Rating Ledger

Combined ratings / 80% and 50%

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

80% and 50% VA rating combined

A 80% and a 50% rating combine to 90, which VA rounds to exactly 90%. The 50% is not added to the 80%: it takes 50% of the 20% efficiency the first rating leaves, which is 10 points. At 90% a veteran alone receives $2,362.30 a month and a veteran with a spouse $2,559.30.

Table I value90%Rounded once90%80 + 50 → 901234
  1. 1First rating 80 squares
  2. 250% of what is left 10 squares
  3. 3Efficiency left 10%
  4. 4Combined rating 90%
Table I value
90%
VA rating
90%
Monthly, alone
$2,362.30
Efficiency left
10%

The arithmetic, step by step

  1. Order by severity: 80% first, then 50%.
  2. After the 80% rating, 20% efficiency is left. The 50% rating takes 50% of that: 50 × 20 ÷ 100 = 10.
  3. 80 + 10 = 90. That is the figure printed in Table I at row 80, column 50.
  4. Round once to the nearest 10, values ending in 5 going up: 90 becomes 90%.

The Table I value is already a multiple of ten, so no rounding is needed: the pair is rated 90% on the nose. That happens for only 1 of the 45 pairs with exactly this value.

Added together, the two ratings would make 130. VA's method gives 90, 40 points less. The gap grows with the size of the ratings, because each later rating works on a smaller remainder.

What 90% pays

80% alone$2,102.1580% + 50% (90%)$2,362.30With another 50% (100%)$3,938.58
Monthly compensation, veteran with no dependents, VA rates effective December 1, 2025. Bars to scale from zero.

At 90%, VA's table effective December 1, 2025 pays $2,362.30 a month to a veteran alone, $2,559.30 with a spouse, and $2,704.30 with a spouse and one child under 18. Compared with 80% alone ($2,102.15), the pair adds $260.15 a month for a veteran with no dependents. The 90% pay page lists every dependent row.

If a third rating is added

A third 10% rating would combine with 90, not with 90: 90 and 10 give 91, rated 90%, no change in the rating. The smallest single rating that moves this pair up a step is 50%, reaching 95 and 100% ($3,938.58 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 80% and the 50% are on the left and right leg (or both arms), 38 CFR 4.26 adds a bilateral factor: 80 and 50 combine to 90, plus 10% of that gives 99, rated 100%. Here the factor moves the rating from 90% to 100%, worth $3,938.58 a month alone instead of $2,362.30. The bilateral factor guide has the full rule.

Conditions that are rated at 80% and 50%

Diagnostic codes on this site with a 80% level include Sciatic nerve (radiculopathy) (DC 8520), Epilepsy (seizures) (DC 8910), GERD (acid reflux) (DC 7206), Scars of the head, face or neck (DC 7800). A 50% level appears in PTSD, Hip replacement, Elbow (forearm) limitation of flexion, Back strain (lumbosacral or cervical strain), Knee limitation of extension, Flat feet (pes planus), Migraines, Carpal tunnel (median nerve), Upper radicular group (C5-C6 nerves), Sleep apnea, Chronic sinusitis, GERD (acid reflux), Scars of the head, face or neck, TMJ (temporomandibular disorder).

38 CFR 4.124a, diagnostic code 8910, Epilepsy (seizures), 80%: “Averaging at least 1 major seizure in 3 months over the last year; or more than 10 minor seizures weekly.”

38 CFR 4.124a, diagnostic code 8510, Upper radicular group (C5-C6 nerves), 50%: “Incomplete paralysis, severe.”

38 CFR 4.97, diagnostic code 6510-6514, Chronic sinusitis, 50%: “Following radical surgery with chronic osteomyelitis, or near constant sinusitis characterized by headaches, pain and tenderness of the affected sinus, and purulent discharge or crusting after repeated surgeries.”

38 CFR 4.124a, diagnostic code 8520, Sciatic nerve (radiculopathy), 80%: “Complete paralysis: the foot dangles and drops, no active movement possible of muscles below the knee, flexion of knee weakened or (very rarely) lost.”

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

Other pairs

11 other pairs also round to 90%: 90+40, 90+30, 90+20, 90+10, 80+70, 80+60, 80+40, 80+30 and more in the table.

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.