PTSD is rated under the same formula as every mental-health condition the VA recognizes. The percentage isn't about your diagnosis or symptom list — it's about how much your symptoms impair your work and relationships.
One formula for all mental disorders
PTSD uses Diagnostic Code 9411, but it's scored with the General Rating Formula for Mental Disorders in 38 CFR §4.130 — the same formula used for depression, anxiety, and other conditions. Ratings come in six levels: 0, 10, 30, 50, 70, and 100%, set by your degree of occupational and social impairment.
The rating levels
| Rating | Level of impairment |
|---|---|
| 0% | Diagnosed, but symptoms aren't severe enough to interfere with work/social function or require continuous medication. |
| 10% | Mild or transient symptoms that decrease work efficiency only during periods of significant stress, or symptoms controlled by continuous medication. |
| 30% | Occasional decrease in work efficiency with intermittent inability to perform tasks. Symptoms like depressed mood, anxiety, suspiciousness, weekly panic attacks, chronic sleep impairment, mild memory loss. |
| 50% | Reduced reliability and productivity. Flattened affect, panic more than weekly, impaired judgment, disturbances of mood and motivation, difficulty maintaining effective work and social relationships. |
| 70% | Deficiencies in most areas (work, family, judgment, thinking, mood). Suicidal ideation, near-continuous panic or depression, impulse-control problems, neglect of hygiene, inability to establish and maintain effective relationships. |
| 100% | Total occupational and social impairment. Gross impairment in thought or communication, persistent delusions/hallucinations, danger of hurting self or others, inability to perform daily activities, disorientation, severe memory loss. |
What it pays in 2026
PTSD pay follows the standard schedule. For a veteran with no dependents in 2026: 30% = $552.47, 50% = $1,132.90, 70% = $1,808.45, 100% = $3,938.58 per month. Dependents add money at 30% and above (see the pay chart).
The 30%-to-50%-to-70% jumps
The biggest real-world battles are at these thresholds. The difference between 30% ("occasional decrease in efficiency") and 50% ("reduced reliability and productivity") and 70% ("deficiencies in most areas") is a matter of degree — which is why thorough, specific evidence about how PTSD affects your daily functioning matters so much. Vague exam notes often land a veteran a level lower than their actual impairment.
TDIU and PTSD
Because PTSD can make steady work impossible well before a 100% schedular rating, many veterans with a 70% PTSD rating pursue TDIU to be paid at the 100% rate. A single 70% rating already meets the 60% schedular threshold for TDIU.