🎚️ What-If Simulator
See exactly what a new claim is worth before you file it. Stack your current ratings, add a hypothetical, and watch the combined math + monthly check change in real time.
Your current ratings
Service-connected ratings you already have.
Proposed new claim
The claim you're thinking about filing. Adjust the rating to see what each tier is worth.
Marginal value of the new claim
$667.13/mo
Annual
$8,006
30-year lifetime
$240,167
Combined rating change
Now
60%
$1,435.02/mo
After new claim
80%
$2,102.15/mo
Pre-round combined: 55% → 78% · +20% bump
Round-up math
Your new pre-rounding combined is 78%. VA rounds to the nearest 10 → 80%. You got rounded up by 2 points. Small claims that push your raw total just over an x5 threshold (e.g. 65 → 70) are quietly worth more than they look — that's where vets get the biggest bang per claim.
How VA combined math actually works
VA doesn't add ratings — it uses the "efficiency" method from 38 CFR § 4.25. Imagine your body as 100% efficient. Your highest rating takes a bite out of that. The next rating only takes a bite out of what's left.
Worked example — 50% PTSD + 30% sleep apnea + 10% tinnitus
- Step 1. Sort highest first: 50%, 30%, 10%.
- Step 2. Start with 50%. Remaining efficiency = 50%.
- Step 3. Add 30%: take 30% of the remaining 50% = 15%. New combined = 50 + 15 = 65%.
- Step 4. Add 10%: take 10% of the remaining 35% = 3.5% → rounds to 4%. New combined = 65 + 4 = 69%.
- Step 5. Round to nearest 10 → 70% combined rating.
Naively adding would give 90%. The efficiency method gives 70%. That 30-point gap is why simply "stacking small claims" doesn't work — and why the round-up is so valuable when it happens.
§ 4.26 — Bilateral factor
If 2+ ratings affect paired extremities (both legs, both arms), VA combines those ratings first, then adds a 10% bonus on top of that subtotal before mixing with the rest.
Round-up threshold
Anything ending in 5 or higher rounds up. 64% → 60%. 65% → 70%. A single percentage point at the threshold can move you a full rating tier and add hundreds of dollars per month.
Combined math isn't simple addition. Adding a 30% claim to your existing 50% doesn't make 80% — VA uses the § 4.25 efficiency formula. This tool runs that math, including § 4.26 bilateral factor where applicable, against the 2026 pay tables (2025-12-01 COLA). Lifetime figure assumes 30 years at the current rate in nominal dollars (no COLA projection). Estimates only — confirm exact figures on va.gov or with a VA-accredited VSO.
Rates effective
2025-12-01
FY2026
100% single-vet base
$3,938.58
$47,263 / yr
Dependents threshold
30% rating
Below 30% pays vet-alone rate