10% VA Disability Rating: Benefits and 2026 Pay

Apply directly at this rating

• VA health care enrollment (priority group)

  VA assigns an enrollment priority group from the service-connected rating, and the group can affect what, if anything, you pay toward care.

  Assigned to priority group 3 (service-connected disability rated 10% or 20%).

  You have a service-connected disability that we've rated as 10% or 20% disabling, or

• VA home loan funding fee waiver

  The VA funding fee is not collected from a veteran who is receiving VA compensation (or would be, but for receiving retirement or active-duty pay). A 0% rating pays no compensation.

  A fee may not be collected under this section from a veteran who is receiving compensation

• Commissary, exchange and MWR privileges

  Unchanged since 0%: the summary and threshold quote are on the 0% page. Source: VA: commissary and exchange privileges for Veterans.

• VALife life insurance

  Unchanged since 0%: the summary and threshold quote are on the 0% page. Source: VA: Veterans Affairs Life Insurance (VALife).

• Federal hiring preference (10 points)

  A veteran with a service-connected disability gets 10 preference points in federal hiring. OPM labels the group by rating: XP below 10%, CP from 10% to under 30%, CPS from 30%.

  Group CP: a compensable service-connected disability rating of at least 10% but less than 30%, 10 points.

  CP - Disability rating of at least 10% but less than 30% (10 points)

Apply only if extra conditions are met

The percentage alone is not enough for these. Each one says what else VA or DoD looks at, such as a permanent and total rating, TDIU or a VA finding.

• VA beneficiary travel payConditions apply

  Reimbursement for travel to VA or VA-approved care. At 30% or more the rating itself is enough; below 30% the trip must be for a service-connected condition (or meet another listed reason).

  Below 30% the rating alone is not enough: VA lists traveling for treatment of a service-connected condition, or another listed reason such as a scheduled claim exam, as separate ways to qualify.

  You're traveling for treatment of a service-connected condition, even if your VA disability rating is less than 30%, or

• Veteran Readiness and Employment (VR&E)Conditions apply

  Employment support and training. The statute sets entitlement at a 20% rating with an employment handicap, or a 10% rating with a serious employment handicap; a VA counselor decides the handicap.

  At 10% the statute requires VA to determine that the veteran needs rehabilitation because of a serious employment handicap. VA says a 10% rating is enough to apply; a counselor decides entitlement.

  Also depends on: a VA finding of an employment handicap.

  has a service-connected disability rated at 10 percent which was incurred or aggravated in service on or after September 16, 1940; and

Not available at this rating

These need a higher rating or a different kind of rating: Additional compensation for dependents; VA dental care (Class IV); CHAMPVA health coverage for a spouse and children; Chapter 35 education benefits for a spouse and children (DEA); Space-A (space-available) military flights; Noncompetitive federal appointment (30% or more); Concurrent receipt of military retired pay and VA compensation (CRDP); Statutory housebound rate (SMC-S); Individual unemployability (TDIU): the 100% rate.

What benefits come with a 10% VA disability rating?

At 10%, 5 of the 16 listed benefits apply directly and 2 apply only if extra conditions are met. New or changed compared with 0%: VA health care enrollment (priority group); Veteran Readiness and Employment (VR&E); VA home loan funding fee waiver; and Federal hiring preference (10 points). Each threshold quote and source is on this page or the page for the level where it last changed.

How much does a 10% VA disability rating pay in 2026?

In 2026, 10% pays $180.42 a month ($2,165.04 a year) to a veteran alone, using VA's rates in effect since December 1, 2025. Dependent amounts start at 30%, so a spouse or child does not change the 10% amount.

Does 10% qualify for CHAMPVA, Chapter 35 or Space-A?

At 10%, VA's matrix does not list them below 60%: CHAMPVA, Chapter 35 and Space-A depend on a permanent and total rating, which the matrix lists at 100%, or at 60% to 90% only through a permanent TDIU rating. Separately, 38 CFR 4.16(b) tells rating boards to submit "all cases of veterans who are unemployable by reason of service-connected disabilities, but who fail to meet the percentage standards set forth in paragraph (a) of this section" for extra-schedular consideration, so TDIU can be considered below the 4.16(a) thresholds. This page does not predict whether it is granted.

What changes between 10% and 20%?

Going from 10% to 20% adds or changes: Veteran Readiness and Employment (VR&E). Pay for a veteran alone rises by $176.24 a month in 2026.

Does a 10% VA disability rating qualify for VR&E?

At 10%: Employment support and training. The statute sets entitlement at a 20% rating with an employment handicap, or a 10% rating with a serious employment handicap; a VA counselor decides the handicap. At 10% the statute requires VA to determine that the veteran needs rehabilitation because of a serious employment handicap. VA says a 10% rating is enough to apply; a counselor decides entitlement.