Combined ratings / 50% and 30%
38 CFR 4.25 Table I · checked 2026-10-20
50% and 30% VA rating combined
A 50% and a 30% rating combine to 65, which VA rounds up to 70%. The 30% is not added to the 50%: it takes 30% of the 50% efficiency the first rating leaves, which is 15 points. At 70% a veteran alone receives $1,808.45 a month and a veteran with a spouse $1,961.45.
- 1First rating 50 squares
- 230% of what is left 15 squares
- 3Efficiency left 35%
- 4Combined rating 70%
The arithmetic, step by step
- Order by severity: 50% first, then 30%.
- After the 50% rating, 50% efficiency is left. The 30% rating takes 30% of that: 30 × 50 ÷ 100 = 15.
- 50 + 15 = 65. That is the figure printed in Table I at row 50, column 30.
- Round once to the nearest 10, values ending in 5 going up: 65 becomes 70%.
Because 65 ends in 5, it rounds up, so this pair is rated 5 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 65, not with 70, because intermediate values are never rounded.
Added together, the two ratings would make 80. VA's method gives 70, 10 points less. The gap grows with the size of the ratings, because each later rating works on a smaller remainder.
What 70% pays
At 70%, VA's table effective December 1, 2025 pays $1,808.45 a month to a veteran alone, $1,961.45 with a spouse, and $2,074.45 with a spouse and one child under 18. Compared with 50% alone ($1,132.90), the pair adds $675.55 a month for a veteran with no dependents. The 70% pay page lists every dependent row.
If a third rating is added
A third 10% rating would combine with 65, not with 70: 65 and 10 give 69, rated 70%, no change in the rating. The smallest single rating that moves this pair up a step is 30%, reaching 76 and 80% ($2,102.15 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 of at least 40% and a combined rating of at least 70%. 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 50% and the 30% are on the left and right leg (or both arms), 38 CFR 4.26 adds a bilateral factor: 50 and 30 combine to 65, plus 10% of that gives 72, rated 70%. Here the factor raises the exact value but not the rounded rating, which stays at 70%; it can still matter once more ratings are combined. The bilateral factor guide has the full rule.
Conditions that are rated at 50% and 30%
Diagnostic codes on this site with a 50% level include PTSD (DC 9411), Hip replacement (DC 5054), Elbow (forearm) limitation of flexion (DC 5206), Back strain (lumbosacral or cervical strain) (DC 5237), Knee limitation of extension (DC 5261), Flat feet (pes planus) (DC 5276), Migraines (DC 8100), Carpal tunnel (median nerve) (DC 8515), Upper radicular group (C5-C6 nerves) (DC 8510), Sleep apnea (DC 6847), Chronic sinusitis (DC 6510-6514), GERD (acid reflux) (DC 7206), Scars of the head, face or neck (DC 7800), TMJ (temporomandibular disorder) (DC 9905). 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 4.124a, diagnostic code 8510, Upper radicular group (C5-C6 nerves), 50%: “Incomplete paralysis, severe.”
38 CFR 4.71a, diagnostic code 5055, Knee replacement, 30%: “Minimum evaluation for total knee replacement only.”
38 CFR 4.71a, diagnostic code 5206, Elbow (forearm) limitation of flexion, 30%: “Flexion limited to 70 degrees.”
38 CFR 4.114, diagnostic code 7206, GERD (acid reflux), 50%: “Documented history of recurrent or refractory esophageal stricture(s) causing dysphagia which requires dilatation 3 or more times per year, dilatation using steroids at least one time per year, or esophageal stent placement.”
Criteria summarized from the rating schedule; each condition page links to the regulation.
Other pairs
- 50% and 40%: 70, rated 70%
- 50% and 20%: 60, rated 60%
- 60% and 30%: 72, rated 70%
- 40% and 30%: 58, rated 60%
4 other pairs also round to 70%: 70+10, 60+30, 60+20, 50+40.
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.