VA Disability Rating Calculator
Combined Rating — Whole-Person Method
The VA doesn't add your ratings — it combines them. 70% + 50% is not 120%, it's 90% (then rounded). Enter your ratings below to see the exact math and what it takes to reach the next threshold.
VA Combined Rating Calculator
Find out why your math is wrong — instantly. The VA doesn't add ratings together — it uses the whole-person method. See exactly how your combined rating is calculated.
Combined Rating
90%
(85.0% before rounding)
To reach 100%
+100%
additional single rating needed
This calculator uses the VA's whole-person method. Results are estimates — your actual combined rating is determined by the VA during adjudication and may differ based on bilateral factor, SMC entitlements, and other adjustments not reflected here.
How the VA combines ratings
Under 38 CFR § 4.25, the VA uses the “whole-person” method. You start as 100% efficient (a whole person). Each rating is applied to your remaining efficiency, not added to the previous rating.
Example: with a 50% rating, you are 50% disabled and 50% efficient. A second 30% rating applies to the remaining 50% efficiency — taking 15% of the whole person (30% of 50%), not 30%. Combined: 65%, which rounds to 70%.
Ratings are applied from highest to lowest, and the final result is rounded to the nearest 10%. This is why veterans with many small ratings often feel their combined rating is “stuck” — each new rating applies to a shrinking remainder.
This calculator does not include the bilateral factor (38 CFR § 4.26) or special monthly compensation. Your official combined rating is determined by the VA during adjudication.
Rating lower than it should be?
The gap is usually documentation. VA Claim Commander generates nexus letters, personal statements, and buddy statements — built to the evidentiary standard raters evaluate against. Free for veterans.
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