VA combined rating calculator

VA disability ratings do not add up. Two 50% ratings are not 100%, and a 10% added to an existing 90% often moves nothing at all. Under 38 CFR 4.25, each rating is applied to whatever ability is left after the ones before it, so every additional condition is worth less than the one above it.

This calculator runs that arithmetic the way the VA does: ratings sorted highest first, each one taken against the remaining percentage and the running total held as a whole number after every step (the VA's table has no fractions), the bilateral factor applied where paired limbs are involved, and only the final total rounded to the nearest ten. It then shows the monthly payment at that rating for your dependent situation.

Worked through, a 50% and a 30% rating go like this. The 50% is applied first and leaves you 50% of your ability. The 30% is then taken from that remainder, not from the whole, so it contributes 15 points rather than 30. The running total is 65, and 65 rounds to a 70% combined rating. Because each step is held as a whole number, the order can move the total by a point, so the VA does not leave it to chance: 38 CFR 4.25 arranges the ratings in the exact order of severity, highest first, and this calculator does the same before it starts.

The bilateral factor is the one adjustment that works in your favour. When you have ratings on both arms or both legs, those are combined with each other first, and another 10% of that subtotal is added before anything else is applied. It rarely moves the final number by a full step on its own, but stacked with a third or fourth condition it is often what carries a borderline case over a rounding line.

This is also why the last stretch is so punishing. Once you are at 90%, the 10% of ability still left is all that any new rating can be measured against, so a fresh 30% condition adds 3 points and a fresh 50% adds 5. Getting from 90% to a schedular 100% usually takes a single very high rating rather than an accumulation of small ones, which is exactly the situation TDIU exists to cover.