Understanding the VA disability rating system is essential for veterans in obtaining proper compensation and benefits. But for many veterans, reviewing VA disability rates can be extremely overwhelming, considering that they also need to confirm how it is calculated and understand each process for getting the appropriate VA benefits.
Our VA disability claims consultant can help you simplify this complex process, make the entire VA rating less overwhelming with our education-based coaching service, and avoid common mistakes when filing VA disability claims. Our coaching VA claims process allows you to control your VA claims process and acquire the appropriate VA disability ratings for your benefits.
For this article, we will uncover how to figure out VA disability ratings and what they mean for your VA benefits.
What Are VA Disability Ratings?
VA disability ratings assess the extent of a veteran’s service-connected disabilities. The percentages in these ratings show how much a condition impacts your daily life and your ability to work or earn a living.
The purpose of these ratings is to provide fair compensation for veterans and determine the amount of financial support they can receive for their disability.
It is also a means for the VA to evaluate if you are eligible for additional benefits. In most cases, it is possible for you to have a combined rating, which can qualify you with additional programs such as healthcare, vocational training, and adaptive equipment.
The more severe the injuries or impairments, the higher the percentage the VA is likely to assign, resulting in greater compensation.
Each condition is given an individual rating ranging from 0%—which means the VA recognizes your injuries or impairments but considers them non-compensable—to 100%, indicating total disability.
How Are VA Ratings Calculated?
To calculate a VA disability rating, the VA uses a detailed system to assign ratings depending on the severity of your condition. This process is often referred to as “VA math.”
What is VA Math?
There is a separate calculation if you are applying for an individual disability rating and a combined disability rating.
Individual Disability Ratings
Each service-connected condition has an assigned percentage depending on its severity (e.g., PTSD has a VA rating percentage that ranges from 10% to 100%; symptoms may vary).
Combined Ratings
For multiple conditions, the VA uses a unique formula to calculate your combined disability rating. They don’t simply add up the percentages of each condition (e.g., if you have a 10% rating for one condition and a 60% rating for another, your total disability rating won’t equal 70%).
Instead, the VA applies a formula that takes into account how each condition affects your remaining efficiency, ensuring the final rating reflects your overall level of disability accurately.
Here is how it would usually work:
- Whole Efficient Person: The VA starts with the concept of a “whole efficient person,” represented as 100%. This is the baseline for calculating VA ratings.
- Subtracting the Highest Rating: The VA will subtract the rating from the “whole efficient person” based on the highest-rated condition.
For instance, a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) receives a 50% rating.
The whole efficient person minus TBI = Difference (100% – 50% = 50%)
This means the veteran is considered to be 50% disabled and 50% efficient after accounting for the TBI.
- Calculation of Remaining Efficiency: Suppose that the veteran has another VA rating confirmed as being at 50% for a back injury. In this case, the VA cannot subtract the entire 50% from the remaining efficiency (50%). Instead, the VA would consider how much of that back injury is affecting the remaining efficiency, which in this case is half of the remaining efficiency (25%).
- Combining Ratings: The VA will then add the rating from TBI (50%) and the rating from the back injury (25%).
50% + 25% = 75%
- Finalized Calculation: The VA does not supply a 75% VA disability rating; instead, it will round up this combined rating to the nearest multiple of ten, which will bring the 75% to 80%.
This guarantees that the VA calculation process is consistent; however, it can be confusing, which is why it is helpful to employ help from a VA disability claims consultant.
What Do Disability Ratings Mean for Your Benefits?
Your disability ratings determine the amount of compensation you can receive and the additional benefits you can be eligible for. It can range from 0% to 100% depending on the severity and how it affects your overall lifestyle.
- 0% Rating: VA acknowledged that you might have symptoms for certain conditions but cannot provide you with compensation. VA determined that you will not require any medication, and your diagnosis does not affect your overall lifestyle.
- 10% Rating: You are provided with a small monthly payment or benefit, but you have limited access to some additional benefits.
- 30% to 50% Rating: Increases compensation amounts and can allow benefits for dependents.
- 70% to 90% Rating: Opens the door to more substantial support, including caregiver benefits and healthcare programs.
- 100% Rating: Offers the highest compensation, priority healthcare, and access to programs like housing grants and vocational rehabilitation.
It’s important to note that some conditions may qualify for Total Disability Individual Unemployability (TDIU), which provides 100% compensation even if your combined rating is below 100%.
Ask Veteran Choice for Help
We understand the various challenges that come in navigating the complex process of VA and how difficult it can be to prove your disability claim and acquire proper compensation.
That is why Veterans Choice is here to help.
We are here to provide you with the appropriate educational assistance to empower you and simplify the complex system of acquiring the correct VA disability benefit.
Whether you need assistance understanding VA math or gathering documentation we’re here to make the process easier. Visit our VA disability claims consultant page to learn more about how we can support you.
By working together, we can ensure you receive the compensation and benefits you’ve earned.