VA Disability Rates 2026: Monthly Pay by Rating (10% to 100%)
Figures checked November 11, 2026 against primary sources
VA disability compensation is a monthly payment for veterans with a service-connected condition, and it is exempt from federal income tax. The amount depends on your disability rating and, from 30% up, on your dependents. For 2026, the rates effective December 1, 2025 run from $180.42 a month at 10% to $3,938.58 a month at 100% for a veteran with no dependents. Below are the full 2026 tables, how VA combines several ratings, what can lower the payment and what is known about the 2027 increase.
VA Disability Rates for 2026 at a Glance
| Disability rating | Monthly payment, veteran alone (no dependents), effective December 1, 2025 |
|---|---|
| 10% | $180.42 |
| 20% | $356.66 |
| 30% | $552.47 |
| 40% | $795.84 |
| 50% | $1,132.90 |
| 60% | $1,435.02 |
| 70% | $1,808.45 |
| 80% | $2,102.15 |
| 90% | $2,362.30 |
| 100% | $3,938.58 |
At 10% and 20%, the payment is the same whether or not you have dependents. VA says: "If you have a 10% to 20% disability rating, you won't receive a higher rate even if you have a dependent spouse, child, or parent."
2026 Rates With a Spouse, Children or Parents
From a 30% rating up, VA pays more if you have a dependent spouse, child or parent. Find the row that describes your family, then the column for your rating. The rates with a child already include payment for one child.
30% to 60% ratings, monthly, effective December 1, 2025
| Dependent status | 30% | 40% | 50% | 60% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Veteran alone (no dependents) | $552.47 | $795.84 | $1,132.90 | $1,435.02 |
| With spouse (no parents or children) | $617.47 | $882.84 | $1,241.90 | $1,566.02 |
| With spouse and 1 parent (no children) | $669.47 | $952.84 | $1,329.90 | $1,671.02 |
| With spouse and 2 parents (no children) | $721.47 | $1,022.84 | $1,417.90 | $1,776.02 |
| With 1 parent (no spouse or children) | $604.47 | $865.84 | $1,220.90 | $1,540.02 |
| With 2 parents (no spouse or children) | $656.47 | $935.84 | $1,308.90 | $1,645.02 |
| With 1 child only (no spouse or parents) | $596.47 | $853.84 | $1,205.90 | $1,523.02 |
| With 1 child and spouse (no parents) | $666.47 | $947.84 | $1,322.90 | $1,663.02 |
| With 1 child, spouse and 1 parent | $718.47 | $1,017.84 | $1,410.90 | $1,768.02 |
| With 1 child, spouse and 2 parents | $770.47 | $1,087.84 | $1,498.90 | $1,873.02 |
| With 1 child and 1 parent (no spouse) | $648.47 | $923.84 | $1,293.90 | $1,628.02 |
| With 1 child and 2 parents (no spouse) | $700.47 | $993.84 | $1,381.90 | $1,733.02 |
70% to 100% ratings, monthly, effective December 1, 2025
| Dependent status | 70% | 80% | 90% | 100% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Veteran alone (no dependents) | $1,808.45 | $2,102.15 | $2,362.30 | $3,938.58 |
| With spouse (no parents or children) | $1,961.45 | $2,277.15 | $2,559.30 | $4,158.17 |
| With spouse and 1 parent (no children) | $2,084.45 | $2,417.15 | $2,717.30 | $4,334.41 |
| With spouse and 2 parents (no children) | $2,207.45 | $2,557.15 | $2,875.30 | $4,510.65 |
| With 1 parent (no spouse or children) | $1,931.45 | $2,242.15 | $2,520.30 | $4,114.82 |
| With 2 parents (no spouse or children) | $2,054.45 | $2,382.15 | $2,678.30 | $4,291.06 |
| With 1 child only (no spouse or parents) | $1,910.45 | $2,219.15 | $2,494.30 | $4,085.43 |
| With 1 child and spouse (no parents) | $2,074.45 | $2,406.15 | $2,704.30 | $4,318.99 |
| With 1 child, spouse and 1 parent | $2,197.45 | $2,546.15 | $2,862.30 | $4,495.23 |
| With 1 child, spouse and 2 parents | $2,320.45 | $2,686.15 | $3,020.30 | $4,671.47 |
| With 1 child and 1 parent (no spouse) | $2,033.45 | $2,359.15 | $2,652.30 | $4,261.67 |
| With 1 child and 2 parents (no spouse) | $2,156.45 | $2,499.15 | $2,810.30 | $4,437.91 |
Added amounts, monthly, effective December 1, 2025
| Add for | 30% | 40% | 50% | 60% | 70% | 80% | 90% | 100% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Each additional child under age 18 | $32.00 | $43.00 | $54.00 | $65.00 | $76.00 | $87.00 | $98.00 | $109.11 |
| Each additional child over age 18 in a qualifying school program | $105.00 | $140.00 | $176.00 | $211.00 | $246.00 | $281.00 | $317.00 | $352.45 |
| Spouse receiving Aid and Attendance | $61.00 | $81.00 | $101.00 | $121.00 | $141.00 | $161.00 | $181.00 | $201.41 |
How to Read the Tables
Start with the basic monthly rate for your rating and family. If you have more than one child, or your spouse receives Aid and Attendance, add the amounts from the added amounts table. The basic rate with a child already pays for the first child, so you add the child amount only for each child after the first.
VA's own example: a veteran with a 70% rating, a spouse who receives Aid and Attendance and three children under 18 gets:
- $2,074.45 basic rate (spouse and 1 child)
- + $76 for the second child under 18
- + $76 for the third child under 18
- + $141 for a spouse who receives Aid and Attendance
- = $2,367.45 a month
A simpler VA example: a veteran rated 30% with a dependent spouse and no dependent parents or children gets a basic monthly rate of $617.47.
How VA Combines Multiple Ratings
If you have more than one rated condition, VA does not add the percentages. In VA's words, "Calculating your combined disability rating involves more than adding up your individual ratings." It uses the "whole person theory" so that your total rating never adds up to more than 100%.
The idea, from the rating regulation (38 CFR 4.25): a person with a 60% disability is treated as 40% "efficient." A further 30% disability takes 30% of what is left, leaving 28% efficiency, so the person is 72% disabled. VA starts with the most severe disability, works down the list, and then rounds the result to the nearest 10, with values ending in 5 rounded up.
| Individual ratings | Combined value | Final combined rating |
|---|---|---|
| 10% and 10% | 19% | 20% |
| 50% and 30% | 65% | 70% |
| 40% and 20% | 52% | 50% |
| 50%, 30% and 10% | 65%, then 69% | 70% |
| 60%, 40% and 20% | 76%, then 81% | 80% |
Bilateral factor. When you have rated disabilities in both arms, both legs or paired skeletal muscles, VA combines those ratings, then adds 10% of that value before combining the rest (38 CFR 4.26). It applies only when each of the two paired limbs has a disability of compensable degree. The regulation's example: 60%, 20%, and two bilateral 10% ratings become 60, 21 and 20, which combine to 74% and round to a final 70%.
VA's full combined ratings table is on its About disability ratings page.
Special Monthly Compensation (SMC)
VA describes special monthly compensation as "a higher rate of compensation that we pay to Veterans as well as their spouses, surviving spouses, and parents with certain needs or disabilities." It has its own letter levels. A few of the 2026 rates:
| SMC level | Monthly payment, effective December 1, 2025 |
|---|---|
| SMC-K (added to your basic rate, at any rating from 0% to 100%) | $139.87 |
| SMC-L, veteran alone | $4,900.83 |
| SMC-L, with spouse (no parents or children) | $5,120.42 |
| SMC-S, veteran alone | $4,408.53 |
| SMC-R.2/T, veteran alone | $11,271.67 |
You may receive 1 to 3 SMC-K awards on top of basic and SMC rates. VA says level R may apply if you need daily help from another person for basic needs such as dressing, eating and bathing, and level S may apply if you cannot leave the house because of your service-connected disabilities. For every SMC level and dependent amount, see VA's SMC rates page.
What Can Lower Your Payment
VA lists cases where your payment may be lower:
- You receive military retirement pay, disability severance pay or separation pay.
- You are incarcerated in a federal, state or local facility for more than 60 days for conviction of a felony.
If you are weighing military retired pay against VA compensation, our military retirement calculator covers retired pay. If a condition existed before service and service made it worse, VA bases the payment on the level of aggravation.
VA can pay more than the table rate if you have a very severe disability or loss of limb, if you have a spouse, child or dependent parent and a combined rating of 30% or more, or if your spouse has a serious disability.
Is VA Disability Taxable?
Not for federal income tax. IRS Publication 525 says: "Don't include in your income any veterans' benefits paid under any law, regulation, or administrative practice administered by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)." Its list of benefits you do not include names disability compensation and pension payments paid to veterans or their families.
The law behind this, 38 U.S.C. 5301(a), also exempts VA payments from the claims of creditors and from attachment, levy or seizure. There is one exception: VA benefits are not exempt from a federal tax levy by the IRS. We have not covered state tax rules here; check your state's tax agency.
VA disability compensation is a different program from Social Security disability. For that, see our guides to SSDI and whether Social Security is taxable.
When the 2027 Rates Start
VA says: "We're required by law to match the percentage of cost-of-living adjustments (COLA) made to Social Security benefits." The Social Security Administration has announced a 3.6% cost-of-living increase effective December 2026 (Federal Register notice of October 26, 2026). See our 2027 Social Security COLA page for that announcement, and the 2026 COLA for last year's.
As of November 11, 2026, VA had not posted its 2027 compensation table or said exactly what increase it will apply. Past tables took effect on December 1: the current table on December 1, 2025, and the 2025 table on December 1, 2024. The 2027 table is expected to follow that pattern, but VA has not announced a date. We do not publish projected 2027 amounts; we will add VA's table when it appears.
When Payments Start
Under VA's effective-date regulation (38 CFR 3.400), if VA receives your original claim within 1 year after you leave active service, compensation for a directly service-connected condition can start from the day after separation. If the claim comes later, the effective date is generally the date VA received the claim, or the date entitlement arose, whichever is later. For a rating increase, the date can go back up to 1 year before your claim, if the evidence shows the condition got worse by then and VA receives a complete claim or intent to file within that year.
You can file a claim up to 180 days before you leave the service, and there is no time limit on filing a claim after service. VA's decision letter shows your rating, your monthly payment amount and the date your payments start.
Sources & Methodology
- VA, Current Veterans Disability Compensation Rates (effective December 1, 2025; last updated November 2, 2026): every rate table and VA's worked examples.
- VA, Special monthly compensation rates (effective December 1, 2025).
- VA pages: Disability compensation rates (COLA sentence, what raises or lowers pay), About disability ratings, When to file, After you file.
- 38 CFR 4.25 and 4.26: combined ratings and the bilateral factor; 38 CFR 3.400: effective dates.
- IRS Publication 525 (veterans' benefits) and 38 U.S.C. 5301: tax and creditor exemption, IRS levy exception.
- Social Security Administration, 91 FR 67380 (October 26, 2026): 3.6% COLA effective December 2026.
Method notes. Every rate table was re-read from the VA pages on November 11, 2026, and the quoted rules from the other sources were re-checked the same day. The combined-rating examples are VA's and the regulation's; we did not add ratings of our own. The page shows only the 2026 tables in force on that date.
This article is general information, not legal or benefits advice. Wealthy Pot is not affiliated with the Department of Veterans Affairs. Figures were checked against VA pages, federal regulations and IRS guidance on 2026-11-11. Confirm your rate and payment with VA.
FAQ
How much is 100% VA disability per month in 2026?
$3,938.58 a month for a veteran with no dependents, effective December 1, 2025. With a spouse and no parents or children it is $4,158.17.
Do I get more at 10% or 20% if I am married?
No. At 10% and 20% the rate is the same with or without dependents. The dependent rates start at 30%.
How much is 70% VA disability with a spouse and one child?
$2,074.45 a month, effective December 1, 2025. Add $76 for each more child under 18.
Is VA disability compensation taxed?
It is not included in income for federal income tax, per IRS Publication 525. We have not covered state rules.
Do VA ratings add up?
No. VA combines them with the whole person method. For example, 50% and 30% combine to 65%, which rounds to a 70% rating.
When will the 2027 VA rates come out?
VA had not posted them as of November 11, 2026. VA matches the Social Security cost-of-living increase, which is 3.6% effective December 2026, and past VA tables took effect on December 1.
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"VA Disability Rates 2026: Monthly Pay by Rating (10% to 100%)." Wealthy Pot, 2026. https://wealthypot.com/va-disability-rates/
