60 and 40% VA Disability = 80%
A 60 and 40% VA disability combination equals a 80% combined rating - not 100%. It pays $2,102/month in 2026 for a veteran alone ($2,277 with a spouse). Here is exactly how the VA gets there.
| Rating | Healthy before | Adds | Running total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 60% | 100% | +60 | 60% |
| 40% | 40% | +16 | 76% |
| Combined (76%, rounded to nearest 10%) | 80% | ||
How 60 and 40 becomes 80%
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 40: the 60% rating is taken in full, leaving 40% of the whole person; the 40% rating applies only to the 40% still healthy, adding 16 points for a running 76%. The exact combined value is 76%, which the VA rounds to the nearest 10 to get 80%. Adding the numbers the ordinary way would give 100%, and that gap of 20 points is the single most common misunderstanding in a rating decision letter.
At 76% exact, this combination sits 9.0 points below the line where rounding would produce 90%. One additional service-connected condition rated at 40% or more would move the combined rating to 90%. Going the other way, if the 40% rating were reduced to zero the combined rating would be 60%.
Money-wise, 80% pays $2,102 a month in 2026 for a veteran with no dependents ($25,226 a year, tax-free). With a spouse it is $2,277, and with a spouse and one child $2,406; 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 40% VA disability combined?
- 60 and 40% combines to a 80% VA disability rating (76% before rounding to the nearest 10%), not 100%. The VA uses whole-person math: each rating only applies to the portion still healthy after the previous one. A 80% rating pays $2,102/month in 2026 for a veteran alone.
- Why isn't 60 and 40 equal to 100%?
- 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-40.