The VA rates service-connected asthma at 10, 30, 60, or 100 percent under Diagnostic Code 6602, and your VA asthma rating is set by whichever single criterion in the tier gives you the highest percentage, measured through pulmonary function tests and the intensity of medication you need. In 2026, that translates to monthly tax-free compensation ranging from $180.42 at 10 percent to $3,938.58 at 100 percent for a veteran with no dependents.1Veterans Affairs. Current Veterans Disability Compensation Rates
The Four Rating Tiers
You only need to meet one qualifying criterion within a tier to earn that rating. The tiers are cumulative in the sense that if you meet a higher tier’s criterion, that is the rating you get.2eCFR. 38 CFR 4.97 – Schedule of Ratings, Respiratory System
10 Percent
Any one of the following qualifies: FEV-1 of 71 to 80 percent predicted; FEV-1/FVC ratio of 71 to 80 percent; or intermittent use of an inhalational or oral bronchodilator. “Intermittent” means as-needed use of a rescue inhaler rather than daily. The 2026 monthly payment at this tier is $180.42, and unlike higher tiers, it does not increase for dependents.
30 Percent
Any one qualifies: FEV-1 of 56 to 70 percent predicted; FEV-1/FVC ratio of 56 to 70 percent; daily use of an inhalational or oral bronchodilator; or use of an inhalational anti-inflammatory medication. The move from 10 to 30 percent often turns on whether your bronchodilator use has shifted from occasional to daily, or whether you have been prescribed an inhaled corticosteroid like fluticasone for long-term control. The 2026 rate is $552.47 per month for a veteran with no dependents.
60 Percent
Any one qualifies: FEV-1 of 40 to 55 percent predicted; FEV-1/FVC ratio of 40 to 55 percent; at least monthly visits to a physician for exacerbation care; or at least three courses of oral or injected corticosteroids per year. The monthly-visit criterion is one veterans commonly overlook. If your asthma is uncontrolled enough that you see a doctor at least once a month for flare-ups, that fact alone supports a 60 percent rating even when your PFT numbers sit above the 40-to-55 range. Monthly compensation in 2026 is $1,435.02 with no dependents.
100 Percent
Any one qualifies: FEV-1 less than 40 percent predicted; FEV-1/FVC ratio less than 40 percent; more than one attack per week with episodes of respiratory failure; or daily use of high-dose oral or injected corticosteroids or immunosuppressive medications. The top tier is not reserved for catastrophic lung function. A prescribed daily systemic corticosteroid at a high dose, or an immunosuppressive drug used to control your asthma, qualifies on its own. The 2026 rate is $3,938.58 per month for a veteran with no dependents, with higher amounts for spouses, children, or dependent parents.
How the PFT Numbers Actually Get Recorded
FEV-1 measures how much air you can force out in one second. FVC measures the total air you can exhale after your deepest breath. The ratio between them tells the examiner how obstructed your airways are relative to your lung capacity. Both come from a spirometry session that takes roughly 15 to 30 minutes.
A frequent mistake is skipping your medication before the C&P exam in the hope that worse numbers will produce a higher rating. The regulation calls for the opposite. The examiner runs PFTs both before and after administering a bronchodilator, and the post-bronchodilator results are the ones used for your rating. The one exception: if your post-bronchodilator numbers come back worse than your pre-bronchodilator numbers, the VA uses the pre-bronchodilator values instead.3eCFR. 38 CFR 4.96 – Special Provisions for the Application of Rating Criteria for Respiratory Conditions
When different PFT measurements point to different tiers, the examiner identifies which test most accurately reflects your level of disability, and the VA uses that one. Where PFT results conflict with what the examiner sees clinically, the numbers still control unless the examiner writes out an explanation for why the PFTs are not a valid indicator in your case.3eCFR. 38 CFR 4.96 – Special Provisions for the Application of Rating Criteria for Respiratory Conditions
One more detail catches veterans off guard. If no clinical signs of asthma appear on exam day, the VA still needs a documented history of asthma attacks in your medical records. Without that paper trail, an examiner who finds clear lungs has little basis to confirm the diagnosis.2eCFR. 38 CFR 4.97 – Schedule of Ratings, Respiratory System
The Evidence That Moves Your Rating Up
Your rating is only as strong as the paper behind it. PFT numbers are one input. Medication history, treatment frequency, and emergency care records carry just as much weight, and for the higher tiers they often carry more.
Track your inhaler use in a log. Note every rescue bronchodilator dose and how many puffs. Record each course of oral corticosteroids like prednisone, including the dose and how many days the course lasted. Three qualifying courses in a year support 60 percent by itself. If you see a doctor monthly for flare-ups, those office notes need to reach the file. Emergency room visits for asthma attacks are especially useful because they document severity in real time.
Your VA medical records are available through the My HealtheVet portal, whose Blue Button feature lets you download a customized report of your treatment history.4My HealtheVet. Manage Your Health Records If you also receive care from private providers, request those records separately and submit them with your claim. The VA can only rate what it can see. Treatment gaps and missing prescription records are the most common reason veterans end up rated lower than their symptoms warrant.
One boundary worth naming: rating comes after service connection is established. Asthma is now a presumptive condition under the PACT Act for veterans who served in specified Gulf War and post-9/11 locations, which removes the need for a medical nexus opinion.5Veterans Affairs. The PACT Act and Your VA Benefits The rating criteria described here apply the same way regardless of which route you took to service connection.
Why You Get One Respiratory Rating, Not Two
If you have asthma along with another respiratory condition like COPD or sleep apnea, the VA will not give you separate ratings for both. Federal regulation prohibits combining ratings across most respiratory diagnostic codes. Instead, you receive one rating under whichever diagnosis reflects your predominant respiratory disability. If the second condition makes the overall picture worse than a single code would capture, the rater can bump the rating up to the next tier.3eCFR. 38 CFR 4.96 – Special Provisions for the Application of Rating Criteria for Respiratory Conditions
Conditions of the nose, sinuses, and throat sit outside that rule. Sinusitis and allergic rhinitis can be rated separately from your asthma because they fall under a different group of diagnostic codes. That matters if you have both asthma and chronic sinusitis tied to the same in-service exposure, since each condition contributes to your combined disability percentage.3eCFR. 38 CFR 4.96 – Special Provisions for the Application of Rating Criteria for Respiratory Conditions
Multiple ratings do not simply add together. A combined ratings table accounts for the diminishing impact of each additional disability. A 60 percent asthma rating combined with a separate 30 percent rating for another condition does not produce 90 percent. The 60 leaves you 40 percent efficient, and 30 percent of that remaining 40 is 12, for a combined value of 72, which rounds to 70.6eCFR. 38 CFR 4.25 – Combined Ratings Table
Temporary 100 Percent for Hospitalization or Surgery
If your service-connected asthma requires hospitalization at a VA facility or an approved hospital for more than 21 days, the VA assigns a temporary 100 percent rating for the length of the stay. The total rating starts on the first day of hospitalization and ends on the last day of the month you are discharged.7eCFR. 38 CFR 4.29 – Ratings for Service-Connected Disabilities Requiring Hospital Treatment or Observation
A separate provision covers post-surgical convalescence. If a surgical procedure for your service-connected asthma results in at least one month of recovery time, you can receive a temporary 100 percent rating during convalescence. Extensions of one to three months are available, and cases involving severe surgical complications can be extended further with approval.8eCFR. 38 CFR 4.30 – Convalescent Ratings
When Asthma Keeps You From Working
If your asthma is severe enough to prevent steady employment but your schedular rating is below 100 percent, you may qualify for Total Disability Individual Unemployability, or TDIU. TDIU pays at the 100 percent rate even though your rating on paper is lower.9Veterans Affairs. Individual Unemployability If You Can’t Work
The standard threshold requires either a single service-connected disability rated at 60 percent or more, or a combined rating of 70 percent or more with at least one disability at 40 percent or more. Respiratory disabilities count as a single body system for this test, so asthma at 30 percent and another lung condition rated at 50 percent, taken together as one respiratory disability, count as one qualifying disability for TDIU.10eCFR. 38 CFR 4.16 – Total Disability Ratings for Compensation Based on Unemployability of the Individual
Even below those percentage thresholds, the VA can grant TDIU on an extraschedular basis when service-connected disabilities genuinely prevent you from working. The regulation states that any veteran who cannot secure and follow substantially gainful employment due to service-connected disabilities should be rated totally disabled.10eCFR. 38 CFR 4.16 – Total Disability Ratings for Compensation Based on Unemployability of the Individual
If the Rating Comes Back Too Low
A rating you disagree with is not the end. You have one year from the date on your decision letter to pick one of three review paths.
A supplemental claim is the right choice when you have new evidence: a fresh PFT with worse numbers, updated records showing monthly exacerbation visits, or a stronger medical opinion. The VA’s processing goal for supplemental claims is 125 days.11Veterans Affairs. Supplemental Claims
A higher-level review puts a more senior reviewer on the file when you believe the VA misapplied the rating criteria or overlooked records already in the record. You cannot add new evidence.12Veterans Affairs. Higher-Level Reviews
A Board of Veterans’ Appeals appeal offers three dockets: direct review with no new evidence and no hearing; an evidence submission docket that gives you 90 days to add records; and a hearing before a Veterans Law Judge. The hearing docket allows the fullest presentation but takes the longest, and Board appeals generally run one to two years or more depending on the docket you choose.