VA Disability Calculator100% VA Disability Pay
At a 100% combined rating, VA’s official 2026 rate for a veteran alone is $3,938.58 per month, effective December 1, 2025. Spouse, parents, and children use the other rows VA publishes. The 2027 column is an estimate.
Check a set of ratings in the calculator or open 100% filled in. The 2026 pay chart has every percentage. How VA math works shows why several ratings can round to 100%.
2026 rates and the 2027 estimate
OFFICIAL 2026: VA.gov, effective December 1, 2025, checked October 19, 2026. ESTIMATE 2027: official 2026 amounts × the 3.6% COLA announced October 14, 2026, rounded to the cent.
| Dependent status | 2026 official | 2027 estimate | Difference / month |
|---|---|---|---|
| Veteran alone (no dependents) | $3,938.58 | $4,080.37 | +$141.79 |
| With spouse (no parents or children) | $4,158.17 | $4,307.86 | +$149.69 |
| With spouse and 1 parent | $4,334.41 | $4,490.45 | +$156.04 |
| With spouse and 2 parents | $4,510.65 | $4,673.03 | +$162.38 |
| With 1 parent | $4,114.82 | $4,262.95 | +$148.13 |
| With 2 parents | $4,291.06 | $4,445.54 | +$154.48 |
| With 1 child (no spouse or parents) | $4,085.43 | $4,232.51 | +$147.08 |
| With 1 child and spouse | $4,318.99 | $4,474.47 | +$155.48 |
| With 1 child, spouse, and 1 parent | $4,495.23 | $4,657.06 | +$161.83 |
| With 1 child, spouse, and 2 parents | $4,671.47 | $4,839.64 | +$168.17 |
| With 1 child and 1 parent | $4,261.67 | $4,415.09 | +$153.42 |
| With 1 child and 2 parents | $4,437.91 | $4,597.67 | +$159.76 |
Added amounts at 100%
Add these to the basic rate above. A “with 1 child” row already includes one child.
| Added amount | 2026 official | 2027 estimate |
|---|---|---|
| Each additional child under age 18 | $109.11 | $113.04 |
| Each additional child over 18 in a qualifying school program | $352.45 | $365.14 |
| Spouse receiving Aid and Attendance | $201.41 | $208.66 |
SMC levels above the basic 100% rate, including SMC-K and SMC-S, are on the SMC rate lookup. They are not in the table above.
Schedular 100%
A schedular 100% combined rating is the result of 38 CFR 4.25 (and 4.26, if the bilateral factor applies) after the final combined value rounds to 100%, or a single disability rated at 100% under its diagnostic code. The examples below are the math only.
One 100% rating
A single 100% rating is a schedular 100% combined rating. Nothing further is combined.
- One rating of 100% stays 100%.
90% and 50%
Two ratings combined under 38 CFR 4.25. The combined value rounds to 100%.
- Order by severity: 90, 50.
- 90 combined with 50: 90 + 50 × 10% = 95 → 95
- Combined value 95 rounds to the nearest 10: 100%.
80% and 80%
Two ratings combined under 38 CFR 4.25. The combined value rounds to 100%.
- Order by severity: 80, 80.
- 80 combined with 80: 80 + 80 × 20% = 96 → 96
- Combined value 96 rounds to the nearest 10: 100%.
60%, 60%, 60%, and 10%
Four ratings combined in order of severity, then rounded once.
- Order by severity: 60, 60, 60, 10.
- 60 combined with 60: 60 + 60 × 40% = 84 → 84
- 84 combined with 60: 84 + 60 × 16% = 93.6 → 94
- 94 combined with 10: 94 + 10 × 6% = 94.6 → 95
- Combined value 95 rounds to the nearest 10: 100%.
TDIU is paid at the 100% level
VA.gov says Individual Unemployability may pay disability compensation at the same level as a veteran who has a 100% disability rating. VA.gov also says that if you are eligible, the amount of the monthly payment changes and the disability rating stays the same. In VA’s example, a heart condition rated 60% can result in compensation increased to the same rate as a 100% disabled veteran.
38 CFR 4.16(a) is the schedular percentage path when the schedular rating is less than total. The TDIU percentage check tests those percentages. It does not decide whether a veteran can secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation. Paragraph (b) is the extra-schedular referral. It is not decided on this page.
Permanent and total is a separate finding
On its CHAMPVA page, VA says: “A ‘permanent and total disability’ is a disability that we’ve rated as 100% disabling and that’s not expected to improve.” A 100% combined rating, by itself, is the “100%” part of that sentence. The page’s “not expected to improve” part is the permanence finding. This site does not decide permanence.
Two family benefits that use that finding, as VA describes them:
- CHAMPVA. VA says you may be eligible if you are the spouse or dependent child of a veteran who has been rated permanently and totally disabled from a service-connected disability (or in the surviving-spouse and surviving-child situations the page lists), and you are not eligible for TRICARE. Page date August 7, 2026.
- Dependents’ Educational Assistance (DEA), also called Chapter 35. VA says one path is that the veteran is permanently and totally disabled due to a service-connected disability. The page also lists death, missing-in-action, captivity, and detention paths, and a service member hospitalized or in outpatient treatment for a service-connected permanent and total disability who is likely to be discharged for that disability. Page date September 22, 2026.
Neither of those VA pages discusses TDIU. This page does not say that TDIU, without a permanent-and-total finding, qualifies a family member for CHAMPVA or DEA.
Other rating amounts
For free help with a claim, find a VA-accredited representative.
Sources
- VA.gov veteran compensation rates, effective December 1, 2025, checked October 19, 2026.
- 38 CFR 4.25 and 38 CFR 4.16. eCFR title 38 latest issue date August 27, 2026. Retrieved October 20, 2026.
- VA.gov, Individual Unemployability. Page date April 27, 2026. Retrieved October 20, 2026.
- VA.gov, CHAMPVA. Page date August 7, 2026. Retrieved October 20, 2026.
- VA.gov, Dependents’ Educational Assistance. Page date September 22, 2026. Retrieved October 20, 2026.
- SSA COLA announcement, October 14, 2026, for the 2027 estimate.
Last checked October 20, 2026.
Frequently asked questions
Is a 100% rating the same as permanent and total?
Not by itself. VA’s CHAMPVA page says a permanent and total disability is a disability rated as 100% disabling that is not expected to improve. A combined rating of 100% does not, on that definition, say whether VA expects the disability to improve.
Does TDIU change the rating to 100%?
VA.gov says Individual Unemployability pays at the same level as a veteran with a 100% disability rating, and that the disability rating stays the same while the monthly payment changes. The rating schedule in 38 CFR 4.16 assigns a total rating for compensation when its requirements are met. The underlying schedular rating can remain less than 100%.
Which benefits require permanent and total disability?
VA’s CHAMPVA page and VA’s Dependents’ Educational Assistance (Chapter 35) page each list permanent and total service-connected disability as one eligibility path for family members. Those pages do not discuss TDIU. This page does not say TDIU qualifies for either benefit.