Enter your rating
Uses the 2026 VA rate table. Open More options for parents, children and Aid and Attendance.
Ratings of 10% and 20% are paid the same with or without dependents.
More options parents, more children, Aid and Attendance, your own amount, COLA %
Children beyond the first one, which is already in the basic rate.
Use this if your award letter shows a different total, for example because of special monthly compensation (SMC).
Your 2027 VA rate (estimate)
Projected$4,076.43 /month
Monthly compensation at the COLA you chose
Scenarios: what you would get if the official COLA lands 0.4 points lower or higher than the one used. They are not forecasts.
Estimate, not official yet: SSA is expected to announce the 2027 COLA on Oct 14, 2026.
Status on October 9, 2026: the official 2027 COLA has not been announced yet; SSA is expected to release it on Wednesday, October 14, 2026. Until then this page uses a projected COLA of 3.5%, worked out from the CPI-W figures the Bureau of Labor Statistics has already published (method below). You can type any other percentage under More options.
Short answer (as of ): the 2027 VA COLA is not official yet; SSA is expected to announce the matching Social Security COLA on October 14, 2026. Using our projected 3.5%, an estimate from BLS CPI-W data, the 100% rate for a veteran alone would go from $3,938.58 to about $4,076.43 a month ($137.85 more), starting with the December 1, 2026 rate.
2027 VA disability rates by rating (estimate)
Monthly rate at the projected 3.5% COLA, with VA's official 2026 rate underneath. On a phone, swipe the table sideways.
| Rating | Alone | With spouse | With 1 child | Spouse + 1 child |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10% | $186.732026: $180.42 | $186.732026: $180.42 | $186.732026: $180.42 | $186.732026: $180.42 |
| 20% | $369.142026: $356.66 | $369.142026: $356.66 | $369.142026: $356.66 | $369.142026: $356.66 |
| 30% | $571.812026: $552.47 | $639.082026: $617.47 | $617.352026: $596.47 | $689.802026: $666.47 |
| 40% | $823.692026: $795.84 | $913.742026: $882.84 | $883.722026: $853.84 | $981.012026: $947.84 |
| 50% | $1,172.552026: $1,132.90 | $1,285.372026: $1,241.90 | $1,248.112026: $1,205.90 | $1,369.202026: $1,322.90 |
| 60% | $1,485.252026: $1,435.02 | $1,620.832026: $1,566.02 | $1,576.332026: $1,523.02 | $1,721.232026: $1,663.02 |
| 70% | $1,871.752026: $1,808.45 | $2,030.102026: $1,961.45 | $1,977.322026: $1,910.45 | $2,147.062026: $2,074.45 |
| 80% | $2,175.732026: $2,102.15 | $2,356.852026: $2,277.15 | $2,296.822026: $2,219.15 | $2,490.372026: $2,406.15 |
| 90% | $2,444.982026: $2,362.30 | $2,648.882026: $2,559.30 | $2,581.602026: $2,494.30 | $2,798.952026: $2,704.30 |
| 100% | $4,076.432026: $3,938.58 | $4,303.712026: $4,158.17 | $4,228.422026: $4,085.43 | $4,470.152026: $4,318.99 |
10% and 20% ratings are paid the same with or without dependents. Parents, extra children and Aid and Attendance add to these amounts; use More options above.
Worked example
A veteran rated 30% with a spouse and no children is paid $617.47 a month under VA's 2026 table. At the projected 3.5% COLA: $617.47 × 1.035 = $639.08 a month, a raise of $21.61, or about $259.32 more over a year.
Pick your disability rating and household to see what your VA compensation should be after the 2027 cost-of-living adjustment. It starts from VA's official 2026 rate table and runs entirely in your browser.
How the 2027 VA disability increase works
VA disability compensation is not tied to your income or to what you earned while serving. It is a flat monthly amount set by your combined rating and by who depends on you. Once a year those amounts go up with the cost-of-living adjustment. VA states on its rate tables that it is required by law to match the percentage of the Social Security COLA, so the number to watch is the one SSA announces in October.
For 2026 the increase was 2.8%. The 100% rate for a veteran with no dependents moved from $3,831.30 to $3,938.58, effective December 1, 2025. If the 2027 COLA lands at the projected 3.5%, that same rate would become about $4,076.43 a month, a raise of $137.85.
The calculator starts from the 2026 rate tables published on va.gov. Pick your rating and household, add any extra children or Aid and Attendance for your spouse, and it rebuilds your current payment the same way VA's own instructions do: basic rate first, then the added amounts. The COLA is then applied to that total.
Where the 3.5% projection comes from
The COLA is set by a fixed formula: the average CPI-W for July, August and September 2026, compared with the 2025 third-quarter average of 317.265, rounded to the nearest tenth of a percent. BLS has published July 2026 (327.104) and August 2026 (328.481). September is not out yet, so we assume it rises over September 2025 (318.139) at the same 3.5% annual pace as August. That gives a third-quarter average of about 328.309, which is 3.48% above the base, or 3.5% after rounding. This is a projection, not an announcement. A September CPI-W between roughly 329.05 and 330.00 keeps the result at 3.5%; a lower reading gives 3.4% or less, a higher one 3.6% or more.
When the new rate shows up
The new rates take effect on December 1, 2026. VA pays each month's compensation at the start of the following month, so the first payment at the higher rate is the one for December. Because January 1, 2027 is a federal holiday, that deposit is normally made on the last business day of December 2026.
What this estimate does not cover
Special monthly compensation, retroactive awards, offsets for military retired pay, and recoupment of separation or severance pay all change what actually lands in your account. If any of those apply, type your current total into the optional field and the calculator will apply the COLA to that instead. VA also rounds the dependent add-ons on its tables in its own way, so the official 2027 table can differ from this estimate by a few cents or, for larger households, by a dollar or two.
Frequently asked questions
How much will VA disability go up in 2027?
By the same percentage as the 2027 Social Security COLA, which is expected on October 14, 2026. Using the projected 3.5%, the 100% rate for a veteran alone would rise from $3,938.58 to about $4,076.43 a month. That figure is a projection until the official COLA is announced.
Is the VA COLA the same as the Social Security COLA?
Yes. VA notes on its compensation rate tables that it is required by law to match the percentage of the cost-of-living adjustment made to Social Security benefits.
When will I receive the higher VA payment?
The new rates take effect December 1, 2026. The first payment at the higher rate is the one for December, normally deposited on December 31, 2026 because January 1, 2027 is a holiday.
Does the COLA also raise the amounts for my spouse and children?
Yes. Every line of the VA rate tables, including the added amounts for dependents and Aid and Attendance, is adjusted each year. This calculator applies the COLA to your total, so small rounding differences from VA's published table are possible.
Why might my VA letter differ from this estimate?
VA builds its table line by line and rounds some add-ons to whole dollars, and payments can include special monthly compensation or offsets this tool does not model. Expect the official figure to be within a few cents to a couple of dollars for a standard award.
Is this calculator from the VA?
No. It is an independent estimate for planning, not affiliated with the Department of Veterans Affairs, SSA or OPM. Your official rate is on va.gov and in your VA award letter.
Sources
- VA, Current Veterans disability compensation rates (2026 rates, effective December 1, 2025; statement that VA matches the Social Security COLA percentage).
- VA, Past rates: 2025 (100% veteran-alone rate $3,831.30).
- BLS, CPI-W series CWUR0000SA0 (not seasonally adjusted): July 2026 = 327.104, August 2026 = 328.481, September 2025 = 318.139, August 2025 = 317.306. data.bls.gov/timeseries/CWUR0000SA0
- SSA, Latest Cost-of-Living Adjustment: COLA formula, 2025 third-quarter CPI-W average 317.265, 2026 COLA 2.8%.
- Projection: the 3.5% 2027 COLA is this site's own projection from the BLS figures above, not an official number.