Your VA disability compensation is scheduled to increase on December 1, 2026. The exact percentage will not be official until October 14, when the government releases the September inflation data. What Social Security announces in the morning, VA compensation will follow.
How the 2027 COLA Is Calculated
VA doesn’t choose the percentage. Social Security does, using a formula written into federal law.
The adjustment equals the increase in the average Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) for July, August, and September compared with the same months of the previous year. The Social Security Administration explains the calculation, which is rounded to the nearest tenth of a percent.
Two of those three months have already passed. August’s CPI-W was 3.5% higher than a year earlier, and most forecasters now expect the 2027 COLA to be between 3.4% and 3.6%. The Senior Citizens League’s latest estimate is 3.5%, while the 2026 adjustment was 2.8%, by comparison.
Congress Still Has to Approve the VA Increase
Social Security COLAs happen on their own. VA disability compensation needs a separate law every year, the Veterans’ Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act needs a separate law every year. Last year’s version, Public Law 119-42, was signed on November 25th, 2025. That was less than a week before December 1st, the effective date.
What the Increase Covers
Once the law has been passed, you won’t need to file any paperwork. The adjustments include:
- Basic compensation at each rating level, ranging from 10% to 100%.
- Additional amounts for a spouse, children, or dependent parents (available starting at 30%).
- Special monthly compensation.
- Annual clothing allowance.
- Dependency and Indemnity Compensation for surviving spouses and children.
The VA pension works differently, as its rates adjust automatically according to existing law.
When the Higher Payment Arrives
VA pays compensation in arrears, so the December benefit is paid at the start of the next month. Because January 1 is a federal holiday, the first payment at the 2027 rate should arrive around December 31, 2026.
What a COLA Can’t Fix
A COLA (Cost of Living Adjustment) is a percentage increase in your salary based on your current salary. If your rating is low, your COLA will be low.
- If you get a 0% rating, you will get a 0% increase. No matter what percentage you get, zero times any number is still zero.
- Dependents who are not listed will remain unlisted. If you have a spouse or child listed at 30% or above, they will not receive any additional amount or COLA.
- Errors accumulate. Each increase is added to the previous one, so an underestimated condition will fall further behind every year.
The bigger lever is the rating itself. Moving up even one rating level usually means more than any single year’s COLA, and a successful appeal can carry back pay to your effective date.
Steps to Take Before December
- Review your most recent VA rating decision. Confirm each condition and percentage listed.
- If you have dependents listed in your VA record, please check your VA.gov account to ensure they are accurate.
- Are you disagreeing with a decision made in the past year? If so, please act before the one-year deadline to avoid losing your original effective date.
- Be sure to watch for the October 14 announcement regarding the new VA rate tables.
Make Sure Your Raise Starts From the Right Rating
The 2027 COLA will help, but it only multiplies the VA rating that has already been assigned. If that rating does not reflect your service-connected conditions, then every annual increase will carry the same mistake forward.
Coskrey Law represents veterans in VA disability claims and appeals, including cases before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals. We work on a contingency fee basis, so you don’t pay for our legal services until you obtain a benefit.
Contact Coskrey Law today and have your rating decision reviewed before the new rates take effect.