How VA combines disability ratings
VA does not add ratings together. It treats each rating as a share of the efficiency you have left. A 60 % rating leaves you 40 % efficient; a further 30 % rating takes 30 % of that 40 %, leaving 28 %, so the combined value is 72. VA lists these results in Table I of 38 CFR § 4.25.
- Put the ratings in order, highest first.
- Combine the first two, then combine that result with the next rating, and so on. Each result is a whole number.
- Round the final value to the nearest 10. A value ending in 5 rounds up, so 65 becomes 70 and 64 becomes 60.
Why 50 % and 50 % is not 100 %
The first 50 % leaves 50 % efficiency. The second 50 % applies to what is left: half of 50 is 25, so the combined value is 75, which rounds to 80 %. Each extra rating counts for less than the one before, which is why reaching 100 % usually takes a single high rating or several large ones.
The bilateral factor
Under 38 CFR § 4.26, when a disability affects both arms or both legs, VA combines the ratings for those limbs first, then adds 10 % of that value (it is added, not combined). The total is rounded to a whole number and treated as one rating in the order of severity.
"Arm" means the whole upper extremity (arm, forearm and hand) and "leg" the whole lower extremity (thigh, leg and foot). Each side needs a rating of at least 10 %; a 0 % rating does not count. When both arms and both legs qualify, all four are combined together and 10 % is added once.
A single VA rating covering both legs or both arms can participate in the factor when one involved limb has an independent compensable rating, or when both opposite limbs have separately awarded compensable ratings. Enter one row per VA award, never two for one combined bilateral rating. A single-code award alone does not earn the factor. Most arms and hands are rated per side; use the both-arms choice only for a genuine one-code bilateral evaluation. See M21-1 V.iv.1.C.4.b.
Since 2023, VA leaves bilateral ratings out of this calculation when including them would give a lower combined rating (§ 4.26(d)). The calculator compares every allowed way and uses the most favourable, and tells you when it did.
Phased example, six individual awards: Two separately rated legs at 10 % each and two unrelated 10 % awards combine to 36 (40 % after rounding). Add one 50 % award covering both legs: the three limb awards combine to 60, the 10 % bilateral factor produces 66, and combining the unrelated 10 % ratings gives 72 (70 %). Add an unrelated 50 % award: the final combined value becomes 87 (90 %). Enter that bilateral 50 % award as one row, not two.
Example of why location matters: Six ratings of 50 %, 50 %, 10 %, 10 %, 10 % and 10 % combine to 84 (80 % after final rounding) if all six are marked “Not an arm or leg.” If the two 50 % conditions instead qualify as opposite arms or opposite legs while the four 10 % conditions do not affect those limbs, the bilateral subtotal is 83 and the overall combined value becomes 89 (90 % after rounding). These are hypothetical locations, not a determination that any particular conditions qualify.
What this calculator does not cover
- The bilateral factor for paired skeletal muscles.
- The amputation rule (38 CFR § 4.68): combined disabilities of one limb may be subject to the corresponding amputation-level limit. This calculator warns about possible limits, but does not cap the estimate.
- Paired organs and extremities (38 CFR § 3.383): when one side is service-connected and the opposite eye, ear, kidney, lung, hand or foot is impaired, VA may compensate both. Enter the actual ratings on your VA decision.
- Your monthly payment. VA publishes current amounts on its disability compensation rates page.
- Special monthly compensation (SMC), individual unemployability (TDIU), and temporary or convalescent ratings.
- Effective dates, back pay and whether a claim would be granted.
One assumption. When the bilateral total (the combined value plus 10 %) ends in exactly .5, as in 35 + 3.5 = 38.5, § 4.26 does not say which way to round. This calculator rounds up, the same way Table I rounds. VA could round such a value differently.
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