Rating Ledger

Combined ratings / 90% and 40%

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

90% and 40% VA rating combined

A 90% and a 40% rating combine to 94, which VA rounds down to 90%. The 40% is not added to the 90%: it takes 40% of the 10% efficiency the first rating leaves, which is 4 points. At 90% a veteran alone receives $2,362.30 a month and a veteran with a spouse $2,559.30.

Table I value94%Rounded once90%90 + 40 → 941234
  1. 1First rating 90 squares
  2. 240% of what is left 4 squares
  3. 3Efficiency left 6%
  4. 4Combined rating 90%
Table I value
94%
VA rating
90%
Monthly, alone
$2,362.30
Efficiency left
6%

The arithmetic, step by step

  1. Order by severity: 90% first, then 40%.
  2. After the 90% rating, 10% efficiency is left. The 40% rating takes 40% of that: 40 × 10 ÷ 100 = 4.
  3. 90 + 4 = 94. That is the figure printed in Table I at row 90, column 40.
  4. Round once to the nearest 10, values ending in 5 going up: 94 becomes 90%.

Because 94 ends in 4, it rounds down. The result is the same 90% the first rating gave alone, so on its own the 40% rating changes neither the rating nor the $2,362.30 monthly payment. It still counts: it stays in the ledger, and the next rating combines with 94, not with 90. One more 10% rating would lift it to 95, rated 100%.

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

90% alone$2,362.3090% + 40% (90%)$2,362.30With another 10% (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. That is the same payment as 90% alone. The 90% pay page lists every dependent row.

If a third rating is added

A third 10% rating would combine with 94, not with 90: 94 and 10 give 95, rated 100%, one step up. The smallest single rating that moves this pair up a step is 10%, 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 90% and the 40% are on the left and right leg (or both arms), 38 CFR 4.26 adds a bilateral factor: 90 and 40 combine to 94, plus 10% of that gives 103, 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 90% and 40%

Diagnostic codes on this site with a 90% level include Hip replacement (DC 5054). 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 4.71a, diagnostic code 5054, Hip replacement, 90%: “Following implantation of the prosthesis, with painful motion or weakness such as to require the use of crutches.”

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 4.104, diagnostic code 7120, Varicose veins, 40%: “Persistent edema and stasis pigmentation or eczema, with or without intermittent ulceration.”

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

Other pairs

11 other pairs also round to 90%: 90+30, 90+20, 90+10, 80+70, 80+60, 80+50, 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.