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Rating guide · Mental health

Depression & Anxiety: Two Ways In, One Rating

Some veterans’ depression traces straight back to service. For many others it grew out of a service injury, the pain that never quite stopped, or the work they couldn’t do anymore. Both can be service-connected.

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Direct vs. secondary
Official criteria
Why it’s one rating
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Service connection

Two Ways to Connect It

Directly from service

Symptoms or treatment during service, a documented change after a specific event, or a stressful assignment that started the decline. Statements from people who knew you before and after help.

As a result of another service-connected condition

This is where many Kansas veterans qualify. If a service-connected back, knee, tinnitus, migraine or TBI condition caused or worsened your depression or anxiety, it can be connected as secondary. A medical opinion explaining the connection is the key evidence.

38 CFR 4.130

How the VA Sets the Percentage

The same formula covers every mental health diagnosis. 2026 pay for a veteran with no dependents.

Current as of October 2026. Pay effective December 1, 2025; dependents add more at 30% and above.
Rating	VA criteria	2026 pay (alone)
100%	Total occupational and social impairment, due to such symptoms as: gross impairment in thought processes or communication; persistent delusions or hallucinations; grossly inappropriate behavior; persistent danger of hurting self or others; intermittent inability to perform activities of daily living (including maintenance of minimal personal hygiene); disorientation to time or place; memory loss for names of close relatives, own occupation, or own name.	$3,938.58
70%	Occupational and social impairment, with deficiencies in most areas, such as work, school, family relations, judgment, thinking, or mood, due to such symptoms as: suicidal ideation; obsessional rituals which interfere with routine activities; speech intermittently illogical, obscure, or irrelevant; near-continuous panic or depression affecting the ability to function independently, appropriately and effectively; impaired impulse control (such as unprovoked irritability with periods of violence); spatial disorientation; neglect of personal appearance and hygiene; difficulty in adapting to stressful circumstances (including work or a worklike setting); inability to establish and maintain effective relationships.	$1,808.45
50%	Occupational and social impairment with reduced reliability and productivity due to such symptoms as: flattened affect; circumstantial, circumlocutory, or stereotyped speech; panic attacks more than once a week; difficulty in understanding complex commands; impairment of short- and long-term memory (e.g., retention of only highly learned material, forgetting to complete tasks); impaired judgment; impaired abstract thinking; disturbances of motivation and mood; difficulty in establishing and maintaining effective work and social relationships.	$1,132.90
30%	Occupational and social impairment with occasional decrease in work efficiency and intermittent periods of inability to perform occupational tasks (although generally functioning satisfactorily, with routine behavior, self-care, and conversation normal), due to such symptoms as: depressed mood, anxiety, suspiciousness, panic attacks (weekly or less often), chronic sleep impairment, mild memory loss (such as forgetting names, directions, recent events).	$552.47
10%	Occupational and social impairment due to mild or transient symptoms which decrease work efficiency and ability to perform occupational tasks only during periods of significant stress, or symptoms controlled by continuous medication.	$180.42
0%	A mental condition has been formally diagnosed, but symptoms are not severe enough either to interfere with occupational and social functioning or to require continuous medication.	$0.00

Worth knowing

One Rating Covers Every Mental Health Diagnosis

Depression, anxiety and PTSD together still produce one mental health rating. Make sure the examiner hears about all of your symptoms, since they’re judged as a whole. Write them down beforehand, along with what they’ve cost you at work and at home.

FAQ

Depression & Anxiety VA Rating: Common Questions

Can my knee injury make my depression service-connected?

Yes, if the knee condition is service-connected and a medical opinion links your depression to it.

Do I need treatment records from the military?

Not for a secondary claim. A current diagnosis and a medical opinion connecting it to a service-connected condition are what matter.

Why didn’t I get separate ratings for anxiety and depression?

The VA rates all mental health conditions together as a single rating based on the overall impact.

Will taking medication lower my rating?

Not by itself. Symptoms controlled by medication support at least 10%, and higher ratings reflect remaining impairment.

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