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VA Disability Ratings: How Your Condition Impacts Your Compensation

With veterans disability benefits, finding that you have a service-connected disability is just the first step. The VA will assign a disability rating to each service-connected condition you suffer from. If there’s more than one condition, the VA uses a formula to assign a combined disability rating. 

How Disability Ratings are Assigned

For most conditions, the VA uses a schedule to determine the disability rating associated with the condition. Each condition has its own range of possible ratings associated with particular measurements or limitations. For example, spinal ankylosis or flexion may be rated at 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, or 100, depending on the location and severity. On the other hand, tinnitus may only be assigned a 10% disability rating. 

The schedules can be confusing, but an experienced veterans disability benefits advocate can help you understand the possible ratings for your condition and what type of medical documentation is typically required to establish the appropriate disability rating. 

Here are some examples of the ranges associated with common types of service-connected conditions: 

• Mental health conditions, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) may be rated at 0, 10, 30, 50, 70, or 100%, depending on the severity of the condition and the limitations associated with the condition
• Hearing loss may be rated at 0, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, or 100%, depending on the severity and whether one or both ears are affected
• Migraine may be rated at 0, 10, 30 or 50%
• Scarring, including burn scars, may be rated 0, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, or 80%, depending on the location, number, and size of the scars

If the condition isn’t listed, the VA will assess the level of disability based on similar conditions. Establishing your disability rating in these cases may be especially challenging since there isn’t an existing list of criteria with associated disability ratings. 

Combined Disability Ratings

A disability rating can’t be higher than 100%, so combining ratings isn’t as simple as adding the percentages together. Instead, the VA uses a system where the second disability rating is applied to the remainder after the first. Imagine, for example, that a veteran has a 40% disability rating for one condition and is then rated 30% disabled by another condition. Based on the 40% rating, the veteran has 60% left to work with. The VA will apply the 30% rating to that 60%. That calculation yields 18%, which is added to the 40% rating. That’s a total of 58%, but all VA disability ratings are multiples of 10, so it’s rounded to 60%. 

Special Disability Ratings

A veteran who is unable to earn a living due to their service-connected conditions may be deemed totally disabled due to individual unemployability (TDIU) and receive benefits at the 100% rate. However, this option is only available to veterans who have a single condition rated at 60% or higher a combined rating of at least 70% with one condition rated at least 40%. 

Some veterans with specific losses are also eligible for special monthly compensation rates. 

How Does the Disability Rating Affect Benefits? 

When you apply for some types of disability, such as Social Security disability (SSD), the amount you will receive if you qualify is fixed. With SSD, it’s full benefits or nothing. VA disability is different. Your disability rating determines the benefits you will receive, both in monthly disability pay and other veterans benefits.

Monthly VA Disability Pay

The amount of disability pay is adjusted annually to keep up with the cost of living. As of December 1, 2023, disability rates will increase by 3.2%, meaning veterans can expect to receive the following compensation based on disability ratings: 

• 100% – $3,737.85
• 90% – $2,241.91
• 80% – $1,995.01
• 70% – $1,716.28
• 60% – $1,361.88
• 50% – $1,075.16
• 40% – $755.28
• 30% – $524.31
• 20% – $338.49
• 10% – $171.23

This chart alone shows how much difference an increased disability rating can make. The difference between compensation at a 90% rating and at a 100% rating is nearly $1,500/month. 

Veterans rated 30% and above may also receive additional compensation if they have eligible dependents. For example, while a veteran with a 60% disability rating receives $1,361.88/month in benefits, the same veteran with a spouse and child would receive $1,577.57/month. However, veterans with disability ratings of 10% and 20% do not receive any additional benefits for dependents. 

Additional Veterans Disability Benefits

Disabled veterans also receive other types of VA benefits. Like the monthly disability benefit, these other veterans benefits are dependent on the veteran’s disability rating. The most significant differences happen at a 50% rating or above, 60% and above, and at a 100% rate. 

All veterans with a disability rating–even if that rating is 0%–are entitled to healthcare services relating to their service-connected disability or disabilities. A veteran rated 50% disabled or more is entitled to broader VA healthcare services. At 60% and above, the veteran may receive both VA disability benefits and military retired pay, potentially significantly increasing monthly income. And, at 100%, the veteran’s dependents may receive healthcare coverage and educational benefits. 

Fight for a Fair VA Disability Rating

When you’re filing a veterans disability benefits claim, it’s important to have complete, accurate information. You’ll need to consider any additional possible service-connected or secondary-connected conditions, and you’ll need to know what type of medical documentation will likely be required to ensure that the VA sees the full extent of your disability. The same is true if you’ve received a disability rating you believe is too low. 

The best way to ensure that you put forth the strongest claim or appeal possible is to work with an experienced VA disability benefits advocate from the beginning. The advocates at Veterans Help Group have worked with thousands of disabled veterans and their families to secure the benefits they deserve.

To learn more about how we can help, call 855-855-8992 or click here.