How this calculator works
The US Department of Veterans Affairs does not add disability percentages together. Ratings are combined with the whole-person method in 38 CFR 4.25, which treats each rating as applying to the function that remains. A 50% rating leaves 50% of the person unaffected. Adding a 30% rating combines 30% of that remaining 50%, or 15 points, to give a combined value of 65. The final combined value is converted to the nearest number divisible by 10, with a value ending in 5 adjusted upward. This means two 50% ratings combine to 75, which becomes 80, not 100, and four 50% ratings combine to 93.75, which becomes 90. The order of the ratings does not matter because the method is associative, but the VA combines the highest rating first and its published table produces the same numbers to the nearest 10. Two things this calculator does not do. First, it ignores the bilateral factor under 38 CFR 4.26, which adds a 10% boost when there are compensable disabilities in both arms or both legs; that rule can raise a combined rating by a few points. Second, it does not calculate monthly compensation, which depends on the combined rating and on dependants, and which the VA publishes in a table that changes each year with the cost-of-living adjustment. Confirm the rating with an accredited representative or the VA, and use the current rate table for compensation.
Formula
Start with a combined value of 0. For each rating r, in any order: combined = combined + (100 - combined) x r / 100. Round the final combined value to the nearest 10 to get the combined rating, capped at 100. Remaining whole-person function = 100% - the unrounded combined value.
Worked example
Ratings of 30, 20 and 10. Start with 30: combined = 0 + 100 x 0.30 = 30. Next 20: combined = 30 + 70 x 0.20 = 44. Next 10: combined = 44 + 56 x 0.10 = 49.6, which rounds to 50. Two 50% ratings combine to 50 + 50 x 0.50 = 75, which rounds up to 80. Four 50% ratings combine to 93.75, which rounds to 90, not 100.
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Frequently asked questions
Why do the ratings not simply add up?
Because the VA applies each rating to the function that is left, not to the whole person. Once an impairment has taken part of your function, a second rating can only apply to what remains. That is the whole-person method in 38 CFR 4.25.
What is the bilateral factor?
A rule that adds 10% to the combined value of disabilities affecting both arms or both legs before the final combination, under 38 CFR 4.26. It applies only when at least one disability in each limb is compensable. This calculator does not apply it, so a bilateral case can end up one band higher.
Does this tell me my monthly payment?
No. Compensation depends on the combined rating and on dependants, and the rates change each year with the cost-of-living adjustment. Use the current VA rate table with the rating this calculator produces.
Does the order of the ratings change the result?
No. The multiplication is associative, so the unrounded combined value is the same in any order. The VA combines the highest first, which matches the published table most closely.
Can a combined rating ever reach 100%?
Yes, but only with a very large set of high ratings, or a single 100% rating. Twenty 10% ratings, for example, still combine to only about 88, which rounds to 90.