What are the 2026 VA disability compensation rates?

The 2026 VA disability rates (effective December 1, 2025) include a 2.8% COLA increase. Rates range from $175.03/month at 10% to $3,938.58/month at 100%. Veterans rated 30% and above receive additional compensation for dependents.

How does VA math work for combined ratings?

VA uses a "whole person" method under 38 C.F.R. 4.25. Each rating is applied to remaining efficiency, not added. Example: 50% + 30% = 50% + (30% of remaining 50%) = 50% + 15% = 65%, rounded to 70%.

What is a secondary service-connected condition?

Under 38 C.F.R. 3.310, a secondary condition is caused or aggravated by an already service-connected disability. Common examples: PTSD causing sleep apnea, back pain causing radiculopathy, or diabetes causing peripheral neuropathy.

<- Back to Intel Briefings

March 23, 2026 | By Cope | 14 min read

Anxiety and Depression VA Rating: How "Occupational and Social Impairment" Determines Your Percentage

Anxiety and depression are rated under the same formula as PTSD. The VA does not rate based on diagnosis severity or medication. They rate based on how your condition affects your ability to work and maintain relationships. This guide covers every rating level and what the examiner actually evaluates.

DISCLAIMER

Educational information. Not legal or medical advice. Not affiliated with the VA.

The General Rating Formula for Mental Disorders

All mental health conditions at the VA are rated under the same formula at 38 C.F.R. 4.130. Anxiety (DC 9413), depression (DC 9434), and PTSD (DC 9411) all use identical criteria. The rating is based on the level of occupational and social impairment, not on which condition you have or what medication you take.

38 C.F.R. 4.130, General Rating Formula for Mental Disorders

0%

A mental condition has been formally diagnosed, but symptoms are not severe enough to interfere with occupational and social functioning or to require continuous medication.

10%

Occupational and social impairment due to mild or transient symptoms which decrease work efficiency and ability to perform occupational tasks only during periods of significant stress, or; symptoms controlled by continuous medication.

30%

Occupational and social impairment with occasional decrease in work efficiency and intermittent periods of inability to perform occupational tasks, although generally functioning satisfactorily, with routine behavior, self-care, and conversation normal.

50%

Occupational and social impairment with reduced reliability and productivity due to such symptoms as: flattened affect; circumstantial, circumlocutory, or stereotyped speech; panic attacks more than once a week; difficulty in understanding complex commands; impairment of short- and long-term memory; impaired judgment; impaired abstract thinking; disturbances of motivation and mood; difficulty in establishing and maintaining effective work and social relationships.

70%

Occupational and social impairment with deficiencies in most areas, such as work, school, family relations, judgment, thinking, or mood, due to such symptoms as: suicidal ideation; obsessional rituals; speech intermittently illogical, obscure, or irrelevant; near-continuous panic or depression affecting ability to function independently; impaired impulse control; spatial disorientation; neglect of personal appearance and hygiene; difficulty in adapting to stressful circumstances; inability to establish and maintain effective relationships.

100%

Total occupational and social impairment, due to such symptoms as: gross impairment in thought processes or communication; persistent delusions or hallucinations; grossly inappropriate behavior; persistent danger of hurting self or others; intermittent inability to perform activities of daily living; disorientation to time or place; memory loss for names of close relatives, own occupation, or own name.

Key Insight: Symptoms Are Examples, Not Requirements

The symptom lists at each rating level are EXAMPLES, not checklists. The VA cannot deny a 70% rating because you do not have "obsessional rituals" if your overall occupational and social impairment matches that level. The Federal Circuit confirmed this in Mauerhan v. Principi (2002): the listed symptoms are not exhaustive, and any symptom that produces the described level of impairment qualifies.

Mauerhan v. Principi, 16 Vet. App. 436 (2002)

Secondary Connections

Anxiety and depression are among the most common secondary conditions. They connect to virtually any chronic pain condition (back, knees, migraines), tinnitus, sleep apnea, TBI residuals, and any condition that significantly limits daily functioning. Under 38 C.F.R. 3.310, if chronic pain from your service-connected back condition causes depression, the depression is separately ratable.

Important: the VA cannot rate anxiety, depression, AND PTSD separately because they all fall under the same rating formula. If you have multiple mental health diagnoses, the VA assigns one combined mental health rating that accounts for all symptoms. This is not pyramiding; it is by regulation.

38 C.F.R. 4.130; 38 C.F.R. 4.14 (Pyramiding)

CLAIM RECON TOOLS

Use the Depression or Anxiety Condition Guides for full secondary connections. Use the Calculator to see how a mental health rating combines with your physical conditions.

Not affiliated with the VA. Educational tools only. Not legal or medical advice.