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VA Disability Rates 2027: When the New Table Drops and What to Expect
Every October the SSA announces the COLA that becomes the next year's VA rates - here is when the 2027 table arrives and how the math will run.
The facts
- 012027 rates take effect December 1, 2026 and are published in the Federal Register shortly after - the first deposit at the new rate arrives in early January 2027 (VA pays one month in arrears).
- 02The percentage is set by the CPI-W: SSA averages the index for July-September 2026, compares it to the same quarter of 2025, and announces the COLA in mid-October 2026.
- 03The mechanism is the same statute every year (38 U.S.C. 5312): VA rates move exactly with the Social Security COLA - in 2026 that linkage produced a 2.8% raise.
- 04The published dollar table is the prior-year rate multiplied by 1 + COLA, rounded down to the whole dollar, per the rounding rule in 38 U.S.C. 5312(c)(1).
- 05Watch va.gov and the Federal Register in October-December 2026 - any site quoting exact 2027 dollar amounts before the SSA announcement is guessing, because the percentage does not exist yet.
Sources
StewardWise is free for veterans and their families and always will be. Educational information only — not legal, tax, financial, or VA-benefits advice; figures verified against the cited sources for 2026.
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