VA disability · one rating
80% VA disability rating: amounts and the band behind it
What 80% pays each family in 2026, which combined values sit behind an 80% decision, and how large the next rating must be to move up.
What 80% pays your family each month
Monthly compensation at 80%
$2,406.15
| Per year, tax free | $28,874 |
| Veteran alone | $2,102.15 |
| Added for your dependents | $304 |
An 80% VA disability rating pays $2,102.15 a month in 2026 to a veteran with no dependents, $2,277.15 with a spouse and $2,493.15 with a spouse and two children under 18, at the rates effective December 1, 2025. Every combined value from 75 to 84 becomes 80%, so two veterans with the same decision can be ten points apart. That gap matters more and more as the rating climbs, because each new rating applies only to the efficiency that remains: at a combined 76, a further 40% is needed to reach 85 and the 90% step, while at 84 a 10% is enough. Most 80% ratings come from three or four conditions. An 80% veteran with one condition at 40% or more already meets the schedular unemployability test, and a 20-year military retiree keeps full retired pay through CRDP.
Checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · How we calculate
80% family by family
| Family | Per month | Per year |
|---|---|---|
| Veteran alone | $2,102.15 | $25,226 |
| Married | $2,277.15 | $27,326 |
| Married, 1 child | $2,406.15 | $28,874 |
| Married, 2 children | $2,493.15 | $29,918 |
| Married, 1 child and 1 in college | $2,687.15 | $32,246 |
Ratings that land on 80%
| Ratings | Combined value | Rating |
|---|---|---|
| 70% and 30% | 79 | 80% |
| 60%, 40% and 10% | 78 | 80% |
| 50%, 40% and 20% | 76 | 80% |
| 50%, 30%, 20% and 10% | 75 | 80% |
| 70% and 20% | 76 | 80% |
The last line shows how fast the rating climbs from a large single condition: 70% and 20% combine to 76, which rounds up to 80%, while 70% and 10% give only 73 and stay at 70%. Climbing further from 80% is harder still. Each rating multiplies the efficiency left: a person at a combined 80 keeps 20 points of efficiency, and a new 10% rating removes only 2 of them.
What separates 80% from 90%
The 90% step adds $260.15 a month for a veteran alone and $309.15 for a married veteran with two children. Whether a pending claim can deliver it depends on the combined value, not the rating: see the second question below and the 90% page. The combined ratings table lets you test each scenario, and the VA disability calculator does it with your list of ratings and the bilateral factor.
Protection of a long-standing 80%
Ratings that have stood for a long time are harder to reduce. Under 38 CFR 3.344, a rating that has continued at the same level for five years or more can be reduced only on an examination as full as the one that set it, and only if the improvement is likely to last; under 38 CFR 3.951, a rating held for twenty years or more cannot be reduced below that level except for fraud. Those rules protect an 80% built over a career of claims, and they apply to each condition as well as to the combined total, so a veteran who files for a new condition at 80% does not expose the old ratings to a casual reduction.
Dependents at 80%
The family amounts rise with the rating. At 80%, a spouse adds $175 a month, each child under 18 beyond the first $87, a child in school $281, and a spouse who needs Aid and Attendance $161. A veteran who reached 80% through successive increases should check that every dependent appears on the latest award letter: dependents are attached to the award, and a reorganized claim sometimes drops one. The dependents guide shows how to add them.
Retirees at 80%
A longevity retiree with 20 years keeps full retired pay through CRDP and receives the 80% compensation on top. For a Chapter 61 retiree with fewer than 20 years, CRSC is the only route to keep part of both, and only for combat-related conditions.
The most common mistake at 80%
Veterans often add their newest rating to the old combined rating, for example 80% and a new 20%, and expect 100%. The combination is done on the exact values and not on the rounded rating, and a new rating applies only to the efficiency left: 80 and 20 give 84, still an 80% rating. Knowing that before filing helps decide which conditions to document best.