VA Disability, decoded.

A VA disability rating is a percentage representing how much your service-connected condition affects your ability to work. Ratings range from 0% to 100%, in increments of 10%. The higher the rating, the more the VA determines your earning capacity is impacted.

0%, 10%, 20%, 30%, 40%, 50%, 60%, 70%, 80%, 90%, 100%. Each level has a specific monthly payment set by Congress. At 30% and above, you receive additional compensation for dependents (spouse, children, dependent parents).

You must prove the condition started in service (direct), was caused by service (aggravation), or was made worse by service (presumptive or secondary). Without service connection, you get nothing — this is the foundational requirement.

The Compensation & Pension exam is the VA's medical evaluation that largely determines your rating. A VA or contract examiner assesses the severity of your conditions using specific diagnostic criteria from the VA Schedule for Rating Disabilities (VASRD).

The VA uses "combined ratings" math — not simple addition. They calculate based on your remaining "efficient" body percentage. Each additional disability rating is applied to what's left of your healthy body, not added to your total.

Start at 100% healthy. A 50% disability leaves you 50% efficient. A 30% disability of the remaining 50% = 15%. Combined = 65%, which the VA rounds to 70%. The formula: take the highest rating first, then apply each subsequent rating to the remaining percentage.

Combined values are rounded to the nearest 10%. The 0.5 rule: if the combined value ends in 5 or above, it rounds up. 65% rounds to 70%. 74% rounds to 70%. 75% rounds to 80%.

If you have conditions on both sides of your body — both knees, both shoulders, both wrists — you receive an extra ~10% bump on those conditions before they enter the combined rating calculation. The bilateral factor is 10% of the combined bilateral conditions, added to their combined total.

The difference between 90% and 100% is hundreds of dollars per month — for the rest of your life. And 100% P&T (Permanent and Total) unlocks an entirely separate tier of benefits: Chapter 35 DEA education benefits for dependents, CHAMPVA healthcare, property tax exemptions in most states, and more.

Benefits Delivery at Discharge — file 180 to 90 days before your separation date. The VA begins processing while you're still in service, so your rating and payments can start as soon as the day after you separate.

Filed on VA.gov after separation with supporting evidence. Processing time varies — typically 3 to 6 months, sometimes longer. Your effective date is the date VA receives the claim (or the Intent to File date, if you filed one).

You submit ALL evidence upfront — service treatment records, private medical records, buddy statements, nexus letters. You certify there's no more evidence to gather. In exchange, the VA processes it faster.

A placeholder that locks in your effective date for up to one year. File this FIRST — even if your full claim isn't ready. It gives you 12 months to gather evidence while preserving your backpay date.

Service treatment records (every sick call, profile, and ER visit), buddy statements (sworn statements from fellow service members who witnessed your condition), private medical records (civilian doctor records), nexus letters (a doctor's letter linking your condition to service), and your personal statement (your detailed account of what happened and how it affects your life).

Every sick call visit, every physical therapy session, every profile, every ER visit, every line of duty determination. These are your contemporaneous proof that something happened in service.

Sworn statements from fellow service members who witnessed your condition, injury, or the circumstances that caused it. They don't need to be medical professionals — they just need to describe what they observed.

A medical doctor's letter that directly connects your current condition to your military service. It states that the condition is "at least as likely as not" (50% or greater probability) related to your service. This is the golden document.

Records from civilian doctors showing ongoing diagnosis, treatment, and symptom severity. These prove your condition didn't just disappear after service — it persists and affects your life.

Your own detailed account of what happened, when, where, which unit you were in, and — critically — how the condition affects your daily life today. Describe your worst days: can you bend down, stand for long periods, sleep through the night, concentrate at work?

Secondary conditions are disabilities caused or aggravated by a condition you're already service-connected for. You don't need to prove the secondary condition happened in service — you need to prove it was caused or made worse by a primary condition that IS service-connected.

Back injury leading to radiculopathy (shooting pain down the legs). PTSD leading to sleep apnea, depression, migraines, or substance abuse disorders. Knee injury leading to hip problems from altered gait. Ankle injury leading to plantar fasciitis. Tinnitus leading to migraines or insomnia. Diabetes leading to peripheral neuropathy or erectile dysfunction.

You're already service-connected for the primary condition — the hardest part is done. Secondary conditions are often easier to prove because you only need a nexus between the primary and secondary condition, not between the secondary and your actual service.

File as "secondary to [your primary service-connected condition]" on VA Form 21-526EZ. Include a nexus letter from a doctor explaining the medical relationship between the primary and secondary conditions. The nexus letter should state the secondary condition is "at least as likely as not" caused by or aggravated by the primary.

$171.23/month. No dependent add-ons at this level. Dependents only increase compensation at 30% and above.

$524.31/month (veteran alone). Dependents start adding here — spouse, children, and dependent parents each increase the amount. This is the first major threshold.

$1,075.16/month with spouse. Without spouse: $958.44/month. At 50%, you qualify for additional vocational rehabilitation benefits (VR&E, Chapter 31).

$1,716.28/month with spouse. Without spouse: $1,556.76/month. At 70%, you may also qualify for Individual Unemployability (TDIU) if you can't work — which pays at the 100% rate.

$3,621.95/month with spouse. Without spouse: $3,456.30/month. This is full compensation, plus eligibility for dental care, CHAMPVA for dependents (if P&T), and commissary/exchange access.

Permanent and Total — the same monthly rate as 100%, but the VA has determined your conditions are not expected to improve. This unlocks the highest tier of benefits: Chapter 35 DEA (education benefits transferable to dependents), CHAMPVA healthcare for dependents, property tax exemptions in most states, Space-A travel, and more.

Additional pay beyond the 100% rate for severe disabilities: loss of use of a limb, blindness, need for aid and attendance, housebound status. SMC levels range from SMC-K ($131.44/month extra) to SMC-T (over $4,500/month extra).

Your existing evidence is reviewed again by a more senior rater. No new evidence is allowed — you're asking the VA to take a second look with fresh eyes. An informal conference (phone call) lets you explain why you think the original decision was wrong.

Submit new and relevant evidence for the VA to reconsider your claim. This includes new nexus letters, updated medical records, new diagnoses, additional buddy statements — anything that wasn't in the original claim.

A formal appeal reviewed by a Veterans Law Judge. You can request a direct review (evidence only), submit new evidence, or request a hearing. BVA is the most thorough but also the longest wait — often 1-2+ years.

Think of it this way: HLR is fastest for clear rater errors or overlooked evidence. Supplemental is best when you have new, stronger evidence. BVA is for complex cases that need judicial review or when the other lanes have failed.