2027 COLA Is Official: 3.6% — Here’s What Your VA Pay Looks Like Now
Listen up — the number is in, and this one puts money in your pocket.
The Social Security Administration just announced the 2027 cost-of-living adjustment (COLA): 3.6%. VA disability compensation moves with that same number, so if you’re rated, your monthly pay goes up by that percentage. No rumor, no projection — this is the official figure.
What it means, straight
- New rates take effect December 1, 2026. VA pays in arrears, so the first deposit at the new rate lands December 31, 2026 — January 1, 2027 is a federal holiday, so VA pays the last business day before it.
- It’s automatic. No form. No claim. No phone call to VA. If you’re getting paid, your pay adjusts itself.
- Every rating moves. 10% through 100% — and the added amounts for dependents move too. TDIU paid at the 100% rate moves with it. Same percentage across the board.
- It’s tax-free, same as always. COLA doesn’t change that.
The math — veteran alone, no dependents
| Rating | 2026 monthly | 2027 monthly (at 3.6%) | Extra per year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10% | $180.42 | $186.92 | +$78 |
| 20% | $356.66 | $369.50 | +$154 |
| 30% | $552.47 | $572.36 | +$239 |
| 40% | $795.84 | $824.49 | +$344 |
| 50% | $1,132.90 | $1,173.68 | +$489 |
| 60% | $1,435.02 | $1,486.68 | +$620 |
| 70% | $1,808.45 | $1,873.55 | +$781 |
| 80% | $2,102.15 | $2,177.83 | +$908 |
| 90% | $2,362.30 | $2,447.34 | +$1,020 |
| 100% | $3,938.58 | $4,080.37 | +$1,701 |
Got dependents? Your increase is bigger than the table — the base rate and the dependent amounts both go up. Run your exact setup instead of guessing.
Run your own numbers
The VA Math Buster calculator does the combined-ratings math and the pay math for you — it’s live on the App Store, and the Android version is rolling out on Google Play. Free. Punch in your rating and your dependents and you’ll see your January number to the cent.
Get the 2027 rate tables in your inbox.
One thing nobody tells you
A COLA raise is automatic — but it only pays on the rating you’ve actually got. If your condition’s gotten worse since your last decision, that percentage is being applied to a number that’s too low to begin with. The raise isn’t the fight. The rating is.
Run your numbers before you file. That’s the whole game.
— Buster
VA Claim Buster is a free education resource for veterans — not a claims-filing service, not VA-accredited, and nothing here is legal or medical advice. Just the math, straight. Final 2027 rates: VA.gov (VA publishes its official rate tables after the COLA announcement; if VA’s posted table differs by a cent from the straight percentage math, VA’s table wins).