Rating Ledger

Combined ratings / 40% and 40%

38 CFR 4.25 Table I · checked 2026-10-20

40% and 40% VA rating combined

A 40% and a 40% rating combine to 64, which VA rounds down to 60%. Two equal ratings never double: it takes 40% of the 60% efficiency the first rating leaves, which is 24 points. At 60% a veteran alone receives $1,435.02 a month and a veteran with a spouse $1,566.02.

Table I value64%Rounded once60%40 + 40 → 641234
  1. 1First rating 40 squares
  2. 240% of what is left 24 squares
  3. 3Efficiency left 36%
  4. 4Combined rating 60%
Table I value
64%
VA rating
60%
Monthly, alone
$1,435.02
Efficiency left
36%

The arithmetic, step by step

  1. Order by severity: 40% first (both are the same, so either goes first), then 40%.
  2. After the 40% rating, 60% efficiency is left. The 40% rating takes 40% of that: 40 × 60 ÷ 100 = 24.
  3. 40 + 24 = 64. That is the figure printed in Table I at row 40, column 40.
  4. Round once to the nearest 10, values ending in 5 going up: 64 becomes 60%.

Because 64 ends in 4, it rounds down. The 40% still lifts the rating 20 points above the 40% alone. One more 10% rating would lift it to 68, rated 70%.

Added together, the two ratings would make 80. VA's method gives 60, 20 points less. The gap grows with the size of the ratings, because each later rating works on a smaller remainder.

What 60% pays

40% alone$795.8440% + 40% (60%)$1,435.02With another 10% (70%)$1,808.45
Monthly compensation, veteran with no dependents, VA rates effective December 1, 2025. Bars to scale from zero.

At 60%, VA's table effective December 1, 2025 pays $1,435.02 a month to a veteran alone, $1,566.02 with a spouse, and $1,663.02 with a spouse and one child under 18. Compared with 40% alone ($795.84), the pair adds $639.18 a month for a veteran with no dependents. The 60% pay page lists every dependent row.

If a third rating is added

A third 10% rating would combine with 64, not with 60: 64 and 10 give 68, rated 70%, one step up. The smallest single rating that moves this pair up a step is 10%, reaching 68 and 70% ($1,808.45 a month alone).

The 40% rating meets the 40% part of the 38 CFR 4.16(a) threshold for unemployability, but the combined 60% is below the 70% it also requires.

If the two ratings are on paired limbs

When the 40% and the 40% are on the left and right leg (or both arms), 38 CFR 4.26 adds a bilateral factor: 40 and 40 combine to 64, plus 10% of that gives 70, rated 70%. Here the factor moves the rating from 60% to 70%, worth $1,808.45 a month alone instead of $1,435.02. The bilateral factor guide has the full rule.

Conditions that are rated at 40%

Diagnostic codes on this site with a 40% level include Shoulder (arm) limitation of motion (DC 5201), Elbow (forearm) limitation of flexion (DC 5206), Back strain (lumbosacral or cervical strain) (DC 5237), Intervertebral disc syndrome (IVDS) (DC 5243), Knee limitation of extension (DC 5261), Hip (thigh) limitation of flexion (DC 5252), Sciatic nerve (radiculopathy) (DC 8520), Common peroneal nerve (foot drop) (DC 8521), Upper radicular group (C5-C6 nerves) (DC 8510), Epilepsy (seizures) (DC 8910), Hypertension (high blood pressure) (DC 7101), Varicose veins (DC 7120), Deep scars (not head, face or neck) (DC 7801), Diabetes mellitus (type 2) (DC 7913), Prostate conditions (voiding dysfunction) (DC 7527), TMJ (temporomandibular disorder) (DC 9905).

38 CFR 4.124a, diagnostic code 8510, Upper radicular group (C5-C6 nerves), 40%: “Incomplete paralysis, moderate.”

38 CFR 4.71a, diagnostic code 5261, Knee limitation of extension, 40%: “Extension limited to 30 degrees.”

38 CFR 4.124a, diagnostic code 8520, Sciatic nerve (radiculopathy), 40%: “Incomplete paralysis, moderately severe.”

38 CFR 4.104, diagnostic code 7120, Varicose veins, 40%: “Persistent edema and stasis pigmentation or eczema, with or without intermittent ulceration.”

Criteria summarized from the rating schedule; each condition page links to the regulation.

Other pairs

4 other pairs also round to 60%: 60+10, 50+20, 50+10, 40+30.

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.