50% VA disability pay in 2026
A 50% rating pays $1,132.90 a month for a veteran with no dependents, $13,594.80 a year, tax free. Effective December 1, 2025, from the VA's published table.
| Your situation | Monthly pay |
|---|---|
| Veteran alone | $1,132.90 |
| With spouse | $1,241.90 |
| With one child, no spouse | $1,205.90 |
| With spouse and one child | $1,322.90 |
| Each additional | Adds monthly |
|---|---|
| Child under 18 | +$54.00 |
| Child 18 to 23 in school | +$176.00 |
| Dependent parent (up to two) | +$88.00 |
| Spouse receiving Aid and Attendance | +$101.00 |
Is 50% your combined rating? If you have more than one rated condition, VA combines them with a formula, not addition, and the result is often lower than the sum. The VA disability calculator runs the published formula and shows every step. And if your rating came with a retroactive effective date, the back pay calculator estimates the lump sum for the months you waited.
Source: VA's official compensation rate table, effective December 1, 2025. See the full 2026 chart for every rating.
50% rating questions, answered
How much is 50% VA disability in 2026?
$1,132.90 a month for a veteran with no dependents, effective December 1, 2025. With a spouse it is $1,241.90, and children and dependent parents add more; the chart on this page has every combination.
How much is 50% VA disability per year?
$13,594.80 for a veteran alone, and none of it is taxable. VA disability compensation is excluded from federal income tax.
Does a 50% rating pay more with dependents?
Yes. At 50%, a spouse brings the monthly rate to $1,241.90, a first child adds more, and each additional child under 18 adds $54.00. Each dependent parent adds $88.00, and a spouse receiving Aid and Attendance adds $101.00.
When did these rates take effect?
December 1, 2025, with the annual cost-of-living adjustment. Rates change every December 1, and this page is rebuilt from the new published table when they do.
Keep your rating and the paper behind it in one place
MusterVault stores your decision letters, ratings, and effective dates encrypted on your own computer, computes your monthly pay from these same published tables, and updates them automatically each December. No cloud, no account.
Informational only: the published rate tables, reproduced for lookup. The official amounts are the ones VA states and pays. MusterVault organizes records, never gives claims advice, and is not affiliated with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.