How VA Combined Ratings Work

01 // Whole-person method

Every new rating hits what is left—not the original 100.

Welcome to the only math where 60 plus 30 can arrive wearing a 70. Under the whole-person method, a 60 percent disability leaves 40 percent efficiency. A later 30 percent rating applies to that remaining 40, not to the original 100.

The official combined-ratings table performs this sequence and caps the final degree at 100. A final combined value of 95 or higher converts to a 100 percent combined rating under the final-rounding rule.

02 // Correct order

Largest rating first. This is not playlist shuffle.

Put the individual evaluations in descending order. Combine the first two, carry that unrounded table value forward, then combine it with the next evaluation until every rating is accounted for. Freestyling the order is how kitchen-table math grows legs and escapes.

VA’s public example and § 4.25 both describe this ordered sequence. Changing the order in an informal calculation can create confusion even when the final table method is designed around descending severity.

• Sort individual ratings highest to lowest.
• Apply any qualifying bilateral calculation in the proper sequence.
• Carry forward the combined value.
• Convert to the nearest multiple of 10 only at the end.

03 // Use the calculator

The calculator is a range check—not the VA decision.

VACB VA Math can model the standard sequence and show the unrounded path. It cannot sign your rating decision, no matter how authoritative the glowing screen looks. The official decision controls, and special rules such as the bilateral-factor exception may require another comparison.

When the result matters to an appeal or payment question, compare the calculator track with VA’s table and the current regulation.