Depression and anxiety are among the most commonly claimed — and most frequently under-rated — VA disability conditions. Military culture trains veterans to minimize symptoms, and that instinct works directly against getting an accurate rating. Here's exactly what the VA looks for and how to document your symptoms properly.
The VA rates depression, anxiety, and most other mental health conditions using the same General Rating Formula for Mental Disorders. Ratings are 0%, 10%, 30%, 50%, 70%, or 100% based on functional impairment. A 70% rating pays $1,760.58/month tax-free. Use our pay calculator for your exact amount.
The VA Mental Health Rating Scale (2026)
| Rating | Level of Impairment | Monthly Pay (Alone) |
|---|---|---|
| 0% | Diagnosis confirmed but symptoms not severe enough to interfere with occupational or social functioning, or requiring continuous medication | $0 (establishes service connection) |
| 10% | Mild or transient symptoms; work efficiency decreased only during significant stress periods; well-controlled by medication | $175.51 |
| 30% | Occasional work efficiency decrease; intermittent inability to perform tasks; depressed mood, anxiety, panic attacks (weekly or less), chronic sleep impairment, mild memory loss | $524.31 |
| 50% | Reduced reliability and productivity; flattened affect, panic attacks more than once a week, impaired judgment, difficulty maintaining effective relationships | $1,075.16 |
| 70% | Deficiencies in most areas — work, school, family, judgment, thinking; suicidal ideation, obsessional rituals, near-continuous panic, impaired impulse control, inability to maintain effective relationships | $1,760.58 |
| 100% | Total occupational and social impairment; persistent delusions, grossly inappropriate behavior, persistent danger of self-harm, disorientation, memory loss for close relatives | $3,737.85 |
Why Veterans Get Rated Too Low
The most common reason veterans receive lower ratings than they deserve is minimizing symptoms during the C&P exam. Military culture rewards stoicism — but the C&P exam is exactly the wrong place for it. The examiner can only rate what they document, and they document what you tell them. Always describe your worst days, not your average or best days.
What to Document for Each Rating Level
To support 50%: Document panic attacks occurring more than once per week, difficulty maintaining work relationships, impaired judgment in stressful situations, difficulty understanding complex instructions.
To support 70%: Document suicidal ideation (if present — this is critical evidence), inability to maintain any effective relationships, near-continuous symptoms, inability to adapt to stressful circumstances, neglect of personal hygiene on bad days.
Secondary Service Connection for Depression/Anxiety
Depression and anxiety can also be claimed secondary to service-connected physical conditions. Common primary conditions that support secondary mental health claims:
- Chronic pain conditions — Back injuries, knee conditions, and other pain disorders cause secondary depression in a majority of chronic pain patients. See our secondary conditions guide.
- TBI — Brain injury causes neurological disruption that produces depression and anxiety. See our TBI guide.
- Tinnitus — The constant ringing of tinnitus causes anxiety and sleep disruption that develops into clinical anxiety and depression.
- Fibromyalgia — Strongly associated with secondary depression. See our fibromyalgia guide.
Getting a Nexus Letter for Secondary Mental Health
For secondary depression or anxiety, ask your treating mental health provider to write a statement connecting your mental health condition to the primary service-connected condition. The statement should include the phrase "at least as likely as not." See our nexus letter guide for the complete process.
Calculate Your Mental Health Rating
See what your depression or anxiety rating is worth with or without secondary conditions added.
Combined Rating Calculator →