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Combined Disability Rating Calculator

Combine multiple VA disability ratings using the official VA formula.

Rules as of

Combined-rating math is not an annual cost-of-living raise. 38 CFR § 4.25 Table I is the same for 2018–2026. The only modern change is the April 16, 2023 bilateral-factor exception. This is an estimate of the combined evaluation, not a back-pay or effective-date claim.

Your disability ratings

Add each individual disability rating (0%, 10%, 20%, ... 100%), up to 16. Mark a side only for a compensable rating of an arm/hand, a leg/foot, or the same 38 CFR § 4.73 paired skeletal muscle on both sides. Eyes, ears, kidneys, and unrelated muscles (for example a left shoulder muscle and a right calf muscle) are not a § 4.26 pair—leave those as not bilateral. This tool enumerates every § 4.26(d) assignment exactly; it will not approximate.

How VA combines ratings

The VA doesn't simply add your ratings together. 38 CFR § 4.25:

“Table I, Combined Ratings Table, results from the consideration of the efficiency of the individual as affected first by the most disabling condition, then by the less disabling condition, then by other less disabling conditions, if any, in the order of severity.”

“The combined value, exactly as found in table I, will be combined with the degree of the third disability (in order of severity). … The conversion to the nearest degree divisible by 10 will be done only once per rating decision … combined values ending in 5 will be adjusted upward.”

  1. Sort by severity. Start with your highest rating, then the next highest, and so on.
  2. Combine pairwise. The first rating represents your disability. Each additional rating reduces your remaining efficiency (100% minus current disability). For example, a 50% rating means you're 50% disabled and 50% efficient. A second 30% rating affects only the remaining 50% efficiency.
  3. Round to nearest 10. After combining all ratings, round once. If the remainder is at least 5, round up to the next 10 (65 → 70). Remainders 1–4 round down (64 → 60).

Bilateral factor (§ 4.26)

38 CFR § 4.26:

“when a partial disability results from disease or injury of both arms, or of both legs, or of paired skeletal muscles, the ratings for the disabilities of the right and left sides will be combined as usual, and 10 percent of this value will be added (i.e., not combined) before proceeding with further combinations”

“For example, with disabilities evaluated at 60 percent, 20 percent, 10 percent and 10 percent (with the two 10 percent evaluations being bilateral disabilities), the order of severity would be 60, 21 and 20. The 60 and 21 combine to 68 percent and the 68 and 20 combine to 74 percent, converted to 70 percent as the final degree of disability.”

The 2023 rule (88 FR 22914), effective April 16, 2023, confirms 20.9 rounds to 21, and § 4.26(d):

“In cases where the combined evaluation is lower than what could be achieved by not including one or more bilateral disabilities in the bilateral factor calculation, those bilateral disabilities will be removed from the bilateral factor calculation and combined separately, to achieve the combined evaluation most favorable to the veteran.”

Year 2023 is split because 88 FR 22914: “This interim final rule is effective April 16, 2023.” 2018–2022 use § 4.26 without paragraph (d) (see e.g. 38 CFR § 4.26 (7–1–22)). 2024–2026 use the current exception. The 2018 Table I print correction (83 FR 17756) did not change paid combined-rating math. This tool estimates the combined evaluation; it is not a back-pay or effective-date claim.

When you have compensable disabilities (10% or higher) affecting both of a paired body part (both arms, both legs, or the same paired skeletal muscles), the VA adds a bilateral factor:

  1. Combine the bilateral ratings normally
  2. Add 10% of that combined value (not a separate 10% rating)
  3. Round to the nearest whole number (20.9 → 21)
  4. Treat this as a single rating when combining with other disabilities

Examples

Example 1: Three ratings (no bilateral)

Ratings: 60%, 30%, 20%

  1. Start with 60%
  2. Combine 60% with 30% → 72%
  3. Combine 72% with 20% → 78% (from table)
  4. Round 78% to nearest 10 → 80%

Example 2: Bilateral ratings (38 CFR § 4.26)

Ratings: 60%, 20%, and two 10% ratings of paired extremities

  1. Bilateral pair: 10% + 10% = 19%; add 10% of 19 (1.9) → 20.9, round to 21%
  2. Order of severity: 60, 21, 20
  3. 60 and 21 combine to 68; 68 and 20 combine to 74
  4. Convert to nearest 10 → 70%

Your privacy

This calculator runs entirely in your browser. Your ratings and year/as-of choice are never sent to our servers, saved, or logged. When you close or refresh the page, your data is gone.

Official sources