60 and 30% VA Disability = 70%
A 60 and 30% VA disability combination equals a 70% combined rating - not 90%. It pays $1,808/month in 2026 for a veteran alone ($1,961 with a spouse). Here is exactly how the VA gets there.
| Rating | Healthy before | Adds | Running total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 60% | 100% | +60 | 60% |
| 30% | 40% | +12 | 72% |
| Combined (72%, rounded to nearest 10%) | 70% | ||
How 60 and 30 becomes 70%
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 60 and 30: the 60% rating is taken in full, leaving 40% of the whole person; the 30% rating applies only to the 40% still healthy, adding 12 points for a running 72%. The exact combined value is 72%, which the VA rounds to the nearest 10 to get 70%. Adding the numbers the ordinary way would give 90%, and that gap of 20 points is the single most common misunderstanding in a rating decision letter.
At 72% exact, this combination sits 3.0 points below the line where rounding would produce 80%. One additional service-connected condition rated at 20% or more would move the combined rating to 80%. Going the other way, if the 30% rating were reduced to zero the combined rating would be 60%.
Money-wise, 70% pays $1,808 a month in 2026 for a veteran with no dependents ($21,701 a year, tax-free). With a spouse it is $1,961, and with a spouse and one child $2,074; dependents only count from 30% upward, which is why a 20% rating pays the same whether or not you are married. At 70% or higher with at least one condition rated 40% or more, a veteran unable to keep substantially gainful work can apply for TDIU, which pays at the 100% rate without a 100% schedular rating.
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 60 and 30% VA disability combined?
- 60 and 30% combines to a 70% VA disability rating (72% before rounding to the nearest 10%), not 90%. The VA uses whole-person math: each rating only applies to the portion still healthy after the previous one. A 70% rating pays $1,808/month in 2026 for a veteran alone.
- Why isn't 60 and 30 equal to 90%?
- Because the VA never adds ratings. After a 60% rating, only 40% 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/60-and-30.