Why your VA rating isn’t what you think it is
Updated September 2026
If you've added up your ratings and gotten a different number than the one on your decision letter, you didn't do the math wrong. The VA just doesn't add.
The VA starts from what's left of you
The VA treats you as 100% whole to begin with. Your highest rating comes off first. Every rating after that applies only to what's left, not to the original 100.
Say you're rated 50%, 20%, and 20%.
50% of 100 leaves 50. The next 20% takes 20% of that 50, which is 10. Now you're at 60, with 40 left. The last 20% takes 20% of 40, which is 8. That's 68.
Not 90. Sixty-eight.
This is 38 CFR § 4.25, and it's the single most common reason a veteran thinks the VA shorted them.
Then it rounds
The combined number rounds to the nearest 10. So 68 becomes 70%. A 74 also becomes 70. A 75 becomes 80.
That one-point line matters more than almost anything else in your file. Two veterans with nearly identical conditions can sit in different pay tiers because one landed at 74 and the other at 75.
The bilateral factor, which almost nobody knows about
If you have ratings on both sides of a pair, such as both knees, both feet, or both shoulders, the VA combines those paired ratings first, then adds 10% of that result on top, before combining with everything else. That's 38 CFR § 4.26.
Two knees at 10% each combine to 19. The bilateral factor adds 1.9, for 20.9, which rounds to 21. That 21 is then treated as a single rating and combined with the rest.
It's small, but it's free, and it can be the point that pushes 74 to 75.
Why a single point is worth real money
In 2026 a veteran with no dependents receives $1,808.45 a month at 70% and $2,102.15 at 80%. That's about $3,500 a year, tax-free, for one rating tier. The jump from 90% to 100% is over $1,500 a month.
So when you're deciding whether a new claim is worth filing, the question isn't "what's it rated?" It's "does it move my combined number across a rounding line?" A 10% rating for tinnitus that takes you from 73 to 76 is worth more than a 30% rating that leaves you at 88.
Dependents change the check, not the rating
At 30% and above, a spouse, children under 18, children 18 to 23 in school, and up to two dependent parents each add a fixed amount per month. At 10% and 20% they add nothing. Adding a dependent you forgot to report is often the easiest raise a veteran can get.
Run your own numbers.
The Guidon rating calculator does the combining, the bilateral factor, the rounding, and the 2026 dependent pay in one place. It runs on your phone and stores nothing.
If your math doesn't match your decision letter, that's worth a closer look with an accredited representative who can act for you. Guidon helps you understand the number. It won't file anything.
Sources: 38 CFR § 4.25 (combined ratings), 38 CFR § 4.26 (bilateral factor). Pay figures are 2026 VA compensation rates effective December 1, 2025. Educational information, not legal or claims advice. Verify at va.gov or with an accredited VSO.