Benefits unlocked at each rating level
From healthcare to property tax exemptions — the difference between 10% and 50% is life-changing. Here's exactly what you're fighting for, and how VA adds your ratings up.
VA math · 38 CFR § 4.25
50% + 30% + 10% isn’t 90%
- Sleep apnea 50% of the whole person0 → 50
- Migraines 30% of the 50% left50 → 65
- Tinnitus 10% of the 35% left65 → 69
Combined
69% → 70%
rounded to the nearest 10
70% pays
$1,808
a month, tax-free · 2026, veteran alone
A sample set of ratings, run through the app’s own calculator. VA decides every rating.
Level by level
What each rating unlocks
Pick a level. Benefits stack as you climb — everything at 30% is still yours at 70%.
Major benefits unlock
50%
~$1,133/mo (2026)
Major milestone- Healthcare priorityPriority Group 1 — no copays for care and prescriptions tied to your service-connected conditions
- DentalComprehensive free VA dental unlocks at 100% or TDIU — you're getting closer
- Caregiver ProgramEligibility for Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers (PCAFC) expands
- National park passFree lifetime access to all national parks and federal recreational lands
- State benefitsMost states add property-tax exemptions, disabled-veteran license plates, and reduced fees at this level (e.g., Texas offers a homestead property-tax exemption) — check your state veterans agency for yours
Compensation rates are approximate 2026 figures (effective Dec 1, 2025) for a single veteran with no dependents. Actual amounts depend on dependent status. State benefits vary — check your state veterans commission for exact eligibility.
Benefits are approximate and vary by state. Always verify with your state veterans commission.
2026 VA pay table
Every level, what it pays.
Monthly, tax-free, for a veteran with no dependents. A spouse, children or dependent parents add more from 30% up. The biggest single step in the table is the last one, from 90% to 100%.
Add dependents in the calculator38 U.S.C. § 1114 · 2026 rates
10% to 100%
- 100%$3,938.58a month
- 90%$2,362.30a month
- 80%$2,102.15a month
- 70%$1,808.45a month
- 60%$1,435.02a month
- 50%$1,132.90a month
- 40%$795.84a month
- 30%$552.47a month
- 20%$356.66a month
- 10%$180.42a month
2026 VA rates (effective December 1, 2025), veteran alone, as the only rated condition. VA decides the level.
How service connection is decided
Three things every claim has to prove.
Veterans law calls it the Caluza triangle — after Caluza v. Brown, the case that set the three elements VA looks for. Miss one corner and the claim is denied, however strong the other two are. Every claim in the app is built corner by corner, and it reads Ready to file only when all three are covered.
- 1A current disabilityMedical evidence of a current condition.Your records read for the diagnosis — or what to add if it's missing.
- 2An in-service eventMedical or lay evidence of what happened in service.Your statement, a buddy's statement, and your service records.
- 3The link between themA medical opinion that the two are connected.A medical opinion drafted from your file, for a licensed clinician to review and sign if they agree.
Most ready to file: your four pieces in — story, daily impact, diagnosis, treatment — and all three corners covered, with a signed opinion for the link.
Caluza v. Brown, 7 Vet. App. 498, 506 (1995); Shedden v. Principi, 381 F.3d 1163, 1167 (Fed. Cir. 2004).
All three covered
Ready
to file
Know your rating. Build your claim.
Upload what you have. We'll show you what your records document against VA's own rating criteria — and build the claim around it.
Rates shown are VA's published 2026 figures. VA decides every rating; no outcome is promised.