Combined ratings / 80% and 20%
38 CFR 4.25 Table I · checked 2026-10-20
80% and 20% VA rating combined
A 80% and a 20% rating combine to 84, which VA rounds down to 80%. The 20% is not added to the 80%: it takes 20% of the 20% efficiency the first rating leaves, which is 4 points. At 80% a veteran alone receives $2,102.15 a month and a veteran with a spouse $2,277.15.
- 1First rating 80 squares
- 220% of what is left 4 squares
- 3Efficiency left 16%
- 4Combined rating 80%
The arithmetic, step by step
- Order by severity: 80% first, then 20%.
- After the 80% rating, 20% efficiency is left. The 20% rating takes 20% of that: 20 × 20 ÷ 100 = 4.
- 80 + 4 = 84. That is the figure printed in Table I at row 80, column 20.
- Round once to the nearest 10, values ending in 5 going up: 84 becomes 80%.
Because 84 ends in 4, it rounds down. The result is the same 80% the first rating gave alone, so on its own the 20% rating changes neither the rating nor the $2,102.15 monthly payment. It still counts: it stays in the ledger, and the next rating combines with 84, not with 80. One more 10% rating would lift it to 86, rated 90%.
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
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. That is the same payment as 80% alone. The 80% pay page lists every dependent row.
If a third rating is added
A third 10% rating would combine with 84, not with 80: 84 and 10 give 86, rated 90%, one step up. The smallest single rating that moves this pair up a step is 10%, 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 80% and the 20% are on the left and right leg (or both arms), 38 CFR 4.26 adds a bilateral factor: 80 and 20 combine to 84, plus 10% of that gives 92, 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 80% and 20%
Diagnostic codes on this site with a 80% level include Sciatic nerve (radiculopathy) (DC 8520), Epilepsy (seizures) (DC 8910), GERD (acid reflux) (DC 7206), Scars of the head, face or neck (DC 7800). A 20% level appears in Degenerative arthritis, Shoulder (arm) limitation of motion, Elbow (forearm) limitation of flexion, Back strain (lumbosacral or cervical strain), Intervertebral disc syndrome (IVDS), Knee instability, Knee limitation of flexion, Knee limitation of extension, Ankle limited motion, Plantar fasciitis, Foot injury (other), Hip (thigh) limitation of flexion, Sciatic nerve (radiculopathy), Common peroneal nerve (foot drop), Upper radicular group (C5-C6 nerves), Epilepsy (seizures), Hypertension (high blood pressure), Varicose veins, Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), Hemorrhoids, Hernia (inguinal, ventral, umbilical), Deep scars (not head, face or neck), Painful or unstable scars, Diabetes mellitus (type 2), Prostate conditions (voiding dysfunction), TMJ (temporomandibular disorder).
38 CFR 4.114, diagnostic code 7206, GERD (acid reflux), 80%: “Documented history of recurrent or refractory esophageal stricture(s) causing dysphagia with at least one of: aspiration, undernutrition and/or substantial weight loss; and treatment with surgical correction of the stricture(s) or a percutaneous esophago-gastrointestinal (PEG) tube.”
38 CFR 4.71a, diagnostic code 5271, Ankle limited motion, 20%: “Marked: less than 5 degrees of dorsiflexion or less than 10 degrees of plantar flexion.”
38 CFR 4.71a, diagnostic code 5284, Foot injury (other), 20%: “Moderately severe.”
38 CFR 4.124a, diagnostic code 8910, Epilepsy (seizures), 80%: “Averaging at least 1 major seizure in 3 months over the last year; or more than 10 minor seizures weekly.”
Criteria summarized from the rating schedule; each condition page links to the regulation.
Other pairs
- 80% and 30%: 86, rated 90%
- 80% and 10%: 82, rated 80%
- 90% and 20%: 92, rated 90%
- 70% and 20%: 76, rated 80%
8 other pairs also round to 80%: 80+10, 70+40, 70+30, 70+20, 60+60, 60+50, 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.