What a 30% VA disability rating may open up
A combined rating of 30% is a key to specific federal programs, and to state programs where you live. This page lists what exists at 30%, each with its official citation and the agency that actually decides. It is educational only: we explain the landscape, we determine nothing, and every program is decided by the agency named on it.
Monthly compensation at 30%
Rates effective December 1, 2025, parsed from VA.gov and pinned against the Federal Register cost-of-living notice. VA disability compensation is excluded from federal gross income. The exact amount depends on your dependent status; verify your own figure with VA.
Federal programs at 30%
These federal programs have a rating condition that a 30% combined rating meets. A program marked verify conditions turns on something a rating alone cannot show, like enrollment, age, or a combat-related determination.
Veterans rated 50% or higher may be assigned to Priority Group 1, generally with no copays, verify with VA health eligibility.
Veterans with any service-connected rating may be eligible for in-person commissary, exchange, and MWR privileges with a VHIC, verify with VA/DoD installation access.
Veterans enrolled in VA health care may be eligible for the Veteran Health Identification Card used for appointment check-in and installation access, verify with VA health eligibility.
Veterans with a compensable service-connected rating may be eligible for 10-point preference in federal hiring, verify with OPM or the hiring agency.
Veterans with a compensable service-connected rating may be eligible to exclude VA disability compensation from federal gross income, verify with the IRS.
Veterans with any service-connected rating may be eligible for guaranteed-acceptance whole life coverage of up to $40,000, verify with VA life insurance.
State programs are often the largest ones
Property tax exemptions, license waivers, park passes, and tuition programs vary by state and frequently outweigh the federal list. The Benefits Explorer merges your state’s verified programs into the same list, keyed to your rating.
Where does the 30% come from?
VA does not add ratings; it combines them under 38 CFR §4.25, and the result rounds to the nearest 10 at the very end. The VA math walks through the arithmetic step by step, and the free decode reads your own decision letter and checks its combined figure against the published tables.