Rating Ledger

Combined ratings / 60% and 20%

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

60% and 20% VA rating combined

A 60% and a 20% rating combine to 68, which VA rounds up to 70%. The 20% is not added to the 60%: it takes 20% of the 40% efficiency the first rating leaves, which is 8 points. At 70% a veteran alone receives $1,808.45 a month and a veteran with a spouse $1,961.45.

Table I value68%Rounded once70%60 + 20 → 681234
  1. 1First rating 60 squares
  2. 220% of what is left 8 squares
  3. 3Efficiency left 32%
  4. 4Combined rating 70%
Table I value
68%
VA rating
70%
Monthly, alone
$1,808.45
Efficiency left
32%

The arithmetic, step by step

  1. Order by severity: 60% first, then 20%.
  2. After the 60% rating, 40% efficiency is left. The 20% rating takes 20% of that: 20 × 40 ÷ 100 = 8.
  3. 60 + 8 = 68. That is the figure printed in Table I at row 60, column 20.
  4. Round once to the nearest 10, values ending in 5 going up: 68 becomes 70%.

Because 68 ends in 8, it rounds up, so this pair is rated 2 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 68, 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

60% alone$1,435.0260% + 20% (70%)$1,808.45With another 30% (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 60% alone ($1,435.02), the pair adds $373.43 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 68, not with 70: 68 and 10 give 71, rated 70%, no change in the rating. The smallest single rating that moves this pair up a step is 30%, reaching 78 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 rated at least 60%. 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 60% and the 20% are on the left and right leg (or both arms), 38 CFR 4.26 adds a bilateral factor: 60 and 20 combine to 68, plus 10% of that gives 75, 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 60% and 20%

Diagnostic codes on this site with a 60% level include Meniere's disease (DC 6205), Shoulder replacement (DC 5051), Knee replacement (DC 5055), Intervertebral disc syndrome (IVDS) (DC 5243), Sciatic nerve (radiculopathy) (DC 8520), Epilepsy (seizures) (DC 8910), Asthma (DC 6602), COPD (DC 6604), Hypertension (high blood pressure) (DC 7101), Varicose veins (DC 7120), Hernia (inguinal, ventral, umbilical) (DC 7338), Eczema (dermatitis) (DC 7806), Diabetes mellitus (type 2) (DC 7913), Prostate conditions (voiding dysfunction) (DC 7527). A 20% level appears in Degenerative arthritis, Shoulder (arm) limitation of motion, 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, Plantar fasciitis, Foot injury (other), 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, Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), Hemorrhoids, Hernia (inguinal, ventral, umbilical), Deep scars (not head, face or neck), Painful or unstable scars, Diabetes mellitus (type 2), Prostate conditions (voiding dysfunction), TMJ (temporomandibular disorder).

38 CFR 4.104, diagnostic code 7101, Hypertension (high blood pressure), 60%: “Diastolic pressure predominantly 130 or more.”

38 CFR 4.71a, diagnostic code 5260, Knee limitation of flexion, 20%: “Flexion limited to 30 degrees.”

38 CFR 4.71a, diagnostic code 5271, Ankle limited motion, 20%: “Marked: less than 5 degrees of dorsiflexion or less than 10 degrees of plantar flexion.”

38 CFR 4.118, diagnostic code 7806, Eczema (dermatitis), 60%: “Characteristic lesions involving more than 40 percent of the entire body or more than 40 percent of exposed areas affected; or constant or near-constant systemic therapy required over the past 12-month period.”

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, 50+40, 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.