Combined ratings / 10% and 10%
38 CFR 4.25 Table I · checked 2026-10-20
10% and 10% VA rating combined
A 10% and a 10% rating combine to 19, which VA rounds up to 20%. Two equal ratings never double: it takes 10% of the 90% efficiency the first rating leaves, which is 9 points. At 20% the monthly rate is $356.66 whatever the family size.
- 1First rating 10 squares
- 210% of what is left 9 squares
- 3Efficiency left 81%
- 4Combined rating 20%
The arithmetic, step by step
- Order by severity: 10% first (both are the same, so either goes first), then 10%.
- After the 10% rating, 90% efficiency is left. The 10% rating takes 10% of that: 10 × 90 ÷ 100 = 9.
- 10 + 9 = 19. That is the figure printed in Table I at row 10, column 10 (the same arithmetic, below the table's first row of 19).
- Round once to the nearest 10, values ending in 5 going up: 19 becomes 20%.
Because 19 ends in 9, it rounds up, so this pair is rated 1 point above its Table I value. The extra points exist only in the rounded rating: if a third disability is added later, VA combines it with 19, not with 20, because intermediate values are never rounded.
Added together, the two ratings would make 20. VA's method gives 20, 0 points less. The gap grows with the size of the ratings, because each later rating works on a smaller remainder.
What 20% pays
A 20% rating is paid at a single rate of $356.66 a month, effective December 1, 2025. VA's table adds nothing for a spouse, children or parents below 30%, so the family size does not change this pair's payment. A further 10% rating would take the combined value to 27, rated 30%, at $552.47 a month, and from there dependents count.
If a third rating is added
A third 10% rating would combine with 19, not with 20: 19 and 10 give 27, rated 30%, one step up. The smallest single rating that moves this pair up a step is 10%, reaching 27 and 30% ($552.47 a month alone).
If the two ratings are on paired limbs
When the 10% and the 10% are on the left and right leg (or both arms), 38 CFR 4.26 adds a bilateral factor: 10 and 10 combine to 19, plus 10% of that gives 21, rated 20%. Here the factor raises the exact value but not the rounded rating, which stays at 20%; it can still matter once more ratings are combined. The bilateral factor guide has the full rule.
Conditions that are rated at 10%
Diagnostic codes on this site with a 10% level include Tinnitus (DC 6260), Vertigo (peripheral vestibular disorder) (DC 6204), PTSD (DC 9411), Degenerative arthritis (DC 5003), Elbow (forearm) limitation of flexion (DC 5206), Back strain (lumbosacral or cervical strain) (DC 5237), Intervertebral disc syndrome (IVDS) (DC 5243), Knee instability (DC 5257), Knee limitation of flexion (DC 5260), Knee limitation of extension (DC 5261), Ankle limited motion (DC 5271), Flat feet (pes planus) (DC 5276), Plantar fasciitis (DC 5269), Foot injury (other) (DC 5284), Hip (thigh) limitation of flexion (DC 5252), Migraines (DC 8100), Sciatic nerve (radiculopathy) (DC 8520), Carpal tunnel (median nerve) (DC 8515), Common peroneal nerve (foot drop) (DC 8521), Epilepsy (seizures) (DC 8910), Asthma (DC 6602), COPD (DC 6604), Allergic rhinitis (DC 6522), Chronic sinusitis (DC 6510-6514), Hypertension (high blood pressure) (DC 7101), Supraventricular arrhythmia (incl. AFib) (DC 7010), Varicose veins (DC 7120), GERD (acid reflux) (DC 7206), Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) (DC 7319), Hemorrhoids (DC 7336), Hernia (inguinal, ventral, umbilical) (DC 7338), Scars of the head, face or neck (DC 7800), Deep scars (not head, face or neck) (DC 7801), Painful or unstable scars (DC 7804), Eczema (dermatitis) (DC 7806), Diabetes mellitus (type 2) (DC 7913), Prostate conditions (voiding dysfunction) (DC 7527), TMJ (temporomandibular disorder) (DC 9905).
38 CFR 4.130, diagnostic code 9411, PTSD, 10%: “Occupational and social impairment due to mild or transient symptoms which decrease work efficiency and ability to perform occupational tasks only during periods of significant stress, or symptoms controlled by continuous medication.”
38 CFR 4.87, diagnostic code 6204, Vertigo (peripheral vestibular disorder), 10%: “Occasional dizziness.”
38 CFR 4.71a, diagnostic code 5003, Degenerative arthritis, 10%: “Without limitation of motion: X-ray evidence of involvement of 2 or more major joints or 2 or more minor joint groups. Also 10% for each major joint or group of minor joints with X-ray-confirmed arthritis whose limitation of motion is noncompensable, when the limited motion is objectively confirmed (swelling, muscle spasm or satisfactory evidence of painful motion).”
38 CFR 4.71a, diagnostic code 5237, Back strain (lumbosacral or cervical strain), 10%: “Forward flexion of the thoracolumbar spine greater than 60 degrees but not greater than 85 degrees; or forward flexion of the cervical spine greater than 30 degrees but not greater than 40 degrees; or combined thoracolumbar range of motion greater than 120 but not greater than 235 degrees; or combined cervical range of motion greater than 170 but not greater than 335 degrees; or muscle spasm, guarding or localized tenderness not resulting in abnormal gait or contour; or vertebral body fracture with loss of 50 percent or more of the height.”
Criteria summarized from the rating schedule; each condition page links to the regulation.
Other pairs
- 20% and 10%: 28, rated 30%
- 20% and 20%: 36, rated 40%
For three or more ratings, or to add dependents, use the calculator. Background: why 50 and 50 is not 100.
Rating Ledger is not part of VA and does not file or decide claims. Amounts are VA's published monthly rates effective December 1, 2025 for a veteran, before any deduction or special monthly compensation; ratings follow 38 CFR 4.25 and 38 CFR 4.26. Last checked 2026-10-20. Only a VA rating decision sets a rating or a payment. See the methodology.