2027 VA Disability Rates: The Estimate for Every Rating, and the Two Things Still Missing

As of October 3, 2026, there are no official 2027 VA disability compensation rates. Two things are missing. The first is the percentage: it comes from the Consumer Price Index for July, August and September, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes September on October 14, 2026. The second is the law: VA disability compensation does not rise on its own, and the bill that would carry the increase has not passed the House or the Senate. What is settled is enough for a close estimate. July and August are published, and with them the increase lands between 3.4% and 3.6%. At 3.5%, a veteran rated 100% with no dependents would go from $3,938.58 to $4,076.43 a month.

The estimate for every rating, veteran with no dependents

The first column is the monthly rate in effect since December 1, 2025, the same table behind the VA disability calculator. The next three apply the only three outcomes the published data still allows.

At the middle estimate of 3.5%, the increase is $6.31 a month at 10%, $39.65 at 50%, $63.30 at 70% and $137.85 at 100%. Over a year that is $75.72, $475.80, $759.60 and $1,654.20. The spread between the lowest and highest outcome is small: $7.88 a month at 100% and under $4.00 at every rating below 80%.

With a spouse

Additional compensation for dependents starts at a 30% rating under 38 U.S.C. § 1115, so there is no with-spouse rate at 10% or 20%. These rows are a veteran with a spouse and no children or dependent parents.

So a veteran rated 80% with a spouse, $2,277.15 today, would receive about $2,356.85 at 3.5%. At 90% with a spouse, $2,559.30 becomes about $2,648.88. Children, dependent parents and a spouse who needs aid and attendance each add more; the calculator shows the current amounts.

How the estimate is built

Each figure is the current rate times one plus the percentage, rounded to the cent. When the VA publishes its own table, a figure can differ from ours by a few cents depending on how each line is rounded. Treat the tables as a planning range, and replace them with the VA table the day it is posted.

Why the percentage is not final until October 14

The adjustment compares the average CPI-W for July, August and September with the same three months a year earlier. The base, the third quarter of 2025, is fixed at 317.265. July 2026 came in at 327.104 and August at 328.481. September is the only open number. If September matches August, the result is 3.4%. At the average August to September move of the last ten years it is 3.5%, and at the largest move of those ten years it is 3.6%. The full arithmetic is in our 2027 COLA guide. The same comparison sets the Social Security increase and the adjustment to military retired pay.

Why a bill still has to pass

This is the part most coverage skips. VA pension and Dependency and Indemnity Compensation follow the Social Security increase by permanent law, 38 U.S.C. § 5312. Disability compensation does not. The automatic authority in 38 U.S.C. § 1104(a) covered fiscal years 1998 through 2013, and since then Congress has passed a separate Veterans' Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act to carry the increase across.

For 2027 that bill is S. 4487 in the Senate and H.R. 8552 in the House. We read both records on Congress.gov on October 3, 2026. S. 4487 was referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs on May 11, 2026, with no action since. H.R. 8552 was forwarded by subcommittee to the full committee by voice vote on June 30, 2026, and has not moved since. Last year's act became Public Law 119-42 on November 25, 2025, six days before the December 1 date it authorized.

When the new rate is paid

Once authorized, the increase is effective December 1, 2026 and appears in the payment that covers December. Nothing changes in the October and November payments.

What to do with this

• Plan on a range. For every $1,000.00 of monthly compensation, the three outcomes add $34.00, $35.00 or $36.00.
• Check your combined rating first. A rating that moves from 60% to 70% changes your pay far more than any COLA. The VA disability calculator runs the combined-rating math and shows current pay with dependents.
• If you are retired, look at both checks. Retired pay rises by the same percentage on the same date without a bill, and the concurrent receipt calculator shows how the two payments interact.
• Come back after October 14. The percentage will be exact that morning. We will update this page then, and again when the bill passes.

The bottom line

The 2027 VA disability rates are not published and cannot be until two things happen: BLS releases the September CPI-W on October 14, 2026, and Congress passes S. 4487 or H.R. 8552. The data already in hand puts the increase at 3.4% to 3.6%, which means $4,072.49 to $4,080.37 a month at 100% with no dependents, effective December 1, 2026. Rates shown are the calendar-2026 figures now in effect. Always verify with the VA or your finance office before making financial decisions.