VA Combined Disability Rating Calculator
Use this calculator to estimate your combined VA disability rating based on multiple individual ratings. The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) uses a specific "whole person" theory to combine multiple disability ratings, which does not simply add them together. This calculator applies the VA's combined rating formula and rounding rules.
Your Estimated Combined VA Disability Rating:
Understanding the VA Combined Disability Rating
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) provides disability compensation to veterans with service-connected conditions. When a veteran has multiple service-connected disabilities, the VA doesn't simply add the individual ratings together. Instead, they use a specific method to combine them, often referred to as the "whole person" theory.
How the VA Combined Rating System Works
The VA's system is designed to reflect the overall impairment to a veteran's earning capacity. It starts with the highest disability rating and then combines it with the next highest, and so on. The core principle is that a person cannot be more than 100% disabled. Each subsequent disability rating is applied to the "efficiency" or "non-disabled" portion remaining after accounting for previous disabilities.
The formula for combining two ratings (A and B, where A is the higher rating) is:
Combined Rating = A + B * (100 - A) / 100
This process is repeated iteratively. For example, if you have three ratings, the highest two are combined first. Then, that intermediate combined rating is combined with the third rating. This continues until all ratings are combined.
Rounding Rules
After all individual ratings have been combined using the iterative formula, the final calculated percentage is rounded to the nearest 10%. For example:
- A calculated rating of 74% would be rounded down to 70%.
- A calculated rating of 75% would be rounded up to 80%.
- A calculated rating of 79% would be rounded up to 80%.
Example Calculation
Let's say a veteran has three service-connected disabilities with ratings of 60%, 40%, and 20%.
- Sort Ratings: 60%, 40%, 20%
- Combine 60% and 40%:
- Remaining efficiency after 60% disability = 100% – 60% = 40%
- 40% of the remaining 40% efficiency = 0.40 * 40% = 16%
- Intermediate Combined Rating = 60% + 16% = 76%
- Combine 76% (intermediate) and 20%:
- Remaining efficiency after 76% disability = 100% – 76% = 24%
- 20% of the remaining 24% efficiency = 0.20 * 24% = 4.8%
- Final Calculated Rating = 76% + 4.8% = 80.8%
- Round to Nearest 10%: 80.8% rounds to 80%.
Therefore, a veteran with individual ratings of 60%, 40%, and 20% would have a combined VA disability rating of 80%.
It's important to remember that this calculator provides an estimate based on the VA's general rules. The VA's official determination is the final authority on your combined disability rating.