CCK Law: Our Vital Role in Veterans Law
CCK Law’s VA disability calculator estimates your combined VA disability rating and your monthly compensation. It applies VA’s “whole person” method — commonly called “VA math” — to each of your service-connected disability ratings, a process that can be very difficult if done manually.
Chisholm Chisholm & Kilpatrick’s VA disability calculator — developed by one of the most experienced veterans law firms in the United States — can account for several other often-overlooked factors that may increase VA compensation. For example:
Who We Are: Chisholm Chisholm & Kilpatrick (CCK Law) has argued many of the cases that have defined and clarified veterans disability law. CCK Law attorneys serve in leadership positions throughout the legal community and have posted more than 2,500 blogs and 1,100 videos about veterans benefits.
How To Use This VA Combined Rating Calculator
To calculate an estimate of your combined disability percentage using CCK Law’s VA disability calculator:
- Add each of your ratings, one at a time, by selecting a Disability Rating (e.g., “10%”) then pressing Add. If the rating is for an arm or leg, be sure to select the extremity (e.g., “Left Leg”) before pressing Add.
- Add qualifying dependents.
- Select your marital status.
- If you need to correct a mistake, press the Reset button.
- As you enter information, you will see your potential VA combined disability rating and monthly payment amount update in real time.
By correctly applying VA math and reminding you to include key VA compensation opportunities, the CCK VA compensation calculator may help you save time, reduce errors, and maximize benefits.
Watch CCK Law Partner Emma Peterson describe how to use CCK Law’s VA disability calculator:
What Are VA Disability Ratings?
To calculate VA disability compensation, VA assigns a rating to a veteran’s disability using the Schedule for Rating Disabilities. A disability rating represents the “average impairment in earning capacity resulting from the given disability or disease and its residual conditions.” VA then uses this rating to determine a veteran’s monthly compensation. (See the Current Disability Rates section below.)
When a disabled veteran has multiple disabilities, VA assumes that the additional disabilities cause less impairment. Therefore, VA uses a complex method — commonly called “VA math” — to calculate a combined disability rating. This is why a veteran’s rating will never exceed 100 percent (totally disabled).
Manually calculating a combined rating with VA math can be confusing and challenging. To simplify this process, the team at Chisholm Chisholm & Kilpatrick has developed a VA disability calculator updated for the latest rules and compensation amounts.
What Is VA Math? Why Is My Combined VA Rating Lower Than My Individual Ratings Added Together?
Disabled veterans have, on average, 7.34 service-connected disabilities (per VA’s 2026 Annual Benefits Report). Simply combining all individual ratings could result in disability ratings above 100 percent. So VA developed a different approach: Each additional disability reduces the previous rating. This reflects VA’s view that the more disabilities you have, the less impact each additional disability has on your ability to work. This is “VA math.”
VA math can be confusing and frustrating. Previously, veterans had to use VA’s Combined Ratings Table and Compensation Benefit Rate Tables to calculate their combined disability rating and compensation amount. This led to Chisholm Chisholm & Kilpatrick developing one of the first VA disability calculators, which we have continued to update and improve over the years.
In short, CCK Law’s VA combined rating calculator gives many veterans a much quicker and more accurate way to estimate their future combined rating than manual calculation.
Example: Manually Combining VA Ratings With VA Math
For this example, assume there is a veteran with a 50 percent rating for PTSD, 20 percent for TBI residuals, and 10 percent for tinnitus.
Step 1: Start with the biggest rating.
- First, subtract 50 percent (the PTSD rating) from 100 percent (non-disabled/efficiency) to get 50 percent.
- 100% – 50% = 50%
- This means the veteran’s “remaining efficiency” is 50 percent.
Step 2: Apply the next disability to the veteran’s remaining efficiency.
- The TBI residuals are rated 20 percent. Take 20 percent of 50 percent to get 10 percent.
- So 10 percent is the actual amount that TBI residuals reduce the veteran’s remaining efficiency.
- Veteran’s remaining efficiency: 50% – 10% = 40%.
Step 3: Apply the next disability to the veteran’s remaining efficiency.
- The veteran’s tinnitus rating is 10 percent. The 10 percent disability rating for tinnitus is then multiplied by the remaining efficiency of 40 percent to get four percent.
- So four percent is the actual amount that tinnitus reduces the veteran’s remaining efficiency.
- Veteran’s remaining efficiency: 40% – 4% = 36%.
Step 4: Convert efficiency to a VA disability rating:
- A veteran with a remaining efficiency of 36 percent is 64 percent disabled, so they have a 64 percent VA disability rating.
- However, VA always rounds ratings to the nearest multiple of 10, so the 64 percent rating is rounded down to a final combined disability rating of 60 percent.
Current Disability Rates
The amount of VA disability compensation benefits that eligible veterans receive depends on their level of disability, represented by their combined VA rating. The below disability pay chart shows VA’s disability compensation rates for a veteran with no dependents.
As of 2026, the VA disability rate benefit amounts are as follows:
- 0 percent disability rating: $0.00 per month
- 10 percent disability rating: $180.42 per month
- 20 percent disability rating: $356.66 per month
- 30 percent disability rating: $552.47 per month
- 40 percent disability rating: $795.84 per month
- 50 percent disability rating: $1,132.90 per month
- 60 percent disability rating: $1,435.02 per month
- 70 percent disability rating: $1,808.45 per month
- 80 percent disability rating: $2,102.15 per month
- 90 percent disability rating: $2,362.30 per month
- 100 percent disability rating: $3,938.58 per month
How Do Dependents Affect Your VA Disability Pay?
Dependents can increase your monthly VA disability payment, but only if your combined rating is 30 percent or higher. Veterans rated 10 percent or 20 percent receive the same amount whether or not they have dependents.
VA counts several types of dependents: a spouse, a child under age 18, a child aged 18 to 23 who is enrolled in a qualifying school program, and a dependent parent.
Example: In 2026, a veteran rated 30 percent with no dependents receives $552.47 per month. The same veteran with a dependent spouse, and no children or parents, receives $617.47 per month.
VA also pays added amounts for each child beyond the first.
You can review every dependent combination on CCK Law’s 2026 VA Disability Compensation Rates and Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) page or VA’s 2026 rate tables.
To add a dependent to your claim, file VA Form 21-686c or read our guide on how to add dependents.
What Is the Bilateral Factor, and How Does It Increase VA Ratings and Compensation?
The bilateral factor is an extra 10 percent that VA adds when service-connected disabilities affect both arms, both legs, or paired skeletal muscles (38 CFR § 4.26). VA applies this factor before combining the paired disabilities with your other ratings.
Here is how VA calculates it. First, VA combines the paired ratings using VA math. Next, VA adds 10 percent of that combined value. Finally, VA combines the result with your remaining ratings and rounds to the nearest 10 percent.
Example: A veteran has a 30 percent rating in one leg and a 20 percent rating in the other leg. VA first combines these two ratings, which gives 44 percent. VA then adds the bilateral factor — about 4 percent — for a combined value near 48 percent. That figure rounds to a 50 percent rating. Without the bilateral factor, the two ratings would combine to 44 percent and round to 40 percent.
The CCK calculator applies the bilateral factor automatically when you select both a left and a right arm or leg. For more detail, see our bilateral factor explainer.
What Other Factors Increase VA Compensation? TDIU and SMC
When a veteran’s rating does not reflect the actual impact on their life, VA may provide different types of compensation. For example:
- Even if your combined disability rating is lower than 100 percent, you may still be able to receive the highest benefit amount through Total Disability based on Individual Unemployability (TDIU). Veterans who cannot secure substantially gainful employment due to their service-connected disability can file a claim for TDIU.
- Sometimes, a veteran’s particular set of disabilities may impair their life more than regular disability rates reflect. Examples include amputations or conditions that lead to veterans being housebound or needing assistance with activities of daily living (Aid and Attendance). Benefits for these situations fall under the umbrella of Special Monthly Compensation (SMC). Special Monthly Compensation usually replaces standard VA compensation, except for SMC(k).
Have You Been Denied or Underrated by VA? CCK May Be Able To Help
If you believe you deserve a higher combined rating or if your military service-connected disability prevents you from working, contact the VA-accredited veterans disability lawyers at CCK for a free case evaluation at 800-544-9144.
Even if your claim was initially denied, you can potentially be awarded benefits retroactively, so it is in your best interest to file your claim or appeal promptly. To learn more about retroactive benefits, take a look at the CCK back pay calculator.
VA Disability Calculator FAQs
Is VA disability compensation taxable?
VA disability compensation is not subject to federal income tax. You do not report it as income on your federal tax return. This tax-free treatment applies to your monthly disability payments. It does not depend on your combined rating or your number of dependents.
Does this calculator change my official VA disability rating?
No. The CCK VA disability calculator provides an estimate only. It does not change, set, or override your official VA rating. Only VA can assign your combined rating and your compensation amount. Use the estimate to understand your situation, not for financial planning.
How often do VA disability compensation rates change?
VA disability compensation rates usually change once each year. By law, VA matches the annual cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA, applied to Social Security benefits. New rates generally take effect December 1 and appear in the payment issued the following month.
Can my combined VA rating be higher than 100 percent?
No. A combined VA disability rating cannot exceed 100 percent, because VA math treats a person with no disabilities as 100 percent efficient. However, veterans with very severe disabilities may qualify for Special Monthly Compensation, which can pay more than the standard 100 percent rate.
What is the difference between a 100 percent schedular rating and TDIU?
A 100 percent schedular rating comes from your combined disability rating reaching 100 percent. TDIU pays at the 100 percent rate when service-connected disabilities prevent substantially gainful employment, even if your combined rating is lower. Both generally pay the same monthly amount.
