2026 VA Disability Compensation Rates: What Changed and What to Verify

VA’s 2026 compensation table, effective December 1, 2025, lists $180.42 per month for a 10% rating and $356.66 for a 20% rating. At 100%, the base rate for a Veteran alone is $3,938.58 per month. The amount can be higher when qualifying dependents are added.

Compensation is generally tax-free. But the amount shown on a rate table is not automatically the amount owed in a particular case.

• VA combines multiple ratings under the whole-person method; it does not simply add percentages.
• Dependent compensation generally begins at a combined rating of 30% or more, but VA must have the correct dependency information and effective date.
• Cost-of-living increases can change the monthly rate during a long retroactive period.
• Retirement pay, separation pay, incarceration, withholding, apportionment, and prior payments can change the net amount.
• The first payable date may differ from the legal effective date.

Build a month-by-month comparison between what VA actually paid and what VA would have paid under the proposed corrected rating and dependency status. Treat the result as a range until the code sheet, award print, payment history, and effective-date rules are reconciled.

ClaimScope can show possible back pay, but no estimate is a promise of an award or payment amount.