Combined ratings / 80% and 40%
38 CFR 4.25 Table I · checked 2026-10-20
80% and 40% VA rating combined
A 80% and a 40% rating combine to 88, which VA rounds up to 90%. The 40% is not added to the 80%: it takes 40% of the 20% efficiency the first rating leaves, which is 8 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
- 240% of what is left 8 squares
- 3Efficiency left 12%
- 4Combined rating 90%
The arithmetic, step by step
- Order by severity: 80% first, then 40%.
- After the 80% rating, 20% efficiency is left. The 40% rating takes 40% of that: 40 × 20 ÷ 100 = 8.
- 80 + 8 = 88. That is the figure printed in Table I at row 80, column 40.
- Round once to the nearest 10, values ending in 5 going up: 88 becomes 90%.
Because 88 ends in 8, it rounds up, so this pair is rated 2 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 88, not with 90, because intermediate values are never rounded.
Added together, the two ratings would make 120. VA's method gives 90, 30 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 88, not with 90: 88 and 10 give 89, rated 90%, no change in the rating. The smallest single rating that moves this pair up a step is 60%, reaching 95 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 40% are on the left and right leg (or both arms), 38 CFR 4.26 adds a bilateral factor: 80 and 40 combine to 88, plus 10% of that gives 97, 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 40%
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 40% level appears in Shoulder (arm) limitation of motion, Elbow (forearm) limitation of flexion, Back strain (lumbosacral or cervical strain), Intervertebral disc syndrome (IVDS), Knee limitation of extension, 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, Deep scars (not head, face or neck), Diabetes mellitus (type 2), Prostate conditions (voiding dysfunction), TMJ (temporomandibular disorder).
38 CFR 4.124a, diagnostic code 8520, Sciatic nerve (radiculopathy), 80%: “Complete paralysis: the foot dangles and drops, no active movement possible of muscles below the knee, flexion of knee weakened or (very rarely) lost.”
38 CFR 4.124a, diagnostic code 8510, Upper radicular group (C5-C6 nerves), 40%: “Incomplete paralysis, moderate.”
38 CFR 4.104, diagnostic code 7101, Hypertension (high blood pressure), 40%: “Diastolic pressure predominantly 120 or more.”
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.”
Criteria summarized from the rating schedule; each condition page links to the regulation.
Other pairs
- 80% and 50%: 90, rated 90%
- 80% and 30%: 86, rated 90%
- 90% and 40%: 94, rated 90%
- 70% and 40%: 82, rated 80%
11 other pairs also round to 90%: 90+40, 90+30, 90+20, 90+10, 80+70, 80+60, 80+50, 80+30 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.