Transition
What a rating actually is, how to file before you separate, what the monthly check looks like, and why you shouldn't pay anyone for help you can get free.
Soldiers face family and friends at a welcome home ceremony, Fort Riley, Jan. 16, 2023. U.S. Army photo, Fort Riley, DVIDS (public domain).
If service damaged your body or your mind, the VA pays monthly, tax-free compensation based on a disability rating from 0% to 100%. The rating is set in 10% steps and measures how much a service-connected condition affects you.
For most separating members, the strongest move is to file before you are even out, through the Benefits Delivery at Discharge (BDD) program. You file in the window 180 to 90 days before your separation date. Filing is free. Accredited Veterans Service Organizations (VSOs) are groups that help you file for free, and the companies charging thousands to "maximize your rating" are charging you for exactly that free help.
Know what a rating measures, file through BDD while you are still serving, and build the record now so your claim has evidence to stand on.
How ratings combine
VA math: Multiple conditions do not simply add. "VA math" rates each new condition against what is left, so 50% and 30% combine to 70%, not 80%.
Filing is free, and accredited VSOs help for free.
Source: VA.gov
A rating measures how much a service-connected condition reduces your ability to function and work, set in 10% steps from 0% to 100%. Each condition gets its own rating: a knee from airborne school, hearing loss from the flight line, a back from rucking, PTSD from a deployment. A 0% rating pays nothing monthly but still puts the condition on record as service-connected, which matters if it gets worse later.
Multiple conditions do not simply add. The VA combines them with a method (often called "VA math") that rates each new condition against the part of you considered not yet disabled, then rounds to the nearest 10%. So a 50% and a 30% combine to 65%, which rounds to 70%, not 80%. Know this up front so the decision letter does not confuse you.
Use BDD. It lets you file your claim 180 to 90 days before your separation date, so the VA can review your service treatment records, run your exams, and have most of the work done by the time you are out. To use it you need a known separation date, a copy of your service treatment records for this period of service, a completed Separation Health Assessment Part A, and availability for VA exams during the 45 days after you file.
Miss the 90-day cutoff and you can still file, it just processes as a standard claim and usually takes longer. Either way, you file online at VA.gov, and either way, document everything now: go to sick call, get conditions in your record, and keep copies. The record you build on active duty is the evidence your claim stands on.
For 2026 (rates effective December 1, 2025, after a 2.8% cost-of-living adjustment), monthly compensation for a veteran with no dependents runs from about $180 at 10% to about $3,939 at 100%. At ratings of 30% and above, the VA adds money for a spouse, children, and dependent parents; at 10% and 20% the rate is flat regardless of dependents. Rates adjust most years with a cost-of-living adjustment, so check the live VA table rather than a screenshot from a forum.
What no honest person can tell you is what rating you end up with. Ratings come from your evidence, your exams, and the rating schedule, not from anyone's promise.
No. VA disability compensation is free of federal and state income tax. A $1,000 VA payment is worth more than a $1,000 paycheck, because nothing comes out of it. It also does not show up as income on your federal return.
Here is why the free help matters, and why paying for it is a trap.
The monthly check is exempt from income tax, and the people who prepare your initial claim cannot charge you for it. Here is how to avoid paying for help you can get free.
$180 to $3,939
the 2026 monthly compensation range, 10% to 100% with no dependents. It is tax-free, so a $1,000 VA payment is worth more than a $1,000 paycheck.
Do not pay to file
The record you build on active duty is the evidence your claim stands on.
Source: VA.gov
Accredited VSOs prepare and file claims at no cost: groups like the DAV, VFW, American Legion, and Wounded Warrior Project, plus county and state veteran service officers. "Accredited" is a specific legal status granted by the VA Office of General Counsel, and you can confirm any representative's accreditation in the official search tool. Most installations also have VSO representatives sitting near the transition office, and they handle BDD claims all day long.
Filing an initial claim costs nothing, and under federal rules no one may charge you a fee for preparing or filing that initial claim; accredited representatives may charge fees only in limited cases after an initial decision, such as appeals, under VA rules. The "claim consulting" companies that advertise hard to separating service members and charge a cut of your back pay or a multiple of your monthly award are selling you the thing the DAV representative down the hall does for free. Many of them are not accredited at all, which means no VA oversight and no recourse. Before you sign anything, run the name through the accreditation search and ask what they do that a free accredited VSO does not.
How do I file a VA disability claim?
Online at VA.gov, by mail, or through an accredited VSO. If you are 180 to 90 days from separation, file through the BDD program so the VA can work your claim while you are still in.
What does a VA rating mean?
It is the VA's 0% to 100% measure of how much your service-connected conditions affect you, set in 10% steps. It drives your monthly payment and access to other benefits.
Is VA disability taxable?
No. It is exempt from federal and state income tax.
Should I pay someone to file my claim?
You do not need to. Accredited VSOs file initial claims for free, and charging fees for initial claims is not permitted under VA rules. Verify anyone's accreditation in the VA's official search tool before signing a contract.
When should I file my claim?
If you are separating, the BDD window is 180 to 90 days before your separation date. Inside 90 days, file as soon as you can as a standard pre-discharge or post-separation claim.
What if the VA denies my claim or rates me lower than expected?
You have decision review options: a supplemental claim with new evidence, a higher-level review, or an appeal to the Board. A free accredited VSO can walk you through which path fits your case.
Does filing a claim hurt my career or my discharge?
Filing a BDD claim is a normal part of separating; it runs alongside your final months of service and does not change your discharge. Documenting real conditions is taking care of yourself, the same way you would maintain any other equipment.
VA.gov covers how to file a claim and the BDD program. Accredited VSOs like the DAV, VFW, American Legion, and county veteran service officers help free of charge. Use the VA Office of General Counsel accreditation search to verify any representative. Your installation's transition office can point you to the VSO representatives working your base. All of these are linked in Sources below.
