Skip to content

January 20, 2022

VA Combined Rating Table: Making Sense of VA Math

Last updated on December 5, 2022

I hope you enjoy reading this blog post.

If you want to learn how to implement these strategies to get the VA benefits you deserve, click here to speak with a VA claim expert for free.

VA Combined Rating Table 2022

Many veterans are confused about how the VA determines combined disability ratings. VA math does differ from the math we learned in school. However, it gets easier when you learn how the VA calculates disability ratings, and how to use the VA combined rating table.

VA math is simple when you have only one rated disability. Your rating for that disability and the rating for your total disability will be one and the same. However, most veterans have more than one service-connected disability. So how does the VA consider all of them?  That’s where it can get complicated.

Understanding how the VA comes up with your combined rating is important because it helps you be sure your VA disability benefits have been calculated correctly, giving you the disability compensation you deserve. Your combined rating is vital because it can represent hundreds or even thousands of dollars in monthly benefits.

To help make sense of the VA rating system and how your rating is calculated when you have more than one rated disability, let’s explore the VA combined rating table (sometimes referred to as the VA disability combined ratings table).

You DESERVE a HIGHER VA rating.
WE CAN HELP.

Take advantage of a FREE VA Claim Discovery Call with an experienced Team Member. Learn what you’ve been missing so you can FINALLY get the disability rating and compensation you’ve earned for your service.


How do I calculate my VA disability rating?

VA COMBINED RATINGS TABLE

How much you receive in disability compensation is based on how the VA rates your service-connected disability. If you have more than one service-connected disability, your monthly compensation is based on your combined disability rating.

If you’re a veteran with multiple disabilities, you can use the VA combined rating table to help you calculate your combined VA disability rating.

The important thing to know—and a natural point of confusion—is that disability ratings are NOT additive. In other words, if you have one disability rated at 40% and another disability rated at 20%, your combined disability rating is not necessarily 60%.

Rather than adding each of a veteran’s ratings together, the VA combines them. The VA views this in terms of what percentage the veteran is disabled, and what percentage he or she is not disabled.

This is where it’s helpful to learn how to use the VA combined rating table. Use the tutorial below to learn how to work the table. (OR, try our VA Claims Insider Disability calculator that makes it super easy to calculate your rating!)


How do you read a VA combined rating table?

Reading the combined rating table is similar to how we read a multiplication table in school. Where the number from the left column (highest disability rating) and the number from the top row (second-highest disability rating) intersect, we arrive at the combined disability.

This process is repeated until all of our ratings are accounted for. Then the number is rounded to the nearest ten.


How do you combine VA rating tables?

VA COMBINED RATING TABLE

Each of your service-connected disabilities is assigned its own rating based on the severity of your symptoms.

Begin with your highest VA disability rating ( VA math always considers the highest rating first, and then moves through the remaining ratings from highest to lowest). Locate that number on the left column of the table.

Then take your second-highest disability rating, and locate that number on the top row of the table. Where those two numbers intersect is your combined disability rating (for those two disabilities).

If you have a third disability, take the combined disability number you arrived at via the process described above, and locate that number on the left column of the table. Then, take your third-highest disability rating and locate that number in the top row. Where these numbers intersect is your combined disability number (of those three disabilities).

Continue this process until you have a combined disability number that includes ALL of your disability ratings.

When you have finished, take your number and round it (up or down) to the nearest ten. For example, 74 rounds down to 70, while 75 rounds up to 80.


How does the VA combined rating table work?

Okay, it’s time to try to calculate your own combined disability rating using the VA combined rating table!

Grab a pen and paper (or notes on your phone). Open up the VA combined rating table for reference. It may be helpful for you to use a computer screen rather than a phone to view the combined rating table. (Even better, you can print a copy of the table, if you’d like.)

  1. Make a list of your disability ratings from highest to lowest.
  2. Take your highest disability rating and find that number in the left column of the chart.
  3. Next, take your second-highest rating and find that number in the top row of the chart. Where the row and column intersect is your combined value for those two disabilities.
  4. If you are finished (you have only two rated disabilities), round your combined disability number to the nearest ten. For example, if your combined disability number was 45, you will round up to 50. If your combined number was 44, you round down to 40.
  5. If you have a third disability rating, you take your raw number from the first two ratings (45 in the example above) and locate that number on the left column of the table. Next, take your third-highest rating and find that number in the top row of the chart. Where the row and column intersect is your combined value for those three disabilities.
  6.  If you’re finished (you have three rated disabilities), you round your combined disability number to the nearest ten and that is your VA combined disability rating.

If you have more ratings to consider, continue to repeat step (5) from above.


VA Combined Rating Table Example: Get to 90% Using Tinnitus


Will VA disability rates increase in 2022?

Yes. In 2022, VA disability rates will increase 5.9%, making 2022 the largest increase in decades.

Congress passed legislation which increases veterans’ disability compensation (and other benefits) in tandem with the Social Security Administration’s cost-of-living adjustment (COLA). This legislation was approved to ensure that inflation does not negatively affect the purchasing power of your VA compensation.


Where can I find the VA Combined Rating Table for 2022?

The VA combined rating table for 2022 can be found on the VA website here. (It’s worth noting that the table itself hasn’t changed since it was last being updated in 2019—the table isn’t updated every year.

VA DISABILITY COMBINED RATINGS TABLE

Where can I find the VA Combined Rating Table for 2021?

The VA combined rating table for 2021 can be found on the VA website here. Also see our blog post “How Much is VA Disability? Your 2021 Guide to VA Disability Compensation.”


Take charge of your rating!

Hopefully this tutorial makes it easier for you to calculate your combined disability rating. It’s good to know how to double-check the VA’s math. But remember, our VA Disability Rating Calculator does the work for you.


Get help with your claim—and the compensation you deserve.

Most veterans are underrated for their disabilities and therefore not getting the compensation they’re due. At VA Claims Insider, we help you understand and take control of the claims process, so you can get the rating and compensation you’re owed by law.

Our process takes the guesswork out of filing a VA disability claim and supports you every step of the way in building a fully-developed claim (FDC)—so you can increase your rating in less time!

If you’ve filed your VA disability claim and have been denied or have received a low rating—or you’re unsure how to get started—reach out to us! Take advantage of a FREE VA Claim Discovery Call. Learn what you’ve been missing—so you can FINALLY get the disability rating and compensation you deserve!

We’ve supported more than 15,000 veterans to win their claims and increase their ratings. NOW IT’S YOUR TURN.


About the Author

About VA Claims Insider

VA Claims Insider is an education-based coaching/consulting company. We’re here for disabled veterans exploring eligibility for increased VA disability benefits and who wish to learn more about that process. We also connect veterans with independent medical professionals in our referral network for medical examinations, disability evaluations, and credible independent medical opinions and nexus statements (medical nexus letters) for a wide range of disability conditions.

Related Articles

Featured Resources

Elite Membership

Dear Veteran,
Here’s the brutal truth about VA disability claims:

According to our data, 8/10 (80%) of veterans reading this message right now are underrated by the VA…

This means you do NOT currently have the VA disability rating and compensation YOU deserve, and you could be missing out on thousands of dollars of tax-free compensation and benefits each month.

As a fellow disabled Veteran this is shameful and I’m on a mission to change it.

Brian Reese here, Air Force service-disabled Veteran and Founder @ VA Claims Insider.

Since 2016, VA Claims Insider has helped thousands of Veterans just like you get the VA rating and compensation they deserve in less time.

If accepted into our ELITE membership program, you’ll get free up-front access and permission to use $13,119 worth of proprietary VA claim resources, including access to our network of independent medical professionals for medical examinations, disability evaluations, and credible Medical Nexus Letters, which could help you get a HIGHER VA rating in LESS time.

It’s FREE to get started, so click “Go Elite Now” below to complete our 3-step intake process.

  1. Complete Basic Information
  2. Sign Members Agreement
  3. Join the Mastermind Group

If you’re stuck, frustrated, underrated, and currently rated between 0%-90%, VA Claims Insider Elite is for you!

Click “Go Elite Now” below to get started today and a member of our team will be in touch within minutes.

Go Elite Now!

Why Choose VA Claims Insider

You’ve exhausted your free resources

You're not alone. Thousands of other Veterans in our Community are here for you.

Veteran Community

You’re ready to get the rating you deserve

We know the pain of feeling stuck, frustrated, and alone, and we want to make this process as easy and painless as possible for you.

Explore Elite Membership

We win ONLY when YOU win

Hear from fellow Veterans just like you, with many of our Veteran Ambassadors having gone through our programs.

Schedule a Call

Fellow Veterans:

For a limited time, you can book a free, no-obligation VA Claim Discovery Call with one of our experts.

Book A Call

Fellow Veterans:

For a limited time, you can book a free, no-obligation VA Claim Discovery Call with one of our experts.

Book A Call