10% VA Disability Rating
If you are a veteran suffering from a service-connected health condition, you might be eligible for a VA disability rating that entitles you to certain benefits, including monthly compensation. Your VA disability rating depends on how severely your condition affects your overall health. However, even if the condition isn’t totally disabling, you might be entitled to benefits. In 2025, a 10 percent VA disability rating qualifies you to receive $175.51 in monthly compensation.
If you have questions about your VA rating, want to increase your rating, or want to apply for a Combined Disability Rating, Veterans Guide can help.
How Much Does a 10% VA Disability Rating Pay Per Month?
Unlike most other disability ratings, veterans with a 10 percent VA disability rating receive the same monthly compensation regardless of the number of dependents—spouses, children, or parents—they support. In 2025, veterans with a 10 percent rating are entitled to $175.51 in monthly compensation.
2025 COLA Benefits Increase for 10% Rating
Recipients of VA disability benefits receive an annual cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA, which increases their benefits at a rate determined by the Social Security Administration. Starting December 1, 2024, monthly benefits for veterans with a 10 percent disability rating will increase by 2.5 percent, or approximately $4.28, from $171.23 to $175.51 monthly.
Other Benefits Available to Veterans With a 10% VA Disability Rating
VA benefits available to veterans with a 10 percent disability rating aren’t limited to monthly payments. Other benefits you may qualify for with a 10 percent disability rating include the following:
VA Health Care Benefits
A 10 percent VA disability rating grants you access to certain VA health care benefits. Medical treatment for service-connected disabilities is free to veterans with a 10 percent rating. A 10 percent rating also places you in priority group 3 for health care benefits, meaning that in many cases, you will have access to no-cost care for medical services. Your VA priority group affects your copay for inpatient and outpatient care and medications. A 10 percent rating also grants veterans travel allowance to VA facilities for treatment and care.
The health care you receive for free depends on your income. The income limits are based on your zip code and number of dependents. You can determine whether your income is within limits for certain types of medical care on the VA website.
Vocational and Educational Benefits
Both the GI Bill and the Veterans Readiness and Employment program, or VR&E, are available to veterans with 10 percent disability ratings who have received an honorable discharge. However, it’s important to note that the VR&E program is only available to veterans with 10 percent ratings for disabilities that result in a “serious employment handicap,” or SEH.
A serious employment handicap means the service-connected disability leading to your 10 percent rating “significantly limits your ability to prepare for, obtain, and maintain suitable employment.” Suitable employment is defined as a job that is stable, doesn’t worsen your disability, and matches your abilities, aptitudes, and interests.
After the VA receives your application for VR&E benefits, you will be assigned a vocational rehabilitation counselor, or VRC, who will conduct an initial evaluation to determine whether you’re eligible for VR&E.
VA Home Loan Assistance
The VA waives fees associated with its home loan program for veterans with 10 percent disability ratings. Eligibility is subject to conditions like income stability, length of active service, and minimum credit score.
Funeral Expenses and Burial Plot Allowance
The VA pays funeral and burial expense benefits for deaths resulting from service-connected conditions or those that occur while the veteran is receiving some type of VA benefit. The VA reimburses up to $2,000 for burial expenses for deaths on or after September 11, 2001, or up to $1,500 for deaths before September 11, 2001. For non-service-connected deaths occurring on or after October 1, 2024, the VA will pay up to $978 toward burial and funeral expenses and a $978 plot-interment allowance.
Funeral expense and burial allowance benefits are accessible by an honorably discharged veteran’s spouse, civil partner, child, parent, family friend, or executor. In addition, a representative from the funeral home or cemetery where the veteran will be interred can access the benefits.
How to Increase Your VA Disability Rating
The VA benefits available to those with 10 percent ratings are significantly lower than those for veterans with higher ratings. If you believe your service-connected condition qualifies you for a higher rating, you may appeal to increase your VA rating.
There are three options for pursuing a VA rating appeal: a Supplemental Claim, a Higher-Level Review, and an appeal to the Board of Veterans’ Appeals.
The Supplemental Claim process allows you to request that your regional VA office review your claim again with new and relevant evidence.
The Higher-Level Review process allows you to request that your regional VA office have a higher-level rating specialist review the claim you originally submitted without new evidence.
Finally, submitting a Notice of Disagreement to the Board of Veterans’ Appeals allows you to bypass your regional office and have your case reviewed by a judge from the board. You have three options if you wish to have the board review your claim:
- Direct Docket: A judge reviews your claim with no new evidence and no hearing.
- Hearing Docket: You appear at a hearing before a judge.
- Evidence Docket: A judge reviews your claim with new evidence without a hearing.
What Is a Combined Disability Rating?
Veterans often suffer from multiple disabling conditions. If you have several disabilities or injuries arising from your military service or a secondary condition stemming from your primary disability, you may be eligible for a combined rating, which can increase your benefits.
When assigning a Combined Disability Rating, the VA gives each condition an individual rating. It then ranks the ratings in order of severity and the Combined Ratings Table to determine a combined rating.
To estimate your Combined Disability Rating, you can use Veterans Guide’s 2025 VA Disability Calculator.
Frequently Asked Questions
The following are some common questions we receive from veterans with a 10 percent disability rating or those interested in applying for VA benefits.
What Conditions Are Commonly Given a 10% Disability Rating?
Many common service-connected conditions are eligible for a 10 percent rating. Conditions such as tinnitus, minor hearing loss, mild PTSD, minor limitation of motion in a limb or joint, and migraines are all commonly associated with a 10 percent rating.
Can I Work With a 10% Rating?
Unlike Social Security benefits, there are no work requirements or restrictions for veterans receiving VA disability benefits. If the VA has assigned you a 10 percent disability rating, you continue to receive benefits whether you work or not.
If I Have a 10% Rating, Can I Also Receive Social Security Disability?
Veterans unable to work due to a service-related condition can also apply for Social Security Disability Insurance, or SSDI. A condition resulting in a 10 percent disability rating from the VA is unlikely to qualify for SSDI. However, you can try to increase your rating and see how that affects your eligibility for SSDI benefits. In addition, you can apply for SSDI for conditions not connected to your service.
SSDI benefits are only available to those who cannot work due to their disabling conditions. Participating in any “substantial gainful activity” resulting in income renders you ineligible to receive SSDI.
Are My VA Benefits Taxable?
VA disability compensation is tax-free. Regardless of your VA rating, your disability benefits will not affect your taxes.
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