Rating Ledger

Combined ratings / 50% and 50%

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

50% and 50% VA rating combined

A 50% and a 50% rating combine to 75, which VA rounds up to 80%. Two equal ratings never double: it takes 50% of the 50% efficiency the first rating leaves, which is 25 points. At 80% a veteran alone receives $2,102.15 a month and a veteran with a spouse $2,277.15.

Table I value75%Rounded once80%50 + 50 → 751234
  1. 1First rating 50 squares
  2. 250% of what is left 25 squares
  3. 3Efficiency left 25%
  4. 4Combined rating 80%
Table I value
75%
VA rating
80%
Monthly, alone
$2,102.15
Efficiency left
25%

The arithmetic, step by step

  1. Order by severity: 50% first (both are the same, so either goes first), then 50%.
  2. After the 50% rating, 50% efficiency is left. The 50% rating takes 50% of that: 50 × 50 ÷ 100 = 25.
  3. 50 + 25 = 75. That is the figure printed in Table I at row 50, column 50.
  4. Round once to the nearest 10, values ending in 5 going up: 75 becomes 80%.

Because 75 ends in 5, it rounds up, so this pair is rated 5 points 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 75, not with 80, because intermediate values are never rounded.

Added together, the two ratings would make 100. VA's method gives 80, 20 points less. The gap grows with the size of the ratings, because each later rating works on a smaller remainder.

What 80% pays

50% alone$1,132.9050% + 50% (80%)$2,102.15With another 40% (90%)$2,362.30
Monthly compensation, veteran with no dependents, VA rates effective December 1, 2025. Bars to scale from zero.

At 80%, VA's table effective December 1, 2025 pays $2,102.15 a month to a veteran alone, $2,277.15 with a spouse, and $2,406.15 with a spouse and one child under 18. Compared with 50% alone ($1,132.90), the pair adds $969.25 a month for a veteran with no dependents. The 80% pay page lists every dependent row.

If a third rating is added

A third 10% rating would combine with 75, not with 80: 75 and 10 give 78, rated 80%, no change in the rating. The smallest single rating that moves this pair up a step is 40%, reaching 85 and 90% ($2,362.30 a month alone).

On the numbers alone this pair meets the schedular threshold for a total rating based on unemployability in 38 CFR 4.16(a): one disability of at least 40% and a combined rating of at least 70%. Meeting the percentages is only the start; VA must also find that service-connected disabilities prevent substantially gainful work. See the TDIU guide.

If the two ratings are on paired limbs

When the 50% and the 50% are on the left and right leg (or both arms), 38 CFR 4.26 adds a bilateral factor: 50 and 50 combine to 75, plus 10% of that gives 83, rated 80%. Here the factor raises the exact value but not the rounded rating, which stays at 80%; it can still matter once more ratings are combined. The bilateral factor guide has the full rule.

Conditions that are rated at 50%

Diagnostic codes on this site with a 50% level include PTSD (DC 9411), Hip replacement (DC 5054), Elbow (forearm) limitation of flexion (DC 5206), Back strain (lumbosacral or cervical strain) (DC 5237), Knee limitation of extension (DC 5261), Flat feet (pes planus) (DC 5276), Migraines (DC 8100), Carpal tunnel (median nerve) (DC 8515), Upper radicular group (C5-C6 nerves) (DC 8510), Sleep apnea (DC 6847), Chronic sinusitis (DC 6510-6514), GERD (acid reflux) (DC 7206), Scars of the head, face or neck (DC 7800), TMJ (temporomandibular disorder) (DC 9905).

38 CFR 4.97, diagnostic code 6510-6514, Chronic sinusitis, 50%: “Following radical surgery with chronic osteomyelitis, or near constant sinusitis characterized by headaches, pain and tenderness of the affected sinus, and purulent discharge or crusting after repeated surgeries.”

38 CFR 4.71a, diagnostic code 5276, Flat feet (pes planus), 50%: “Pronounced, bilateral: marked pronation, extreme tenderness of the plantar surfaces, marked inward displacement and severe spasm of the tendo Achillis on manipulation, not improved by orthopedic shoes or appliances. (30% if unilateral.)”

38 CFR 4.124a, diagnostic code 8515, Carpal tunnel (median nerve), 50%: “Incomplete paralysis, severe.”

38 CFR 4.150, diagnostic code 9905, TMJ (temporomandibular disorder), 50%: “Maximum unassisted vertical opening (interincisal range) of 0 to 10 mm, with dietary restriction to all mechanically altered foods.”

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

Other pairs

8 other pairs also round to 80%: 80+20, 80+10, 70+40, 70+30, 70+20, 60+60, 60+50, 60+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.