Rating Ledger

Combined ratings / 70% and 40%

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

70% and 40% VA rating combined

A 70% and a 40% rating combine to 82, which VA rounds down to 80%. The 40% is not added to the 70%: it takes 40% of the 30% efficiency the first rating leaves, which is 12 points. At 80% a veteran alone receives $2,102.15 a month and a veteran with a spouse $2,277.15.

Table I value82%Rounded once80%70 + 40 → 821234
  1. 1First rating 70 squares
  2. 240% of what is left 12 squares
  3. 3Efficiency left 18%
  4. 4Combined rating 80%
Table I value
82%
VA rating
80%
Monthly, alone
$2,102.15
Efficiency left
18%

The arithmetic, step by step

  1. Order by severity: 70% first, then 40%.
  2. After the 70% rating, 30% efficiency is left. The 40% rating takes 40% of that: 40 × 30 ÷ 100 = 12.
  3. 70 + 12 = 82. That is the figure printed in Table I at row 70, column 40.
  4. Round once to the nearest 10, values ending in 5 going up: 82 becomes 80%.

Because 82 ends in 2, it rounds down. The 40% still lifts the rating 10 points above the 70% alone. One more 20% rating would lift it to 86, rated 90%.

Added together, the two ratings would make 110. VA's method gives 80, 30 points less. The gap grows with the size of the ratings, because each later rating works on a smaller remainder.

What 80% pays

70% alone$1,808.4570% + 40% (80%)$2,102.15With another 20% (90%)$2,362.30
Monthly compensation, veteran with no dependents, VA rates effective December 1, 2025. Bars to scale from zero.

At 80%, VA's table effective December 1, 2025 pays $2,102.15 a month to a veteran alone, $2,277.15 with a spouse, and $2,406.15 with a spouse and one child under 18. Compared with 70% alone ($1,808.45), the pair adds $293.70 a month for a veteran with no dependents. The 80% pay page lists every dependent row.

If a third rating is added

A third 10% rating would combine with 82, not with 80: 82 and 10 give 84, rated 80%, no change in the rating. The smallest single rating that moves this pair up a step is 20%, reaching 86 and 90% ($2,362.30 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 70% and the 40% are on the left and right leg (or both arms), 38 CFR 4.26 adds a bilateral factor: 70 and 40 combine to 82, plus 10% of that gives 90, rated 90%. Here the factor moves the rating from 80% to 90%, worth $2,362.30 a month alone instead of $2,102.15. The bilateral factor guide has the full rule.

Conditions that are rated at 70% and 40%

Diagnostic codes on this site with a 70% level include PTSD (DC 9411), Hip replacement (DC 5054), Carpal tunnel (median nerve) (DC 8515), Upper radicular group (C5-C6 nerves) (DC 8510). 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 4.124a, diagnostic code 8510, Upper radicular group (C5-C6 nerves), 70%: “Complete paralysis: all shoulder and elbow movements lost or severely affected, hand and wrist movements not affected.”

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 4.124a, diagnostic code 8910, Epilepsy (seizures), 40%: “At least 1 major seizure in the last 6 months or 2 in the last year; or averaging at least 5 to 8 minor seizures weekly.”

38 CFR 4.124a, diagnostic code 8515, Carpal tunnel (median nerve), 70%: “Complete paralysis: the hand inclined to the ulnar side, the index and middle fingers more extended than normally, considerable atrophy of the thenar eminence (the ape hand), inability to make a fist, and other listed signs.”

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

Other pairs

8 other pairs also round to 80%: 80+20, 80+10, 70+30, 70+20, 60+60, 60+50, 60+40, 50+50.

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.