The 100% rate, year by year
Rates and raises by year
Monthly amounts for a veteran with no dependents (and at 100%, with a spouse). Each rate year starts December 1 of the year before: the 2026 rates were first paid for December 2025.
| Rate year | Effective | Raise | Law | 10% | 50% | 70% | 100% | 100% with spouse |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | December 1, 2025 | 2.8% | Public Law 119-42 | $180.42 | $1,132.90 | $1,808.45 | $3,938.58 | $4,158.17 |
| 2025 | December 1, 2024 | 2.5% | Public Law 118-130 | $175.51 | $1,102.04 | $1,759.19 | $3,831.30 | $4,044.91 |
| 2024 | December 1, 2023 | 3.2% | Public Law 118-6 | $171.23 | $1,075.16 | $1,716.28 | $3,737.85 | $3,946.25 |
| 2023 | December 1, 2022 | 8.7% | Public Law 117-191 | $165.92 | $1,041.82 | $1,663.06 | $3,621.95 | $3,823.89 |
| 2022 | December 1, 2021 | 5.9% | Public Law 117-45 | $152.64 | $958.44 | $1,529.95 | $3,332.06 | $3,517.84 |
| 2021 | December 1, 2020 | 1.3% | Public Law 116-178 | $144.14 | $905.04 | $1,444.71 | $3,146.42 | $3,321.85 |
| 2020 | December 1, 2019 | 1.6% | Public Law 116-58 | $142.29 | $893.43 | $1,426.17 | $3,106.04 | $3,279.22 |
| 2019 | December 1, 2018 | 2.8% | Public Law 115-258 | $140.05 | $879.36 | $1,403.71 | $3,057.13 | $3,227.58 |
| 2018 | December 1, 2017 | 2.0% | Public Law 115-75 | $136.24 | $855.41 | $1,365.48 | $2,973.86 | $3,139.67 |
The biggest raise in this period was 8.7%, for 2023; the smallest was 1.3%, for 2021. Before 2018, see VA's own past-rate pages.
Every rate, every year
- 2018 to 2026 rates, CSV: every rating and dependent status for each year, one row per amount (1,098 rows), monthly U.S. dollars.
- The full 2026 tables, the calculator, and a printable PDF: VA disability rates 2026.
- What the 2027 table may look like: VA disability rates 2027.
- Back pay for months in any of these years, at each year's rates: the back pay calculator.
Corrections to VA's past-rate pages
VA's table for each year follows from a few amounts in the law: the basic rate for each rating (38 U.S.C. 1114) and the 100% amounts for a spouse, children and parents (38 U.S.C. 1115(1)). For 30% to 90%, each dependent amount is that share of the 100% amount, rounded down to the whole dollar (38 U.S.C. 1115(2)). Rebuilding every table from its own 100% amounts reproduces VA's pages cell for cell, except for the eight cells below. Each one disagrees with the rest of the same VA table, so our data and calculators use the amount the table's own numbers give.
| Rate year | Rating | Dependent status | VA's page shows | Correct amount | Why |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 80% | With 1 child and 1 parent | $1,940.69 | $1,831.69 | VA's 2019 page shows the 1 child and 2 parents amount in the 1 child and 1 parent row (80% to 100%) |
| 2019 | 90% | With 1 child and 1 parent | $2,181.62 | $2,058.62 | Same shifted rows on VA's 2019 page |
| 2019 | 100% | With 1 child and 1 parent | $3,444.70 | $3,307.91 | Same shifted rows on VA's 2019 page |
| 2019 | 80% | With 1 child and 2 parents | $1,849.69 | $1,940.69 | VA's 2019 page repeats the 2 parents (no children) amount in the 1 child and 2 parents row (80% to 100%) |
| 2019 | 90% | With 1 child and 2 parents | $2,079.62 | $2,181.62 | Same repeated row on VA's 2019 page |
| 2019 | 100% | With 1 child and 2 parents | $3,330.71 | $3,444.70 | Same repeated row on VA's 2019 page |
| 2021 | 80% | With spouse and 2 parents | $2,043.45 | $2,043.35 | 10 cents off the spouse amount plus two parent amounts in VA's own 2021 table |
| 2023 | 80% | With spouse and 2 parents | $2,353.15 | $2,352.15 | $1 off the spouse amount plus two parent amounts in VA's own 2023 table |
The 2019 errors look like rows shifted on VA's page: the "1 child and 2 parents" amounts sit in the "1 child and 1 parent" row, and the "2 parents" amounts are repeated below them. The 2021 and 2023 cells are 10 cents and $1 off the sum of the spouse amount and two parent amounts in VA's own table. If you need the exact amount VA paid in one of these cases, check your award letter.
How each raise is set
VA compensation doesn't rise automatically. Each year Congress passes a cost-of-living act that raises the basic rates and the dependent amounts by the same percentage as Social Security benefits, effective December 1, and VA rounds each amount to the cent. Social Security's percentage is the rise in the average Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) for July to September over the same months a year earlier (42 U.S.C. 415(i); SSA's yearly notices). That arithmetic checks out for every year here: raising each table by the next act's percentage, rounding the same way, gives VA's next table to the cent, 2019 through 2026. It's also how we project a year VA hasn't published yet.
Cite this page
Vet Kept. "VA disability rates history, 2018 to 2026." https://vetkept.com/va-disability-rates-history/. Updated November 8, 2026. Rates from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, "Current Veterans disability compensation rates" and VA's past-rate pages for 2018 to 2025, with the eight corrections listed on this page.
Questions people ask
How much has VA disability gone up since 2018?
At 100% with no dependents, from $2,973.86 a month in 2018 to $3,938.58 in 2026: $964.72 more a month, or 32.4%. At 10%, from $136.24 to $180.42.
What was the biggest VA disability increase?
8.7%, for the 2023 rates, effective December 1, 2022. It matched Social Security's 8.7% raise for 2023 (Public Law 117-191).
Why does VA disability go up every year?
Congress passes a cost-of-living act each year that raises VA compensation by the same percentage as Social Security benefits. The raise follows consumer prices, so it changes from year to year.
Where can I find VA's official past rates?
VA publishes each year's table on va.gov under "Past rates" on its compensation rates page. Our CSV file has the same numbers for 2018 to 2026, with eight typos on VA's past-rate pages corrected and marked.
Updated November 8, 2026. Sources: VA, "Current Veterans disability compensation rates"; VA, "Past rates: 2025" and VA's past-rate pages for 2018 to 2024; the Veterans' Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Acts of 2017 to 2025 (Public Laws 115-75, 115-258, 116-58, 116-178, 117-45, 117-191, 118-6, 118-130 and 119-42, govinfo.gov); Social Security Administration, "Cost-of-Living Increase and Other Determinations" for 2018 to 2026 (Federal Register); 38 U.S.C. 1114; 38 U.S.C. 1115; 42 U.S.C. 415. Not affiliated with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.