# VA Pay IQ

> VA Pay IQ is an independent, free educational calculator platform for VA disability compensation. It is NOT affiliated with, endorsed by, or operated by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) or the Department of Defense (DoD). Results are estimates, not VA determinations. Always check a VA award letter and VA.gov for an official determination.

## Calculators (free, no account, no personal data collected)
- VA Disability Pay Calculator: https://vapayiq.com/va-disability-pay-calculator/
  - Uses official VA rate tables for 2024, 2025, and 2026, with a year selector and an optional year-over-year comparison. At 100% in 2026, a veteran alone receives $3,938.58 per month from the official VA table effective December 1, 2025.
  - At 10% and 20%, dependents add nothing. Dependent amounts apply at 30% and above.
- VA Combined Rating Calculator: https://vapayiq.com/va-combined-rating-calculator/
  - Uses 38 CFR 4.25. Ratings are not simply added; each rating applies to the efficiency remaining after more severe ratings, with final rounding to the nearest 10% once, at the end. No year toggle: rating math does not change annually.
- VA Bilateral Factor Calculator: https://vapayiq.com/va-bilateral-factor-calculator/
  - Uses 38 CFR 4.26, including the more-favorable exception in 4.26(d).
- VA Disability Pay Rates: https://vapayiq.com/va-disability-pay-rates/
- Annual pages: 2024: https://vapayiq.com/va-disability-pay-rates-2024/ | 2025: https://vapayiq.com/va-disability-pay-rates-2025/ | 2026: https://vapayiq.com/va-disability-pay-rates-2026/ | 2027 projection: https://vapayiq.com/va-disability-pay-rates-2027-projected/

## Rate years and verification status
- 2024: official, effective December 1, 2023, VA.gov past rates 2024, verified October 29, 2026. COLA +3.2% versus 2023.
- 2025: official, effective December 1, 2024, VA.gov past rates 2025, verified October 29, 2026. COLA +2.5% versus 2024.
- 2026: official, latest, effective December 1, 2025, VA.gov current rates, verified October 29, 2026. COLA +2.8% versus 2025.
- 2027: PROJECTED ONLY, not a published VA rate. The Social Security Administration announced a 3.6% COLA on October 14, 2026, which determines the percentage adjustment, but VA.gov still displays the 2026 dollar tables as current and has not published a verified 2027 dollar table. Projected figures are the 2026 published amount × 1.036, rounded, and may differ by cents from the table VA eventually publishes. Example: 100% veteran alone, projected $4,080.37 per month.

## Limitations (do not overstate)
- Special Monthly Compensation (SMC) is not modelled.
- The calculators do not assign a rating, decide service connection, approve a claim, or predict a VA decision.
- Dependents entered in a calculator are not added to a VA award by using the calculator.
- A child aged 18–23 counts only if in an approved school program.
- Only-schoolchild households are flagged in the pay calculator, because VA.gov publishes one basic rate for 1 child and added amounts only beyond the first child.

## Sources
- VA.gov compensation rates: https://www.va.gov/disability/compensation-rates/veteran-rates/
- VA.gov past rates 2025: https://www.va.gov/disability/compensation-rates/veteran-rates/past-rates-2025/
- VA.gov past rates 2024: https://www.va.gov/disability/compensation-rates/veteran-rates/past-rates-2024/
- 38 CFR 4.25 and 4.26 (eCFR, Title 38, Part 4, Subpart A)
- SSA COLA announcement, October 14, 2026 (percentage only, not a VA dollar table): https://www.ssa.gov/news/en/press/releases/2026-10-14.html

## Optional
- Full detail: https://vapayiq.com/llms-full.txt
- Resources and source register: https://vapayiq.com/resources/