Few things confuse veterans more than opening a rating decision, seeing a 70% rating for one condition and a 40% rating for another, and reading a combined rating of 80%. It looks like a mistake. It isn’t. VA doesn’t add ratings together. It combines them using a formula that treats every rating as a share of whatever ability you have left. Once you understand the math, you can see where a claim stands and which next step can actually raise your rating.
VA Starts From a “Whole Person”
VA treats every veteran as starting at 100% healthy. Your first rating takes a share of that whole. Each additional rating takes its share from what remains, not from the original 100%.
That’s why the combined value never actually reaches 100%, however many conditions you have. Only rounding a combined value of 95% or higher gets you to a 100% rating. VA uses a combined ratings table to do the arithmetic, explained on its own page about how disability ratings are calculated.
Walking Through 70% and 40%
Here’s how VA gets from 70% and 40% to 80%:
- Start with the highest rating. A 70% rating means you’re treated as 30% “efficient,” or healthy.
- Apply the next rating to what’s left. 40% of the remaining 30% is 12%.
- Add that to the first rating. 70% plus 12% equals a combined value of 82%.
- Round to the nearest 10. 82% rounds down to 80%.
VA always applies ratings from highest to lowest, and it only rounds once, at the very end.
Why Rounding Can Matter More Than a New Condition
The final number is rounded to the nearest 10%, with values ending in 5 or higher rounding up. A combined value of 84% becomes 80%. A combined value of 85% becomes 90%.
That makes some ratings far more valuable than they look. A veteran with a combined value of 82% may only need a small additional rating to cross 85% and move up a full payment level. A veteran at 76% could add a 10% condition, reach a combined value of about 78%, and see no change at all in their payment.
The Bilateral Factor: A Bonus Most Veterans Miss
When disabilities affect both arms or both legs, VA applies an extra rule called the bilateral factor. VA first combines the ratings for those paired limbs, then adds 10% of that combined value before combining the result with your other conditions.
A veteran with a 20% rating on each knee, for example, gets slightly more credit than two ordinary 20% ratings would provide. That extra credit can be enough to change how the final number rounds. Knee, hip, and ankle ratings are also some of the most commonly underrated conditions. We explain why in our article on the VA’s zero-percent joint rating problem.
Where 70% Plus 40% Can Still Lead to 100% Pay
The combined ratings formula has a limit, but it isn’t the only path to full compensation. A veteran who has one condition rated at least 40%, and a combined rating of at least 70%, meets the basic rating requirements for Total Disability based on Individual Unemployability (TDIU). That is exactly the 70% and 40% pairing.
If your service-connected conditions keep you from holding substantially gainful employment, TDIU can pay you at the 100% rate even though your combined rating says 80%. Many veterans who qualify never apply, because nothing in the rating decision tells them to.
What to Check on Your Rating Decision
Before accepting your combined rating, review:
- Every condition listed, and whether its individual percentage matches your symptoms under the rating criteria.
- Whether conditions affecting both arms or both legs received the bilateral factor.
- Whether any condition is missing, including secondary conditions caused by an existing service-connected disability.
- Whether your ratings and employment history make you eligible for TDIU.
- Your deadline. You generally have one year from the decision to preserve your effective date.
Get Your Combined Rating Reviewed
VA math isn’t intuitive, and errors are easy to miss when you’re reading the numbers one at a time. A single corrected rating can change your combined percentage, your monthly payment, and every cost-of-living increase that follows.
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 unless you obtain a benefit.
Contact Coskrey Law today to have your combined rating checked.