The VA does not use simple addition when a veteran has multiple service-connected disabilities. Instead, it applies the Combined Ratings Table found in 38 CFR § 4.25. This table uses a whole-person concept: each disability is assumed to reduce a veteran's overall efficiency, and each subsequent rating is applied to the percentage of the body that remains "unaffected" after the prior ratings are considered, rather than to the whole 100 percent. Because of this method, combining several individual ratings — even significant ones — will always produce a combined figure that is lower than what straight addition would suggest.
This is why veterans sometimes describe having disabilities that would add up to well over 100% on paper (sometimes referred to informally as a very high 'combined rating' before the table is applied), yet the VA's official combined value tops out at 100%. The math works by taking the highest rating first, then applying each additional rating to the remaining percentage, then rounding the result to the nearest 10 using standard rounding rules. The final number is capped at 100%, since a veteran cannot be rated higher than fully disabled.
Official 2026 VA monthly compensation, including the 2.8% COLA increase.
Dependent add-ons start at a 30% rating. Child-only and dependent-parent rates: see the full 2026 pay chart.
| Rating | Monthly (2026, incl. 2.8% COLA) |
|---|---|
| 10% | $180.42 |
| 20% | $356.66 |
| 30% | $552.47 |
| 40% | $795.84 |
| 50% | $1,132.90 |
| 60% | $1,435.02 |
| 70% | $1,808.45 |
| 80% | $2,102.15 |
| 90% | $2,362.30 |
| 100% | $3,938.58 |
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Analyze my claim free →Separately, having a combined rating that computes to 100% is different from Total Disability based on Individual Unemployability (TDIU), which can also result in a 100% pay rate even when the schedular combined rating is lower, if a veteran cannot maintain substantially gainful employment because of service-connected conditions. In this scenario, reaching 100% through the combined ratings table means the schedular rating itself reached the maximum, not through TDIU.
It's also worth understanding what P&T (Permanent and Total) status means once granted: it indicates the VA has determined the disability level is total (100%) and that future improvement is not expected, which generally protects the rating from routine future reexaminations and can trigger eligibility for additional benefits such as Dependents' Educational Assistance (Chapter 35) and, in many cases, Medicare Part B special enrollment considerations tied to VA-recognized total disability.
Veterans who want to see exactly how their own individual ratings were combined can request their rating decision document, which will show each disability percentage and the step-by-step combination the VA used to reach the final number.
As a next step, review your official rating decision letter (available in the eBenefits/VA.gov claim status page) to see the exact combined-ratings math applied to your case, and confirm whether any auxiliary benefits like Chapter 35 or SMC have been automatically considered.
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