How VA Combined Ratings Work

Why VA doesn't just add up your percentages

If you have a 50% disability and a 30% disability, you might expect them to combine to 80%. VA's Combined Ratings Table (38 CFR §4.25) doesn't work that way. Instead, VA uses a "whole person" theory: it treats a veteran as 100% able-bodied to start, and each successive disability rating is applied against whatever efficiency remains — not against the original 100%.

Worked example

Veteran has a 50% disability and a 30% disability.

1. Start with the higher rating: 50%.
2. The veteran has 50% of their "whole person" efficiency remaining (100% − 50%).
3. The 30% disability is applied against that remaining 50%: 30% × 50% = 15%.
4. Combined value: 50% + 15% = 65%.
5. VA rounds to the nearest 10%. 65 ends in 5, which rounds UP: final combined rating = 70%.

Round the final combined value to the nearest 10 percent. Values ending in digits 1-4 round DOWN; values ending in digits 5-9 round UP. This means a value ending in exactly 5 rounds UP (not the common 'round half to even' or 'round half down' convention).

The bilateral factor (38 CFR §4.26)

When a veteran has disabilities affecting both a paired (bilateral) set of extremities or paired skeletal muscle groups, VA first combines only those bilateral disabilities together using the standard combined-ratings formula, then adds an extra 10% of that bilateral sub-combined value on top of it, BEFORE combining the result with the veteran's remaining (non-bilateral) disabilities and applying final rounding.

Qualifying pairs: Both arms (upper extremities), Both legs (lower extremities), Paired skeletal muscle groups (e.g. both hands, both feet, both knees, when rated separately). One arm + one leg does NOT qualify — the bilateral factor only applies to disabilities affecting the SAME paired body part type on both sides (e.g. left knee + right knee qualifies; left knee + right shoulder does not, since knee and shoulder are different paired-part categories)

Use the combined rating calculator to run your own numbers, including the bilateral factor toggle.

Source

Formula and rounding rule: 38 CFR §4.25, cross-checked against a published worked-example walkthrough. Bilateral factor: 38 CFR §4.26. Last verified 2026-08-24.

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