Rating Ledger

Combined ratings / 50% and 40%

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

50% and 40% VA rating combined

A 50% and a 40% rating combine to 70, which VA rounds to exactly 70%. The 40% is not added to the 50%: it takes 40% of the 50% efficiency the first rating leaves, which is 20 points. At 70% a veteran alone receives $1,808.45 a month and a veteran with a spouse $1,961.45.

Table I value70%Rounded once70%50 + 40 → 701234
  1. 1First rating 50 squares
  2. 240% of what is left 20 squares
  3. 3Efficiency left 30%
  4. 4Combined rating 70%
Table I value
70%
VA rating
70%
Monthly, alone
$1,808.45
Efficiency left
30%

The arithmetic, step by step

  1. Order by severity: 50% first, then 40%.
  2. After the 50% rating, 50% efficiency is left. The 40% rating takes 40% of that: 40 × 50 ÷ 100 = 20.
  3. 50 + 20 = 70. That is the figure printed in Table I at row 50, column 40.
  4. Round once to the nearest 10, values ending in 5 going up: 70 becomes 70%.

The Table I value is already a multiple of ten, so no rounding is needed: the pair is rated 70% on the nose. That happens for only 1 of the 45 pairs with exactly this value.

Added together, the two ratings would make 90. VA's method gives 70, 20 points less. The gap grows with the size of the ratings, because each later rating works on a smaller remainder.

What 70% pays

50% alone$1,132.9050% + 40% (70%)$1,808.45With another 20% (80%)$2,102.15
Monthly compensation, veteran with no dependents, VA rates effective December 1, 2025. Bars to scale from zero.

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 70, not with 70: 70 and 10 give 73, rated 70%, no change in the rating. The smallest single rating that moves this pair up a step is 20%, 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 40% are on the left and right leg (or both arms), 38 CFR 4.26 adds a bilateral factor: 50 and 40 combine to 70, plus 10% of that gives 77, rated 80%. Here the factor moves the rating from 70% to 80%, worth $2,102.15 a month alone instead of $1,808.45. The bilateral factor guide has the full rule.

Conditions that are rated at 50% and 40%

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 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 4.97, diagnostic code 6847, Sleep apnea, 50%: “Requires use of a breathing assistance device such as a continuous airway pressure (CPAP) machine.”

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

38 CFR 4.124a, diagnostic code 8521, Common peroneal nerve (foot drop), 40%: “Complete paralysis: foot drop and slight droop of first phalanges of all toes, cannot dorsiflex the foot, loss of extension of proximal phalanges of toes, anesthesia covering the entire dorsum of foot and toes.”

38 CFR 4.118, diagnostic code 7800, Scars of the head, face or neck, 50%: “Visible or palpable tissue loss and either gross distortion or asymmetry of two features or paired sets of features, or four or five characteristics of disfigurement.”

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

Other pairs

4 other pairs also round to 70%: 70+10, 60+30, 60+20, 50+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.