 1, 2025.
New to VA math? Read the pizza rule explainer belowHow to Use This Calculator
- Add your service-connected conditions using the Add Condition button.
- Select the rating percentage for each condition.
- If the condition affects an arm or leg, select the appropriate extremity.
- Optionally, label each condition for your reference.
- Click Calculate to see your combined rating and estimated monthly payment.
Your Conditions
Important Disclaimer
While we strive to provide accurate calculations based on current VA compensation rates, the VA frequently updates policies, rates, and calculation methods. This calculator is an educational tool and estimate only. For official and up-to-date information regarding your disability rating and compensation, please visit VA.gov or contact your local VA office directly.
Why 50% + 30% does not equal 80%
The VA does not use regular addition. It uses the Combined Ratings Table in 38 CFR § 4.25. Here is the rule that makes it click: each new disability only takes a piece of what is still healthy after the previous one. We call it the pizza rule.
Start at 100% healthy
Before any rating, you are a whole pizza. 100% healthy. All slices accounted for.
Biggest rating first
Your highest rating takes its slice of the whole pizza. A 50% rating takes half. You have 50% left.
Next rating, remaining pizza
Every new rating only comes out of the healthy piece you have left. Not the whole pizza.
Worked example: 50% PTSD + 30% back
Start: 100% healthy pizza.
PTSD at 50%: The VA takes half the pizza. You have 50% healthy left.
Back at 30%: The VA takes 30% of the 50% you have left. That is 15%, not 30% of the whole pizza.
Total: 50% + 15% = 65% combined.
Round to nearest 10: 65% rounds up to 70%. Not 80%. Not 90%. 70%.
The pizza rule, start to finish
Save this. Share it with the veteran at your unit who thinks his rating is wrong.
The 10% bonus most veterans miss
If you have disabilities on both sides of your body, the VA owes you extra. It is called the bilateral factor (38 CFR § 4.26) and it gets missed on thousands of decisions every year. Our calculator applies it automatically. Here is what it does, in plain English.
How the bilateral factor works
- 1Combine the paired ratings first. Take both sides (both knees, both hands, both feet, both eyes, both ears) and combine them using the pizza rule.
- 2Add 10% of that combined number back in. That is your bilateral rating. It now acts as a single rating.
- 3Combine the bilateral rating with your other ratings. Same pizza rule. Biggest rating first.
- 4Round to the nearest 10. Final rating.
The bilateral factor, fully worked
A veteran with both knees, a back, and tinnitus. See how the bilateral bonus changes his final rating from 60% to 70%.
Check your rating decision
If you have paired disabilities and your decision letter does not show the bilateral factor applied, that is a math error on the VA's side. It is worth flagging. A supplemental claim or higher-level review can fix it.
The fast way to verify: run your ratings through the calculator above. If the calculator's combined number is higher than what the VA gave you, dig into why.
What this means when you file
Your first rating matters most
It sets the size of the remaining pizza. A 70% primary leaves only 30% for every other rating to affect.
Small ratings stack slowly
Five 10% ratings do not equal 50%. They combine to around 41%. The healthy pizza shrinks, but slower each time.
Hitting 100% takes a big single rating
Most veterans at 100% schedular have either one 100% rating or a 70%+ primary combined with several others.
Rounding is a cliff
A 64% calculation rounds down to 60%. A 65% rounds up to 70%. Every percentage point near a 5 matters to your paycheck.
Want the full system, not just the math?
Combined ratings are one chapter. Win Your VA Disability Claim covers filing, evidence, C&P exams, appeals, and the whole playbook. Written by a VA disability claims educator and disabled veteran with hands-on VSO experience.