30 and 20% VA Disability = 40%
A 30 and 20% VA disability combination equals a 40% combined rating - not 50%. It pays $796/month in 2026 for a veteran alone ($883 with a spouse). Here is exactly how the VA gets there.
| Rating | Healthy before | Adds | Running total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30% | 100% | +30 | 30% |
| 20% | 70% | +14 | 44% |
| Combined (44%, rounded to nearest 10%) | 40% | ||
How 30 and 20 becomes 40%
The VA orders the ratings from highest to lowest and applies each one to whatever part of the person the earlier ratings left untouched. For 30 and 20: the 30% rating is taken in full, leaving 70% of the whole person; the 20% rating applies only to the 70% still healthy, adding 14 points for a running 44%. The exact combined value is 44%, which the VA rounds to the nearest 10 to get 40%. Adding the numbers the ordinary way would give 50%, and that gap of 10 points is the single most common misunderstanding in a rating decision letter.
At 44% exact, this combination sits 1.0 points below the line where rounding would produce 50%. One additional service-connected condition rated at 10% or more would move the combined rating to 50%. Going the other way, if the 20% rating were reduced to zero the combined rating would be 30%.
Money-wise, 40% pays $796 a month in 2026 for a veteran with no dependents ($9,550 a year, tax-free). With a spouse it is $883, and with a spouse and one child $948; dependents only count from 30% upward, which is why a 20% rating pays the same whether or not you are married. The next milestones are 30% (dependent add-ons begin) and 70% (the TDIU threshold, paid at the 100% rate for veterans who cannot work).
Two things this page cannot see: the bilateral factor (paired arms or legs get an extra 10% of their combined value before the next step) and conditions rated at 0%. Enter your actual decision-letter ratings in the combined rating calculator for an exact figure, and read the combined ratings guide for the rounding and bilateral rules in full.
Frequently asked
- What is 30 and 20% VA disability combined?
- 30 and 20% combines to a 40% VA disability rating (44% before rounding to the nearest 10%), not 50%. The VA uses whole-person math: each rating only applies to the portion still healthy after the previous one. A 40% rating pays $796/month in 2026 for a veteran alone.
- Why isn't 30 and 20 equal to 50%?
- Because the VA never adds ratings. After a 30% rating, only 70% of the "whole person" is left, so the next rating applies to that smaller amount. This always yields less than the simple sum, capped at 100%.
- Does the order of the ratings matter?
- Not to the result: multiplying the remaining healthy percentages gives the same exact value in any order. The VA lists highest first by convention, and this page follows it so the steps match a rating decision. The shareable link for this set is /disability/combined/30-and-20.