VA Rounding Rules: When Does Your Rating Round Up or Down?

The Basic Rule: VA Ratings Are Always a Multiple of 10

Your final combined VA disability rating will always end in a zero. The VA does not issue ratings of 74%, 83%, or 91%. Every final rating is one of these:

0%, 10%, 20%, 30%, 40%, 50%, 60%, 70%, 80%, 90%, 100%

After the VA runs the whole person combined rating formula, the raw result gets rounded to the nearest 10%.

The rounding rule is simple:

• Raw combined value of 1% to 4% rounds DOWN to the lower 10
• Raw combined value of 5% to 9% rounds UP to the higher 10

This is why two veterans with nearly identical disabilities can end up with very different monthly pay. A raw value of 74% and a raw value of 75% look almost the same on paper but produce a $285 per month difference in compensation.

The Most Important Threshold: 94% vs 95%

This is the number every veteran needs to know.

A raw combined value of 94% rounds DOWN to 90%.
A raw combined value of 95% rounds UP to 100%.

The difference in monthly pay between 90% and 100% in 2026:

That is a difference of $1,533.34 per month or $18,400 per year.

One percentage point in your raw combined value. Eighteen thousand dollars a year.

This is why veterans with ratings around 90% spend so much time trying to get one more condition service-connected or increase an existing rating. It is not obsession. It is math.

Use the VA Combined Rating Calculator to see exactly where your raw combined value sits and how far you are from the next threshold.

How Rounding Works Inside the Formula

Here is something the VA does not explain clearly: rounding only happens once, at the very end.

During the calculation itself the VA does not round intermediate values. It carries the decimals through the entire formula and only rounds the final result.

Example:

Veteran has three conditions:

• PTSD: 70%
• Sleep apnea: 50%
• Tinnitus: 10%

Step 1: Apply PTSD to the whole person.
100 × 70% = 70 points of disability. Remaining whole person = 30%.

Step 2: Apply sleep apnea to the remaining whole person.
30 × 50% = 15 points of disability. Remaining whole person = 15%.

Step 3: Apply tinnitus to the remaining whole person.
15 × 10% = 1.5 points of disability.

Step 4: Add all points.
70 + 15 + 1.5 = 86.5%

Step 5: Round to nearest 10.
86.5% rounds up to 90%.

The VA did not round 1.5 to 2 during step 3. It carried the decimal and only applied rounding at the very end. This matters because rounding mid-formula would produce a different and less accurate result.

See the full explanation of VA math and the whole person concept if you want to understand how the formula works at each stage.

How Individual Condition Ratings Are Rounded

Before the combined rating calculation even begins, each individual condition gets assigned a rating. These ratings follow a slightly different rounding rule.

Individual condition ratings are always assigned in increments of 10% for most conditions, with some conditions using finer increments of 0%, 10%, 20%, 30%, 40%, 50%, 60%, 70%, 80%, 90%, or 100%.

However, some diagnostic codes allow for ratings at 0%, 5%, 10%, 20% and so on with 5% increments at the lower end. For these conditions:

• A symptom level that falls between two ratings gets assigned the nearest rating
• If it falls exactly between two ratings, the VA is supposed to assign the higher rating under the benefit of the doubt rule (38 CFR 4.3)

The benefit of the doubt rule is important. If evidence is roughly equal for two different rating levels, the VA must resolve the question in the veteran's favor. If you believe your individual condition was rated at the lower of two possible values without clear justification, that is grounds for an appeal.

The 94% Trap: Why So Many Veterans Get Stuck at 90%

Veterans near the 100% threshold often get frustrated because adding more conditions seems to do almost nothing. Here is why.

If your current combined value is already 85%, adding a new 10% condition does not add 10 points. It adds a fraction of the remaining whole person.

Example:
Combined value currently at 85%. New 10% condition added.

Remaining whole person = 15%.
15 × 10% = 1.5 points added.
New combined value = 86.5%. Still rounds to 90%.

To reach a raw combined value of 95% from 85%, you need enough new conditions to add 10 points of whole person disability. Because each new condition works on a shrinking remainder, you often need multiple new conditions or a significant rating increase on an existing one.

This is why veterans near 100% are better served by increasing existing ratings than by adding new low-percentage conditions. A PTSD rating increase from 70% to 100% adds far more to the combined total than adding five new 10% conditions.

See how to increase your VA disability rating for specific strategies based on where your combined value currently sits.

What Happens to the Bilateral Factor and Rounding

If you have bilateral conditions, the bilateral factor is calculated and added before the final rounding step. The bilateral factor itself is rounded to the nearest whole number during its own calculation, but the final combined value including the bilateral adjustment is only rounded once at the very end.

This is consistent with the general rule: rounding happens at the final step, not during intermediate calculations.

Checking If Your Rating Was Rounded Correctly

Your VA rating decision letter should include a breakdown showing how your combined rating was calculated. Look for a section titled "Combined Ratings Formula" or similar language.

What to check:

1. Is the raw combined value shown before rounding?
2. Does the final rating match the correct rounding rule for that raw value?
3. Were all your service-connected conditions included in the calculation?
4. If you have bilateral conditions, was the bilateral factor applied before the final combination?

If any of these are missing or incorrect, you have grounds to request a higher-level review or file a supplemental claim with corrected evidence.

You can verify the math yourself using the VA Combined Rating Calculator which applies the official 38 CFR 4.25 formula and shows you the raw combined value before rounding.

Rounding and TDIU

Total Disability Individual Unemployability (TDIU) has its own thresholds that interact with rounding in an important way.

To qualify for TDIU based on a single condition, you generally need a rating of 60% or higher for that condition. For multiple conditions, you generally need a combined rating of 70% or higher with at least one condition rated 40% or higher.

These thresholds use your final rounded rating, not your raw combined value. A veteran with a raw combined value of 68% that rounds to 70% meets the TDIU threshold. A veteran with a raw combined value of 64% that rounds to 60% does not meet it with a combined rating alone.

This is another reason why understanding exactly where your raw combined value sits matters beyond just the monthly pay table.

Frequently Asked Questions

Key Takeaways

• Final VA combined ratings always end in 0 and are rounded to the nearest 10%
• Values ending in 1 to 4 round down; values ending in 5 to 9 round up
• The 94% to 95% threshold is the most important rounding line in the entire system
• Rounding only happens once at the very end of the formula, not during intermediate steps
• If you are near a threshold, increasing an existing rating is more effective than adding new low-percentage conditions
• You can verify your exact raw combined value using the VA Combined Rating Calculator

Related Articles

• VA Math Explained: Why 50 + 30 Does Not Equal 80
• How VA Combined Ratings Are Calculated Step by Step
• What Is the VA Whole Person Concept?
• What Is the VA Bilateral Factor and How Does It Work?
• Why Adding More Disabilities Barely Increases Your VA Rating
• How to Increase Your VA Disability Rating
• 2026 VA Disability Pay Rates by Rating