VA disability compensation rises when you have a spouse, children or dependent parents, but only once your combined rating reaches 30%. Below 30%, everyone at the same rating receives the same amount. The rates below took effect December 1, 2025, after a 2.8% cost-of-living increase.
The 10% and 20% ratings
A veteran rated 10% receives $180.42 a month, and a veteran rated 20% receives $356.66. These amounts are the same whether or not you have a family.
What a spouse adds
At 30% and above, adding a spouse raises the monthly payment by a fixed amount for each rating. Here are the veteran-alone and with-spouse figures:
| Rating | Veteran alone | With spouse | Extra |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30% | $552.47 | $617.47 | $65.00 |
| 50% | $1,132.90 | $1,241.90 | $109.00 |
| 70% | $1,808.45 | $1,961.45 | $153.00 |
| 100% | $3,938.58 | $4,158.17 | $219.59 |
If your spouse needs help with daily activities, VA pays an extra Aid and Attendance amount. It is $141 a month at 70% and $201.41 at 100%.
What children add
Your first child is built into the rate table. Each additional child adds a set amount: one figure for children under 18, and a larger one for children aged 18 to 23 who are in school.
At 70%, for example:
- Veteran with a spouse and one child: $2,074.45
- Each additional child under 18: $76
- Each additional child 18 to 23 in school: $246
So a 70% veteran with a spouse and two children under 18 receives $2,074.45 plus $76, a total of $2,150.45 a month. The same family with one young child and one in college receives $2,074.45 plus $246, or $2,320.45.
At 100%, each extra child under 18 adds $109.11 and each extra school-age child adds $352.45.
Dependent parents
If one or both of your parents rely on you financially, VA may add them as dependents too. At 70%, a veteran alone with one dependent parent receives $1,931.45, and with two dependent parents $2,054.45. VA reviews the parents’ income before approving this.
A worked example
Take a veteran with ratings of 50% and 30%. The VA does not add these to 80%. It combines them to 65%, which rounds to 70%. Our VA rating calculator shows each step.
At 70%, this veteran receives:
- Alone: $1,808.45 a month, or $21,701.40 a year
- With a spouse: $1,961.45 a month
- With a spouse and two children under 18: $2,150.45 a month, or $25,805.40 a year
All of it is tax-free at the federal level and in every state.
How to add dependents
You add dependents by sending VA Form 21-686c, which you can do online. VA usually backdates the higher payment to the date it receives the claim, and sometimes earlier if you file within a year of your rating decision or of a marriage or birth. If you don’t add dependents, VA pays the veteran-alone rate, even though you are entitled to more.
Common questions
Do I lose the child amount when my child turns 18? Only if the child stops studying. Between 18 and 23, a child in an approved school program still counts, at the higher school-child rate.
Does my spouse’s income matter? No. Spouse income does not change disability compensation. Parent income matters only for adding parents.
Will the amounts rise again? Yes. VA compensation follows the Social Security cost-of-living adjustment each December 1. We update this page and the calculator when the new table is published.
See your own figure in the VA rating calculator, which includes spouse, children, parents and Aid and Attendance.