How the math actually works
VA does not add your ratings together. It works down from a whole person: your highest rating comes off first, and every rating after that applies only to the efficiency you have left.
Worked example. A 60% and a 40% do not make 100%. The 60% comes off first, leaving 40% of you. The 40% rating then takes 40% of that remaining 40% — sixteen points. Combined raw value: 76. Rounded: 80%. This is why one 50% rating is worth more than five 10% ratings, and why an extra 10% granted on a condition you already have can be worth more than a whole new claim.
Where this bites. At 90% you have 10% of you left, so each new rating only works on that slice. Veterans sitting at a raw 92, 93 or 94 are one corrected rating away from an extra $18,915 a year and usually have no idea. If you are rated 80% or 90%, run your own numbers before you assume there is nothing left on the table.
Close the documentation gap
Eight things that decide whether your rating reflects what is actually wrong with you. None of them involve claiming something you do not have.
Get it in the record before you get outYour medical record IS your claim. A symptom you never reported to a provider effectively did not happen. Every ache, every bad night of sleep, every ringing ear — documented while you are still in.
File a BDD claim, 180 to 90 days outBenefits Delivery at Discharge means the rating is decided by the time you are a civilian instead of eight months later. It is the single biggest timing advantage available and the window is narrow.
Do not skip the separation physicalRushing it is the most expensive hour a Soldier ever saves. Report everything. If a provider brushes past something, say it again and make sure it lands in writing.
Claim the secondaries you actually haveThis is where legitimately-earned points are lost most often — not by failing to game anything, but by never connecting two conditions that are medically related. See the section below.
Know the order the math runs inRatings are combined highest first, and each one only applies to the efficiency you have left. A single 50% moves you further than five 10% ratings ever will.
Check the bilateral factorBoth knees, both ankles, both arms. VA combines the paired ratings, then adds an extra 10% of that combined value before folding it into the rest. Most veterans have never heard of it.
Use an accredited representativeDAV, VFW, American Legion, AMVETS, or your county Veterans Service Officer. Free by federal law. Never pay anyone to file your claim.
Know TDIU is a separate doorIf service-connected conditions keep you from holding gainful employment, you can be paid at the 100% rate without a 100% schedular rating. Different test, same money.