All VA Disability Claims List: Body Systems, Ratings, and PACT Act

The VA disability claims list spans hundreds of conditions organized into 15 body-system categories in the Schedule for Rating Disabilities, each assigned a diagnostic code and a rating from 0% to 100% based on severity. If a condition is connected to your military service, the VA pays tax-free monthly compensation based on that rating. What follows is a working guide to what qualifies, how the most-claimed conditions are rated, and how those ratings translate into money.

The 15 Body-System Categories

Every ratable condition falls into one of these categories under 38 CFR Part 4:1eCFR. Title 38, Chapter I, Part 4 — Schedule for Rating Disabilities

  • Musculoskeletal system — back, knee, shoulder, arthritis, flat feet, joint limitations
  • Organs of special sense (eyes) — vision loss, macular degeneration
  • Auditory acuity (ears) — hearing loss, tinnitus
  • Infectious diseases, immune disorders, nutritional deficiencies
  • Respiratory system — asthma, COPD, sleep apnea, sinusitis
  • Cardiovascular system — heart disease, hypertension, vascular disorders
  • Digestive system — GERD, IBS, liver conditions, hernias
  • Genitourinary system — kidney disease, voiding dysfunction, erectile dysfunction
  • Gynecological conditions and disorders of the breast
  • Hematologic and lymphatic systems
  • Skin — dermatitis, eczema, scars, psoriasis
  • Endocrine system — diabetes, thyroid disorders
  • Neurological conditions and convulsive disorders — migraines, epilepsy, MS, TBI residuals, nerve damage
  • Mental disorders — PTSD, depression, anxiety
  • Dental and oral conditions

Most Commonly Claimed Conditions and Their Ratings

A handful of conditions dominate VA claims. Typical rating ranges for each:

  • Tinnitus — flat 10% (the maximum schedular rating)
  • Hearing loss — 0% to 100%, though most veterans fall between 0% and 10%
  • Limitation of knee flexion — 0% to 30%, most often 10%
  • PTSD — 0%, 30%, 50%, 70%, or 100%
  • Lumbosacral and cervical strain (back and neck) — 0% to 100%, based on range of motion
  • Scars — 0% to 80%, depending on location, size, and whether they are painful or unstable
  • Paralysis of the sciatic nerve — 10%, 20%, 40%, 60%, or 80%
  • Migraines — 0%, 10%, 30%, or 50%, based on frequency of prostrating attacks2eCFR. 38 CFR 4.124a — Neurological Conditions and Convulsive Disorders
  • Sleep apnea — 0%, 30%, 50%, or 100%; a 50% rating requires use of a breathing assistance device such as a CPAP3eCFR. 38 CFR 4.97 — Schedule of Ratings, Respiratory System
  • Depression and anxiety — 0%, 10%, 30%, 50%, 70%, or 100% under the mental disorders formula4Legal Information Institute. 38 CFR 4.130 — Schedule of Ratings, Mental Disorders
  • Diabetes mellitus type 2 — 10%, 20%, 40%, 60%, or 100%
  • Flat feet (pes planus) — 0%, 10%, 20%, 30%, or 50%

How Ratings Work Within Each Body System

Mental Health Conditions

PTSD (code 9411), major depressive disorder (9434), generalized anxiety disorder (9400), panic disorder (9412), and OCD (9404) are all rated under a single General Rating Formula for Mental Disorders. The rating reflects occupational and social impairment:4Legal Information Institute. 38 CFR 4.130 — Schedule of Ratings, Mental Disorders

  • 100% — total impairment; persistent delusions or hallucinations, inability to perform daily activities, or persistent danger to self or others
  • 70% — deficiencies in most areas; suicidal ideation, near-continuous depression or panic, impaired impulse control, neglect of hygiene
  • 50% — reduced reliability and productivity; weekly panic attacks, impaired judgment, difficulty maintaining work and social relationships
  • 30% — occasional decrease in work efficiency; depressed mood, anxiety, chronic sleep impairment
  • 10% — mild symptoms only under stress, or controlled by medication
  • 0% — diagnosis present but no interference with functioning

Musculoskeletal Conditions

Knee and back conditions are the most frequently claimed disabilities in this category. Ratings depend on range of motion, functional loss from pain and weakness, and the presence of instability or ankylosis. Knee claims alone cover osteoarthritis, meniscal tears, ligament injuries, patellar instability, stress fractures, bursitis, and shin splints, among others.5VA Benefits Administration. VA Disability Benefits Questionnaire — Knee and Lower Leg Conditions Examiners must document pain during movement, functional loss after repetitive use, and flare-up limitations.

Neurological Conditions

The neurological schedule covers everything from peripheral nerve damage to central nervous system disease:2eCFR. 38 CFR 4.124a — Neurological Conditions and Convulsive Disorders

  • ALS — automatic 100%
  • Multiple sclerosis — minimum 30%
  • Traumatic brain injury — 0%, 10%, 40%, 70%, or 100% based on cognitive, emotional, and physical dysfunction across 10 assessment areas
  • Sciatic nerve paralysis — 10% for mild incomplete paralysis up to 80% for complete paralysis
  • Epilepsy — 10% for a confirmed diagnosis up to 100% for at least one major seizure per month

Respiratory Conditions

Ratings here rely heavily on pulmonary function tests. Chronic bronchitis, COPD, asthma, emphysema, and interstitial lung diseases run from 10% to 100%. Sleep apnea uses diagnostic code 6847, with the rating driven by whether a breathing device is needed and whether respiratory failure is present.6Legal Information Institute. 38 CFR 4.97 — Schedule of Ratings, Respiratory System Note one boundary: the VA prohibits separate ratings for coexisting respiratory conditions. A single rating is assigned under the diagnostic code reflecting the predominant disability.

Digestive Conditions

GERD received its own diagnostic code (7206) in a rule change effective May 19, 2024, with ratings from 0% to 80% keyed to esophageal stricture.7Federal Register. Schedule for Rating Disabilities: The Digestive System IBS remains capped at a 30% schedular maximum. As with respiratory conditions, overlapping digestive conditions typically get a single combined evaluation rather than separate ratings.8eCFR. 38 CFR 4.114 — Schedule of Ratings, Digestive System

Skin Conditions

Skin conditions are rated by the percentage of body surface area affected by lesions and whether systemic therapy (medications that circulate through the body, as opposed to topical creams) is needed. The general formula runs from 0% to 60%. Scars are rated separately by size, location, and whether they are painful or unstable, up to 40% for deep scars covering large areas. Disfiguring scars of the head, face, or neck can reach 80%.9Legal Information Institute. 38 CFR 4.118 — Schedule of Ratings, Skin

Genitourinary Conditions

The VA overhauled genitourinary ratings in November 2021, replacing subjective terms with objective lab values. Renal dysfunction is now rated 0% to 100% based on glomerular filtration rate, aligned with clinical kidney disease staging.10Federal Register. Schedule for Rating Disabilities: The Genitourinary Diseases and Conditions Voiding dysfunction is rated by leakage frequency, daytime voiding intervals, and whether catheterization is required.11eCFR. 38 CFR 4.115a — Ratings of the Genitourinary System Erectile dysfunction alone gets a 0% (noncompensable) rating, though veterans may qualify for Special Monthly Compensation and secondary service connection for related mental health conditions.

How a Condition Gets Connected to Service

A rating means nothing unless the condition is service-connected. There are three routes:

  • Direct service connection. The disease or injury was incurred or aggravated during active duty, active duty for training, or inactive duty training.
  • Secondary service connection. A condition that developed after service but was caused or worsened by an already service-connected disability. Common examples: radiculopathy from a service-connected back condition, peripheral neuropathy from service-connected diabetes, depression stemming from chronic pain in an orthopedic disability. A secondary claim requires a current diagnosis and a medical opinion (a “nexus”) tying the new condition to the primary one.12VA.gov. When To File a VA Disability Claim
  • Presumptive service connection. The VA presumes the link based on where and when you served, so you don’t need to prove causation yourself. This covers Agent Orange, PACT Act toxic exposures, and certain chronic diseases that appear within specific timeframes after service.

PACT Act Presumptive Conditions

The PACT Act (Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics Act) sharply expanded the presumptive list.13VA.gov. The PACT Act and Your VA Benefits Presumptive cancers now include brain cancer, gastrointestinal cancer, glioblastoma, head and neck cancers, kidney cancer, lymphoma, melanoma, pancreatic cancer, reproductive cancers, and respiratory cancers. Presumptive illnesses include asthma diagnosed after service, COPD, chronic bronchitis, chronic sinusitis, chronic rhinitis, emphysema, pulmonary fibrosis, interstitial lung disease, and sarcoidosis, among others.

For Agent Orange, the PACT Act added hypertension and monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance to the existing list, and the VA expanded qualifying locations to include areas in Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Guam, American Samoa, and Johnston Atoll.

In January 2025, the VA added acute and chronic leukemias, multiple myelomas, myelodysplastic syndromes, and myelofibrosis as presumptive conditions for veterans who served in Southwest Asia, Somalia, Afghanistan, Syria, and several other locations, citing a positive association between these blood cancers and exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5).14Federal Register. Presumptive Service Connection for Leukemias, Multiple Myelomas, Myelodysplastic Syndromes Polycythemia vera and essential thrombocythemia were under review as of late 2024.

If your claim for one of these conditions was denied before it became presumptive, you can file a Supplemental Claim for reconsideration.

How Multiple Ratings Combine

Veterans with more than one service-connected condition receive a combined rating, but the VA does not add the numbers. It uses a “whole person” method. You start at 100% able-bodied, and each disability is applied to the portion still remaining:15VA.gov. About VA Disability Ratings

  • A 50% rating leaves 50% remaining.
  • A second 30% rating applied to that remaining 50% adds 15%, for a combined 65%.
  • A third 10% rating applied to the remaining 35% adds 3.5%, for a combined 68.5%.

The final figure rounds to the nearest 10%. Values ending in 5 through 9 round up; 1 through 4 round down. So 68.5% becomes 70%.

A “bilateral factor” applies when disabilities affect paired extremities (both arms, both legs, or one arm and one leg). The two bilateral conditions combine first, then 10% of that combined value is added before continuing. A 20% left shoulder and 20% right elbow combine to 36%; the bilateral factor adds 3.6%, bringing the bilateral total to 39.6% before any other conditions are folded in.

Reaching 100% and Individual Unemployability

You can reach 100% two ways. First, a schedular 100%, where combined ratings hit that mark. Some conditions carry an automatic 100% schedular rating — active cancer, ALS, total laryngectomy.

Second, Total Disability based on Individual Unemployability (TDIU) pays at the 100% rate even when your schedular rating is lower. To qualify, you must be unable to maintain substantially gainful employment because of service-connected disabilities, and you must meet a rating threshold: at least one disability rated 60% or higher, or two or more disabilities combining to 70% or higher with at least one rated 40% or more.16VA.gov. VA Individual Unemployability Frequent hospitalization may open the door at lower thresholds. TDIU does not change your official rating; it lifts your monthly payment to the 100% level.

Special Monthly Compensation

Beyond the rating schedule, SMC pays extra for specific severe disabilities or care needs, organized by letter:17VA.gov. Special Monthly Compensation Rates

  • SMC-K — an added $139.87 per month for specific anatomical losses (such as loss of a creative organ); up to three SMC-K awards can stack
  • SMC-L through O/P — for combinations of limb loss or loss of use, blindness, permanent bedridden status, or need for daily Aid and Attendance; a veteran with no dependents receives from $4,900.83 (L) to $6,877.12 (O/P) per month
  • SMC-S — $4,408.53 per month for a veteran alone who is housebound due to service-connected disabilities
  • SMC-R — for daily personal assistance with basic needs like dressing, eating, and bathing; $9,826.88 (R.1) or $11,271.67 (R.2/T) per month

2026 Monthly Payments

Rates effective December 1, 2025 reflect a 2.8% cost-of-living adjustment. All payments are tax-free. For a veteran with no dependents:18VA.gov. VA Disability Compensation Rates

  • 10% — $180.42
  • 20% — $356.66
  • 30% — $552.47
  • 40% — $795.84
  • 50% — $1,132.90
  • 60% — $1,435.02
  • 70% — $1,808.45
  • 80% — $2,102.15
  • 90% — $2,362.30
  • 100% — $3,938.58

Veterans rated 30% or higher receive additional amounts for dependents. A veteran rated 100% with a spouse receives $4,158.17 per month; with a spouse and one child, $4,318.99.19Military.com. VA Disability Pay Rates Additional amounts per child under 18 run from $32 at the 30% level to $109.11 at 100%. Children aged 18 to 23 enrolled in a qualifying school program qualify for higher amounts, up to $352.45 per month at the 100% level.