Combined ratings / 80% and 30%
38 CFR 4.25 Table I · checked 2026-10-20
80% and 30% VA rating combined
A 80% and a 30% rating combine to 86, which VA rounds up to 90%. The 30% is not added to the 80%: it takes 30% of the 20% efficiency the first rating leaves, which is 6 points. At 90% a veteran alone receives $2,362.30 a month and a veteran with a spouse $2,559.30.
- 1First rating 80 squares
- 230% of what is left 6 squares
- 3Efficiency left 14%
- 4Combined rating 90%
The arithmetic, step by step
- Order by severity: 80% first, then 30%.
- After the 80% rating, 20% efficiency is left. The 30% rating takes 30% of that: 30 × 20 ÷ 100 = 6.
- 80 + 6 = 86. That is the figure printed in Table I at row 80, column 30.
- Round once to the nearest 10, values ending in 5 going up: 86 becomes 90%.
Because 86 ends in 6, it rounds up, so this pair is rated 4 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 86, not with 90, because intermediate values are never rounded.
Added together, the two ratings would make 110. VA's method gives 90, 20 points less. The gap grows with the size of the ratings, because each later rating works on a smaller remainder.
What 90% pays
At 90%, VA's table effective December 1, 2025 pays $2,362.30 a month to a veteran alone, $2,559.30 with a spouse, and $2,704.30 with a spouse and one child under 18. Compared with 80% alone ($2,102.15), the pair adds $260.15 a month for a veteran with no dependents. The 90% pay page lists every dependent row.
If a third rating is added
A third 10% rating would combine with 86, not with 90: 86 and 10 give 87, rated 90%, no change in the rating. The smallest single rating that moves this pair up a step is 70%, reaching 96 and 100% ($3,938.58 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 30% are on the left and right leg (or both arms), 38 CFR 4.26 adds a bilateral factor: 80 and 30 combine to 86, plus 10% of that gives 95, rated 100%. Here the factor moves the rating from 90% to 100%, worth $3,938.58 a month alone instead of $2,362.30. The bilateral factor guide has the full rule.
Conditions that are rated at 80% and 30%
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 30% level appears in Vertigo (peripheral vestibular disorder), Meniere's disease, PTSD, Shoulder replacement, Hip replacement, Knee replacement, Shoulder (arm) limitation of motion, Elbow (forearm) limitation of flexion, Back strain (lumbosacral or cervical strain), Knee instability, Knee limitation of flexion, Knee limitation of extension, Flat feet (pes planus), Plantar fasciitis, Foot injury (other), Hip (thigh) limitation of flexion, Migraines, Carpal tunnel (median nerve), Common peroneal nerve (foot drop), Sleep apnea, Asthma, COPD, Allergic rhinitis, Chronic sinusitis, Supraventricular arrhythmia (incl. AFib), GERD (acid reflux), Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), Hernia (inguinal, ventral, umbilical), Scars of the head, face or neck, Deep scars (not head, face or neck), Painful or unstable scars, Eczema (dermatitis), Prostate conditions (voiding dysfunction), TMJ (temporomandibular disorder).
38 CFR 4.118, diagnostic code 7800, Scars of the head, face or neck, 80%: “Visible or palpable tissue loss and either gross distortion or asymmetry of three or more features or paired sets of features, or six or more characteristics of disfigurement.”
38 CFR 4.71a, diagnostic code 5237, Back strain (lumbosacral or cervical strain), 30%: “Forward flexion of the cervical spine 15 degrees or less; or favorable ankylosis of the entire cervical spine.”
38 CFR 4.71a, diagnostic code 5260, Knee limitation of flexion, 30%: “Flexion limited to 15 degrees.”
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.”
Criteria summarized from the rating schedule; each condition page links to the regulation.
Other pairs
- 80% and 40%: 88, rated 90%
- 80% and 20%: 84, rated 80%
- 90% and 30%: 93, rated 90%
- 70% and 30%: 79, rated 80%
11 other pairs also round to 90%: 90+40, 90+30, 90+20, 90+10, 80+70, 80+60, 80+50, 80+40 and more in the table.
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.