Rating Ledger

Combined ratings / 40% and 10%

38 CFR 4.25 Table I · checked 2026-10-20

40% and 10% VA rating combined

A 40% and a 10% rating combine to 46, which VA rounds up to 50%. The 10% is not added to the 40%: it takes 10% of the 60% efficiency the first rating leaves, which is 6 points. At 50% a veteran alone receives $1,132.90 a month and a veteran with a spouse $1,241.90.

Table I value46%Rounded once50%40 + 10 → 461234
  1. 1First rating 40 squares
  2. 210% of what is left 6 squares
  3. 3Efficiency left 54%
  4. 4Combined rating 50%
Table I value
46%
VA rating
50%
Monthly, alone
$1,132.90
Efficiency left
54%

The arithmetic, step by step

  1. Order by severity: 40% first, then 10%.
  2. After the 40% rating, 60% efficiency is left. The 10% rating takes 10% of that: 10 × 60 ÷ 100 = 6.
  3. 40 + 6 = 46. That is the figure printed in Table I at row 40, column 10.
  4. Round once to the nearest 10, values ending in 5 going up: 46 becomes 50%.

Because 46 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 46, not with 50, because intermediate values are never rounded.

Added together, the two ratings would make 50. VA's method gives 50, 0 points less. The gap grows with the size of the ratings, because each later rating works on a smaller remainder.

What 50% pays

40% alone$795.8440% + 10% (50%)$1,132.90With another 20% (60%)$1,435.02
Monthly compensation, veteran with no dependents, VA rates effective December 1, 2025. Bars to scale from zero.

At 50%, VA's table effective December 1, 2025 pays $1,132.90 a month to a veteran alone, $1,241.90 with a spouse, and $1,322.90 with a spouse and one child under 18. Compared with 40% alone ($795.84), the pair adds $337.06 a month for a veteran with no dependents. The 50% pay page lists every dependent row.

If a third rating is added

A third 10% rating would combine with 46, not with 50: 46 and 10 give 51, rated 50%, no change in the rating. The smallest single rating that moves this pair up a step is 20%, reaching 57 and 60% ($1,435.02 a month alone).

The 40% rating meets the 40% part of the 38 CFR 4.16(a) threshold for unemployability, but the combined 50% is below the 70% it also requires.

If the two ratings are on paired limbs

When the 40% and the 10% are on the left and right leg (or both arms), 38 CFR 4.26 adds a bilateral factor: 40 and 10 combine to 46, plus 10% of that gives 51, rated 50%. Here the factor raises the exact value but not the rounded rating, which stays at 50%; it can still matter once more ratings are combined. The bilateral factor guide has the full rule.

Conditions that are rated at 40% and 10%

Diagnostic codes on this site with a 40% level include Shoulder (arm) limitation of motion (DC 5201), Elbow (forearm) limitation of flexion (DC 5206), Back strain (lumbosacral or cervical strain) (DC 5237), Intervertebral disc syndrome (IVDS) (DC 5243), Knee limitation of extension (DC 5261), Hip (thigh) limitation of flexion (DC 5252), Sciatic nerve (radiculopathy) (DC 8520), Common peroneal nerve (foot drop) (DC 8521), Upper radicular group (C5-C6 nerves) (DC 8510), Epilepsy (seizures) (DC 8910), Hypertension (high blood pressure) (DC 7101), Varicose veins (DC 7120), Deep scars (not head, face or neck) (DC 7801), Diabetes mellitus (type 2) (DC 7913), Prostate conditions (voiding dysfunction) (DC 7527), TMJ (temporomandibular disorder) (DC 9905). A 10% level appears in Tinnitus, Vertigo (peripheral vestibular disorder), PTSD, Degenerative arthritis, 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, Flat feet (pes planus), Plantar fasciitis, Foot injury (other), Hip (thigh) limitation of flexion, Migraines, Sciatic nerve (radiculopathy), Carpal tunnel (median nerve), Common peroneal nerve (foot drop), Epilepsy (seizures), Asthma, COPD, Allergic rhinitis, Chronic sinusitis, Hypertension (high blood pressure), Supraventricular arrhythmia (incl. AFib), Varicose veins, GERD (acid reflux), Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), Hemorrhoids, Hernia (inguinal, ventral, umbilical), Scars of the head, face or neck, Deep scars (not head, face or neck), Painful or unstable scars, Eczema (dermatitis), Diabetes mellitus (type 2), Prostate conditions (voiding dysfunction), TMJ (temporomandibular disorder).

38 CFR 4.71a, diagnostic code 5252, Hip (thigh) limitation of flexion, 40%: “Flexion limited to 10 degrees.”

38 CFR 4.71a, diagnostic code 5206, Elbow (forearm) limitation of flexion, 10%: “Flexion limited to 100 degrees.”

38 CFR 4.71a, diagnostic code 5243, Intervertebral disc syndrome (IVDS), 10%: “Incapacitating episodes having a total duration of at least 1 week but less than 2 weeks during the past 12 months.”

38 CFR 4.124a, diagnostic code 8510, Upper radicular group (C5-C6 nerves), 40%: “Incomplete paralysis, moderate.”

Criteria summarized from the rating schedule; each condition page links to the regulation.

Other pairs

2 other pairs also round to 50%: 40+20, 30+30.

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.