2026 VA Disability Pay Rates: The Complete Monthly Compensation Table

These are the official VA disability compensation rates for 2026, effective December 1, 2025 after the year's 2.8% cost-of-living adjustment, verified against the VA.gov table. All amounts are monthly and tax-free.

2026 monthly rates

(10% and 20% pay the flat rate regardless of dependents — dependent additions start at 30%.)

Two things jump out of that table if you look closely:

The jumps are not even. Going from 90% to 100% is worth over $1,576/month — by far the biggest single step, and the reason TDIU (which pays the 100% rate at 70%+ combined when conditions prevent work) matters so much to veterans near the top. Going from 40% to 50% is worth $337. The higher you climb, the more each step matters.

A rating is worth more than its monthly number. A 50% rating is $1,132.90/month — about $13,595 a year and roughly $135,000 over ten years, tax-free, before annual cost-of-living increases. This is why leaving a claimable condition unclaimed is one of the most expensive mistakes a veteran can make.

Dependents raise the number (starting at 30%)

From 30% up, the VA adds monthly amounts for a spouse, children, and dependent parents — the "with spouse" column above shows the most common case. At the 100% level: each child under 18 adds $109.11 beyond the first, a child in college (18–23) adds $352.45, and a spouse receiving Aid and Attendance adds more still. Two practical notes:

• Dependents only pay if they're on file. Add them promptly (VA Form 21-686c on VA.gov) — added within a year of the rating, the dependent portion pays back to the rating's effective date.
• Separate from all of this is SMC — Special Monthly Compensation, paid above the schedular rates for specific circumstances like the loss of use of a limb or the need for aid and attendance. If that may apply to you, it's its own topic worth reading up on at VA.gov.

How your combined rating actually works (it's not addition)

Here's the part that surprises everyone: 50% + 50% does not equal 100%. The VA combines ratings instead of adding them — each new rating only takes a percentage of what's left. A 50% rating leaves 50% remaining; a second 50% takes half of that remainder (25 more), landing at 75%, which rounds to 80%.

The full VA-math walkthrough shows the method with worked examples, and the VA disability calculator runs your actual conditions through it — including the bilateral factor and the rounding rule — with these 2026 rates attached, so you can see what any new rating would actually be worth to you.

What each level gets you beyond the check

The dollar table is half the story — rating thresholds also open specific benefits: free VA healthcare for any condition at 50%, TDIU eligibility at 60–70%, CHAMPVA for your family and an end to re-exams at 100% Permanent & Total. The full threshold-by-threshold map covers what opens at every level.

Rates change every December

These figures include the 2.8% COLA that took effect December 1, 2025 — the adjustment tracks Social Security's, is announced each October, and applies automatically to everyone rated 10% or higher (including TDIU and SMC recipients). Because the VA pays in arrears — each deposit on the first business day of the month covers the month before — a December rate change first shows up in the January deposit. New rates take effect each December 1; we update this page when the new table drops.

Source: VA.gov — Veterans disability compensation rates, verified 2026. Amounts shown are the official published figures; the VA's determination letter is always authoritative for your individual case.