VA Combined Rating Math: Why 50% and 30% Become 70%

A 50% rating and a 30% rating combine to 65%, which rounds to a 70% combined rating. They do not add up to 80%.

VA treats each rating after the first as applying only to what the earlier ratings left. It runs the numbers through its combined ratings table and rounds once, at the end, to the nearest 10%. A value ending in 5 rounds up.

That one rule explains most of the confusion I see around ratings, especially for veterans already shown at 90%. The 90% on your account is a rounded number. It does not tell you the value your individual ratings actually produced.

Work through two ratings first

VA's explanation of disability ratings includes the combined ratings table. For 50% and 30%, the steps are:

This is arithmetic, not a medical statement. A 50% rating does not mean you can do exactly half of every activity.

For 70% and 50%, the same idea gives 70 plus half of the remaining 30, which is 85. The combined rating is 90%.

Claim Raven's free VA disability calculator runs the official table for you. Enter each rating VA assigned, mark any paired arms or legs, and it shows the unrounded value, the combined rating and the monthly pay for your household.

With three or more ratings, round only at the end

38 C.F.R. § 4.25 directs VA to use the combined ratings table. Ratings go from highest to lowest, and each one is combined through the table before the final rounding.

Take 50%, 30% and 20%, with no bilateral factor. The table combines 50 and 30 to 65, then 65 and 20 to 72. The combined rating is 70%.

Do not round 65 up to 70 before adding the 20. Starting the next step from 70 instead of 65 can change the result in other combinations.

A formula that keeps every decimal can also drift from the table, because the table works in whole numbers at each step. A formula is fine for showing the idea. The table decides the rating.

A displayed 90% can hide different starting values

A combined 90% comes from any value from 85 through 94. Those values behave very differently when you add another rating.

As a fictional example, if your ratings combine to 85 and you add a 10% rating, the table gives 87, still 90%. If they combine to 94, the same 10% gives 95, which rounds to 100%.

That is why adding a percentage to the 90% on your account gives a misleading answer. Rebuild the math from every individual rating, including any bilateral factor. The pattern is covered in more detail in why so many veterans are stuck at 90%.

The bilateral factor has its own rules

The bilateral factor can apply when you have a compensable rating (10% or more) on both arms, both legs, or paired skeletal muscles. It is not an automatic extra 10 points for having two disabilities.

Under 38 C.F.R. § 4.26, VA first combines the ratings on the paired limbs, then adds 10% of that combined value before combining it with your other ratings. If including a paired condition in the bilateral factor would give you a lower overall rating, VA leaves it out and combines it separately.

For a simple fictional example, two 10% knee ratings combine to 19. Ten percent of 19 is 1.9, which gives 20.9 before VA combines it with anything else. That is not the same as adding 10 points to each knee.

The calculator applies the bilateral factor when you mark the paired limbs, which matters most when several paired conditions and other ratings are involved.

The percentage and the payment are different calculations

Once VA sets the combined rating, your payment depends on that year's rate table, your dependents and any special monthly compensation. It is not the sum of separate payments for each rating.

Under the 2026 table, which took effect December 1, 2025, a veteran with no dependents receives $1,808.45 a month at 70%, $2,362.30 at 90% and $3,938.58 at 100%. Rates go up 3.6% on December 1, 2026. My estimate for 2027 is $1,873.55 at 70%, $2,447.34 at 90% and $4,080.37 at 100%, and the 2027 VA disability pay chart shows every rating and household. Use VA's rate table for the official amounts.

A 100% combined rating, TDIU and permanent and total status are related but separate. Reaching 100% does not by itself give you every dependent or related benefit.

Check the inputs before checking the calculator

Get your individual service-connected ratings and their effective dates from your decision letter. Check which ratings applied during the same period, and which conditions affect paired arms or legs.

Then compare your result with the official table. If your number and VA's combined rating differ, an accredited representative can help you tell whether the gap comes from a missing rating, an effective date change, the bilateral rules or an actual error.

A calculator can tell you how your ratings combine. It cannot tell you whether a condition is service connected or what rating the evidence supports.

Sources and limits

The examples are fictional and follow 38 C.F.R. §§ 4.25 and 4.26 and VA's combined ratings guidance. The payment figures are for a veteran with no dependents. The 2027 figures are my estimates until VA publishes its table. Sources checked November 7, 2026.