Conditions / Neurological
38 CFR 4.124a, diagnostic code 8045 · checked 2026-10-21
VA rating for Traumatic brain injury (TBI)
VA rates Traumatic brain injury (TBI) under diagnostic code 8045 (Residuals of traumatic brain injury) at 5 levels from 0% to 100%. The lowest paid level, 10%, is worth $180.42 a month and the highest, 100%, $3,938.58 to a veteran alone at the rates effective December 1, 2025. The levels come from the Evaluation of Cognitive Impairment and Other Residuals of TBI Not Otherwise Classified (ten facets).
- 1Diagnostic code DC 8045
- 2Highest level 100% · $3,938.58
- 3Lowest paid level 10% · $180.42
Rating criteria for DC 8045
| Rating | What the schedule requires |
|---|---|
| 100% | One or more facets of the TBI table is evaluated as "total". |
| 70% | No facet is total, and the highest facet level is 3. |
| 40% | The highest facet level is 2. |
| 10% | The highest facet level is 1. |
| 0% | Every facet is at level 0. |
Summarized from eCFR, 38 CFR 4.124a Schedule of ratings, neurological conditions and convulsive disorders, diagnostic code 8045, checked 2026-10-21. The regulation's own wording governs.
Notes in the schedule
- The ten facets and their levels: memory, attention, concentration and executive functions (0 to 3 and total); judgment (0 to 3 and total); social interaction (0 to 3); orientation (0 to 3 and total); motor activity with intact motor and sensory system (0 to 3 and total); visual spatial orientation (0 to 3 and total); subjective symptoms (0 to 2); neurobehavioral effects (0 to 3); communication (0 to 3 and total); consciousness (total only).
- Only the single highest facet sets the rating; facets are not added or combined with each other.
- Memory facet as an example: level 1 is a complaint of mild memory, attention, concentration or executive-function loss without objective evidence on testing; level 2 is objective evidence on testing of mild impairment with mild functional impairment; level 3 is objective evidence of moderate impairment with moderate functional impairment; total is objective evidence of severe impairment with severe functional impairment.
- Where TBI residuals overlap a condition rated elsewhere (for example a mental disorder), VA does not give more than one evaluation for the same manifestations; clearly separable manifestations are rated separately.
- The mild, moderate or severe TBI label given at the time of injury does not decide the 8045 rating.
- Veterans rated under a version of 8045 before October 23, 2008 may ask for review under the current criteria; an award on that review is never effective before October 23, 2008.
What each level pays
| Level | Alone | With spouse | With tinnitus 10% |
|---|---|---|---|
| 100% | $3,938.58 | $4,158.17 | 100 → 100% |
| 70% | $1,808.45 | $1,961.45 | 73 → 70% |
| 40% | $795.84 | $882.84 | 46 → 50% |
| 10% | $180.42 | $180.42 | 19 → 20% |
| 0% | $0.00 | $0.00 | 10 → 10% |
3 of the 4 compensable levels are 30% or higher, where dependents raise the payment; below that the rate is flat. A 0% level means the condition is service connected but not compensable: it pays nothing by itself, yet it is on record if it worsens. The spread from the lowest paid level to the highest is $3,758.16 a month. The last column shows the combined rating if this condition is joined by a 10% tinnitus rating.
How this rating fits a claim
The top level, 100%, is at or above the 60% that 38 CFR 4.16(a) sets for a single disability to qualify for consideration of a total rating based on unemployability. A rating under DC 8045 is combined with every other rating by Table I, never added; the calculator shows the result with your other ratings and dependents.
The rating is set from the evidence at the time of the decision, usually including a VA examination. If the condition has worsened since, VA accepts a claim for an increase on VA Form 21-526EZ; see how to request an increase.
Related conditions
- Migraines (DC 8100)
- Sciatic nerve (radiculopathy) (DC 8520)
- Carpal tunnel (median nerve) (DC 8515)
- Common peroneal nerve (foot drop) (DC 8521)
- Upper radicular group (C5-C6 nerves) (DC 8510)
Pay at the top level: 100% VA pay. At the lowest paid level: 10% VA pay.
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 and 38 CFR 4.124a, diagnostic code 8045. Last checked 2026-10-20. Only a VA rating decision sets a rating or a payment. See the methodology.