VA Disability Compensation Rates Explained: What You Need to Know

When a veteran develops a disabling condition due to their military service, they may qualify for various benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs. VA disability benefits can include monthly compensation. The amount of compensation that a veteran may receive for a service-connected disability will depend on various factors. Understanding how the VA determines disability compensation rates can ensure that you receive the maximum benefits owed to you. 

Understanding VA Disability Compensation

The VA provides veterans who qualify for disability benefits with financial compensation in the form of tax-free monthly payments. A veteran can qualify for benefits when they have a disability or medical condition connected to the veteran’s military service that impairs the veteran’s professional or social functioning. 

How the VA Determines Disability Compensation Rates

The VA primarily bases disability compensation on the veteran’s disability rating. A veteran can receive a disability rating of zero, ten, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, or 100 percent. The VA assigns specific disability ratings to a medical condition based on the symptoms experienced by the veteran or the particular ways that the condition affects the veteran’s daily functioning. When a veteran has two or more primary service-connected conditions or one or more primary service-connected conditions and one or more secondary conditions (a condition caused or aggravated by a primary service-connected condition), the VA will assign a combined disability rating, which uses a table to factor in the disability rating of each condition to determine the veteran’s specific combined rating.

Current VA Disability Compensation Rates

As of 2025, base monthly disability compensation rates for each disability rating include:

• Ten percent: $175.51
• 20 percent: $346.95
• 30 percent: $537.42
• 40 percent: $774.16
• 50 percent: $1,102.04
• 60 percent: $1,395.93
• 70 percent: $1,759.19
• 80 percent: $2,044.89
• 90 percent: $2,297.96
• 100 percent: $3,831.30

Veterans can receive higher monthly compensation based on the dependents in their household, such as a spouse, parents, children under 18, or children over 18 in qualifying school programs.

The VA typically increases VA disability compensation rates annually under a cost-of-living adjustment (COLA). The VA uses the same annual COLA announced by the Social Security Administration for Social Security benefits, based on the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers.

Additional Compensation and Special Circumstances

Veterans may obtain additional compensation through VA disability benefit programs such as:

• Additional compensation for spouses receiving Aid and Attendance benefits (when a veteran needs help with daily activities or spends all or most of their time in bed due to a service-connected condition)
• Special monthly compensation payments for veterans with specific disabilities or needs, such as amputations, loss of use of limbs, physical loss of eyes, loss of sight or total blindness in one or both eyes, or becoming permanently bedridden
• Automobile allowances to purchase a specially equipped vehicle for a veteran whose service-connected disability prevents them from driving
• Clothing allowances for veterans who need skin medicine, orthopedic devices, or prosthetics that damage clothing
• Additional pensions for Medal of Honor recipients

Depending on a veteran’s disability rating, they may qualify for specific programs that can increase their disability compensation rate. For example, a veteran may obtain disability compensation at the 100 percent rate if they cannot maintain steady employment due to a service-connected disability and they have at least one disability rated at 60 percent or two or more disabilities with one rated at least 40 percent and a combined rating of 70 percent or more.

Contact a VA Disability Lawyer Today

When you have a service-connected disability or health condition, you may have the right to disability compensation from the VA. Contact Veterans Benefits Law Group today for a free, no-obligation consultation with a VA disability benefits attorney to learn more about how the VA determines disability compensation rates.