VA disability · one rating
30% VA disability rating: dependents enter the payment
At 30%, VA starts paying for a spouse, children and dependent parents. Here is what each one adds in 2026, and what you must send VA for it.
What 30% pays your family each month
Monthly compensation at 30%
$666.47
| Per year, tax free | $7,998 |
| Veteran alone | $552.47 |
| Added for your dependents | $114 |
A 30% VA disability rating pays $552.47 a month in 2026 to a veteran with no dependents and $617.47 to a married veteran, under the rates effective December 1, 2025. Thirty is the line drawn by 38 U.S.C. 1115: from this combined rating, VA adds compensation for a spouse, children and dependent parents, in amounts that grow with the rating. At 30% a spouse is worth $65 a month, a first child $44 for a veteran without a spouse, each further child under 18 $32 and each child aged 18 to 23 in school $105. Those amounts reach the payment only when the dependents are on VA's records, which many veterans who were rated lower years ago never did. Thirty percent also moves a veteran into VA health care priority group 2.
Checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · How we calculate
30% for each family
| Family on VA records | Per month | Per year |
|---|---|---|
| Veteran alone | $552.47 | $6,630 |
| Married | $617.47 | $7,410 |
| Married, 1 child | $666.47 | $7,998 |
| Married, 3 children | $730.47 | $8,766 |
| Single, 1 child | $596.47 | $7,158 |
| Married, 1 dependent parent | $669.47 | $8,034 |
| Married, 1 child, 1 in college | $771.47 | $9,258 |
The paperwork that turns dependents into dollars
VA does not learn about a marriage, a birth or an adoption by itself. A veteran who was rated 10% or 20% at discharge and later reaches 30% through an increase often has a spouse and children who never appeared in any claim. The rating decision then pays the veteran-alone rate. The fix is VA Form 21-686c, the declaration of dependents, which asks for dates of marriage and birth and, for a former spouse, how the marriage ended. Children who are 18 to 23 and in school need VA Form 21-674 each school year. Parents need VA Form 21P-509, with their income.
The timing rule is generous if you act fast. When the dependent existed at the date the 30% rating took effect, or when you report a new dependent within a year of the event, VA pays back to that date. After a year, payment starts only from the date VA receives the form.
How 30% is reached
A single condition at 30% is common in some body systems, such as migraines with characteristic prostrating attacks once a month or a mental health condition with occasional decrease in work efficiency. More often it is the combination of smaller ratings: 20% and 10%, or three ratings of 10%. Use the VA disability calculator to check yours. The dependents guide compares what a family adds at every rating, and the 40% page shows the next step.
Beyond the check: travel and hiring at 30%
Two federal rules use 30% as their line. VA beneficiary travel reimburses mileage to VA appointments for veterans rated 30% or more, for any care, not only for the rated conditions; below 30% the reimbursement is limited to the service-connected conditions or to low-income veterans. And federal agencies may hire a veteran rated 30% or more without competition, under the noncompetitive appointment authority for disabled veterans in 5 CFR part 316, either in a temporary job or in one that can become permanent.
At 30%, enrollment in VA health care moves from priority group 3 to priority group 2; group 1, the highest, starts at 50%. The group decides the order of enrollment when VA restricts it and which copays apply to care for conditions that are not service connected.
A worked example
A veteran rated 20% marries in March, and a later claim for a new condition brings the combined rating to 30% from May. If the marriage is reported on the form 21-686c within a year, VA pays the married rate from the first month the 30% applies, $617.47 a month instead of $552.47. Had the veteran waited eighteen months to report it, the spouse amount would start only from the date VA received the form, and the earlier months would be lost.