You may have heard the expression VA Math — you may not have.

VA Math is a pretty common expression when you talk about disability compensation provided by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), and it applies to the formula and method used to calculate a combined disability rating for veterans who have multiple disabilities. The concept of VA Math operates on the principle that the veteran is a whole person and that different disabilities impact different parts of the body and individual, so simply adding separate disability ratings together to create a combined disability rating is inaccurate. If you are a veteran and want to know what VA Math is and how it works, VA Benefits Attorneys is here to answer your questions.

What Are VA Combined Disability Ratings?

A combined disability rating — and VA Math — are a way to calculate a single disability rating for a veteran with multiple service-connected disabilities, which simplifies VA disability compensation. VA Math and combined disability ratings operate on the principle that a disabled veteran is a whole person and cannot be more than 100% disabled, and that not all injuries, illnesses, and medical conditions are the same, and impact the veteran in different ways. This formula calculates the new disability against the remaining healthy percentage of the veteran starting with the highest disability rating to create a combined rating that is rounded up to the nearest 10%. VA Math is not simple addition and involves additional calculations.

READ MORE: What Are Temporary VA Disability Ratings?

How To Use VA Math to Calculate Combined Disability Ratings

VA Math can be complicated — but when you break down the steps needed to calculate a combined disability rating, it is simpler. This quick step-by-step calculation paired with the brief overview above will help you better understand combined disability ratings and how they might impact your disability compensation.

1. List Disability Ratings: Veterans will want to list all disability ratings from highest to lowest.
2. Start with 100%: VA Math starts with a 100% rating to reflect the whole person.
3. Calculate and Apply First Rating: Apply the first and highest disability rating to the 100% rating. Subtract that disability rating percentage from 100% to determine the healthy remainder.
   1. 60% Disability
   2. 100% Healthy – 60% Disability = 40% Healthy
   3. 60% Disabled and 40% Healthy
4. Calculate and Apply Second Rating: Take the next highest disability rating and calculate that percentage of only the remaining healthy percentage — not the original 100%. Add that disability percentage to the the already factored disability rating to determine a Total Raw Disability Rating
   1. 20% Disability
   2. 40% Healthy x .20 = 8% Disability
   3. 60% Disability + 8% Disability = 68% Total Raw Disability
   4. 68% Disabled and 32% Healthy
5. Repeat this Calculation for Any Additional Disabilities
6. Round Up or Down: Round the final combined disability rating to the nearest 10%
   1. 68% Total Raw Disability → 70% Combined Disability Rating

READ MORE: What Veterans Need to Know About VA Disability Claims Fraud

Veterans may have heard of VA Math and may have questions. Many veterans want to know — what is VA Math and how does it work? We hope that this overview created by VA Benefits Attorneys helps veterans understand how the Department of Veterans Affairs calculates combined disability ratings. 

Contact VA Benefits Attorneys today to find out how we can help with your disability claim!