Rating Ledger

Combined ratings / 60% and 50%

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

60% and 50% VA rating combined

A 60% and a 50% rating combine to 80, which VA rounds to exactly 80%. The 50% is not added to the 60%: it takes 50% of the 40% efficiency the first rating leaves, which is 20 points. At 80% a veteran alone receives $2,102.15 a month and a veteran with a spouse $2,277.15.

Table I value80%Rounded once80%60 + 50 → 801234
  1. 1First rating 60 squares
  2. 250% of what is left 20 squares
  3. 3Efficiency left 20%
  4. 4Combined rating 80%
Table I value
80%
VA rating
80%
Monthly, alone
$2,102.15
Efficiency left
20%

The arithmetic, step by step

  1. Order by severity: 60% first, then 50%.
  2. After the 60% rating, 40% efficiency is left. The 50% rating takes 50% of that: 50 × 40 ÷ 100 = 20.
  3. 60 + 20 = 80. That is the figure printed in Table I at row 60, column 50.
  4. Round once to the nearest 10, values ending in 5 going up: 80 becomes 80%.

The Table I value is already a multiple of ten, so no rounding is needed: the pair is rated 80% on the nose. That happens for only 1 of the 45 pairs with exactly this value.

Added together, the two ratings would make 110. VA's method gives 80, 30 points less. The gap grows with the size of the ratings, because each later rating works on a smaller remainder.

What 80% pays

60% alone$1,435.0260% + 50% (80%)$2,102.15With another 30% (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 60% alone ($1,435.02), the pair adds $667.13 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 80, not with 80: 80 and 10 give 82, rated 80%, no change in the rating. The smallest single rating that moves this pair up a step is 30%, reaching 86 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 rated at least 60%. 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 60% and the 50% are on the left and right leg (or both arms), 38 CFR 4.26 adds a bilateral factor: 60 and 50 combine to 80, plus 10% of that gives 88, rated 90%. Here the factor moves the rating from 80% to 90%, worth $2,362.30 a month alone instead of $2,102.15. The bilateral factor guide has the full rule.

Conditions that are rated at 60% and 50%

Diagnostic codes on this site with a 60% level include Meniere's disease (DC 6205), Shoulder replacement (DC 5051), Knee replacement (DC 5055), Intervertebral disc syndrome (IVDS) (DC 5243), Sciatic nerve (radiculopathy) (DC 8520), Epilepsy (seizures) (DC 8910), Asthma (DC 6602), COPD (DC 6604), Hypertension (high blood pressure) (DC 7101), Varicose veins (DC 7120), Hernia (inguinal, ventral, umbilical) (DC 7338), Eczema (dermatitis) (DC 7806), Diabetes mellitus (type 2) (DC 7913), Prostate conditions (voiding dysfunction) (DC 7527). A 50% level appears in PTSD, Hip replacement, Elbow (forearm) limitation of flexion, Back strain (lumbosacral or cervical strain), Knee limitation of extension, Flat feet (pes planus), Migraines, Carpal tunnel (median nerve), Upper radicular group (C5-C6 nerves), Sleep apnea, Chronic sinusitis, GERD (acid reflux), Scars of the head, face or neck, TMJ (temporomandibular disorder).

38 CFR 4.118, diagnostic code 7806, Eczema (dermatitis), 60%: “Characteristic lesions involving more than 40 percent of the entire body or more than 40 percent of exposed areas affected; or constant or near-constant systemic therapy required over the past 12-month period.”

38 CFR 4.124a, diagnostic code 8100, Migraines, 50%: “With very frequent completely prostrating and prolonged attacks productive of severe economic inadaptability.”

38 CFR 4.124a, diagnostic code 8510, Upper radicular group (C5-C6 nerves), 50%: “Incomplete paralysis, severe.”

38 CFR 4.87, diagnostic code 6205, Meniere's disease, 60%: “Hearing impairment with attacks of vertigo and cerebellar gait occurring from one to four times a month, with or without tinnitus.”

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+40, 50+50.

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.