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. There is no separate “PTSD scale”: two veterans with different diagnoses but the same functional impairment should land at the same percentage.
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. |
Read the table by asking one question at each row: does this describe how my symptoms actually play out at work and at home? The deciding language is the impairment phrase at the start of each row.
What it pays in 2026
PTSD pay follows the standard schedule. Here's what each of the commonly assigned levels means in dollars per month for 2026:
| PTSD rating | Veteran alone | With a spouse |
|---|---|---|
| 30% | $552.47 | $617.47 |
| 50% | $1,132.90 | $1,241.90 |
| 70% | $1,808.45 | $1,961.45 |
| 100% | $3,938.58 | $4,158.17 |
Dependents add money at combined ratings of 30% and above, and the additions grow with the rating — a spouse adds $65 a month at 30% but $153 at 70%. Children and dependent parents add more; the full breakdown is on the 2026 pay chart. Notice the gap between steps: moving from 50% to 70% is worth $675.55 a month for a single veteran, and 70% to 100% is worth another $2,130.13. The thresholds are where the money is.
How PTSD combines with other ratings: a worked example
PTSD rarely travels alone, and VA math doesn't simply add percentages. Say a veteran has 70% PTSD, a 20% back condition, and 10% tinnitus:
- Start with the largest rating: 70. That leaves 30 of “efficiency.”
- Apply the 20% to what remains: 20% of 30 = 6, so 70 + 6 = 76.
- Apply the 10% to the new remainder: 10% of 24 = 2.4, so 76 + 2.4 = 78.4.
- Round to the nearest 10 at the end: 78.4 rounds to 80% — $2,102.15 a month for a veteran alone in 2026.
The same logic explains a pairing many veterans don't expect to work: 50% PTSD plus a 30% physical condition combines to 50 + (30% of 50) = 65, which rounds up to a 70% combined rating. Run your own combination in the calculator before assuming you know where you land.
The 30%-to-50%-to-70% jumps
The biggest real-world battles are at these thresholds. The difference between 30% (“occasional decrease in efficiency”), 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. If your file says “anxiety, sleep problems” but your reality is missed work every week, blown-up relationships, and panic that follows you through the day, the file — not your condition — is what gets rated.
The C&P exam: how to present the truth accurately
Most PTSD ratings rise or fall on the Compensation & Pension exam. A few principles help veterans describe their impairment honestly and completely:
- Describe your worst days, not your best. The exam is a snapshot taken on a day you managed to show up, dressed and composed. If you only describe how you feel in that moment, the report will understate the pattern. Talk about what the bad weeks look like.
- Be concrete about work impact. Days missed, warnings received, jobs left, tasks you can no longer handle, conflicts with coworkers or supervisors. “Reduced reliability and productivity” is proven with specifics, not adjectives.
- Be concrete about relationships. Isolation, avoidance of family events, a marriage under strain, friendships that lapsed — social impairment is half of the rating standard.
- Use buddy statements. Written statements from a spouse, family member, fellow service member, or coworker describing what they observe can corroborate what a one-hour exam can't capture.
Secondary conditions: where many PTSD claims grow
Conditions caused or aggravated by PTSD can be service-connected as secondary conditions with their own ratings. Sleep apnea and depression are commonly claimed secondary to PTSD. Each secondary rating combines with the PTSD rating under VA math — and because combined ratings round at the end, a well-documented secondary condition is often what moves a veteran from one plateau to the next. Note that overlapping mental-health symptoms are generally rated together under the same formula rather than stacked as separate percentages.
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 — and exceeds — the 60% single-disability threshold for schedular TDIU. If PTSD keeps you from holding substantially gainful employment, TDIU pays $3,938.58 a month in 2026 instead of the $1,808.45 a 70% rating pays on its own.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need every symptom listed at a level to get that rating?
No. The symptoms in the formula are examples, not a checklist. VA must look holistically at your overall occupational and social impairment — you can be rated 70% without showing every symptom in the 70% row, and one severe symptom drawn from a higher row can support the higher level.
What does a 70% PTSD rating pay in 2026?
$1,808.45 per month for a veteran alone, or $1,961.45 with a spouse. Dependent additions apply at 30% and above and grow with the rating level — see the 2026 pay chart for children and parents.
Can I get TDIU with a 70% PTSD rating?
A single 70% PTSD rating already exceeds the 60% single-disability threshold for schedular TDIU under 38 CFR §4.16(a). If PTSD prevents substantially gainful employment, you can be paid at the 100% rate without a 100% schedular rating.
Is PTSD rated differently from depression or anxiety?
No. PTSD has its own diagnostic code (9411), but every mental-health condition is scored with the same General Rating Formula in §4.130. That's also why VA generally assigns one combined mental-health rating rather than separate stacked percentages for overlapping symptoms.
What should I tell the examiner at my C&P exam?
The truth — anchored to your worst days. Be specific about missed work, strained or lost relationships, sleep, and panic. Minimizing out of habit or pride is the most common way an exam report ends up a level below reality.
What conditions are commonly claimed secondary to PTSD?
Sleep apnea and depression are commonly claimed as secondary to PTSD. Each gets its own rating that combines with PTSD under VA math.