Combined Rating Goal Planner
Most calculators tell you your number. This one works backward: enter your current ratings and see the smallest single new disability rating that would carry your combined value into the next bracket, and what it would add to your monthly pay. This is the VA math, not a prediction.
Add the disability ratings you already have, then press "Show my path." We will compute your combined rating today and, for each higher bracket, the smallest single new rating that would get you there, along with the monthly pay difference. This is the VA math, not a prediction or advice to file.
Questions veterans ask about reaching the next bracket
Does this predict what VA will grant?
No. This is the VA combined-ratings math (38 CFR 4.25) run in reverse. It shows the size of a new rating that would, on its own, carry your combined value into the next bracket. It does not predict whether VA will grant any particular rating, and it is not advice to file.
Why isn't reaching the next bracket just another 10 percent?
VA does not add ratings. Each new disability is applied only to the part of you still considered healthy, so the higher your combined value already is, the larger a new rating has to be to move you up a bracket. That is why going from 90 to 100 can take a much larger new rating than going from 30 to 40.
What about the bilateral factor?
This planner assumes the new disability is on a body part not paired with an existing rating, so no bilateral factor applies. A new rating on a paired arm or leg can trigger the bilateral factor under 38 CFR 4.26 and change the result. Use the Combined Rating and Bilateral calculators to model that case.
Will a higher combined value automatically mean more money?
Compensation is set in 10 percent steps, so two combined values that round to the same bracket pay the same. The dollar figures here use the current pay table for the dependent details you entered. Crossing a rounding threshold is what raises your official rating and your monthly payment.