2027 VA Disability COLA: August CPI-W, Estimate, and Key Dates

The 2027 VA disability COLA is not official. Two of the three required 2026 third-quarter CPI-W readings are now final: July was 327.104 and August was 328.481, both not seasonally adjusted. September remains pending, so no one can calculate the official percentage yet. If September merely matches August, WVCOFCSRA’s transparent hold-August-flat scenario produces a provisional 3.4% COLA after the Social Security rounding steps; that is an assumption, not an SSA or VA forecast. BLS is scheduled to release September’s CPI on October 14, 2026 at 8:30 a.m. ET. H.R. 8552 and S. 4487, which would apply the Social Security increase to VA compensation effective December 1, remain pending and are not law. VA has not published final 2027 disability payment tables. Keep using official 2026 rates for budgeting, and return after the October release for the complete calculation.

What changed with the August CPI-W release?

BLS released the August 2026 Consumer Price Index on September 11 at 8:30 a.m. ET. The official CPI-W index was 328.481, up 3.5% from August 2025. That supplies the second of the three monthly index levels needed for the annual COLA calculation.

The important distinction is between the index level and a headline inflation rate:

• 328.481 is August’s CPI-W index level on the 1982–84=100 base. This is an input to the COLA formula.
• 3.5% is August-to-August CPI-W inflation. It is not the 2027 COLA.
• 3.4% on this page is a provisional scenario that assumes September equals August. It is not an official input or announcement.

The previous version of this tracker showed a 3.5%–3.6% range from forecasts published before the actual August value. Those forecasts and the old 3.6% projected table are no longer presented as current. Actual BLS data has replaced one of their assumptions; keeping the old range beside the new input would blur forecast and fact.

The official inputs so far

July plus August 2026 equals 655.585. Dividing by two gives 327.7925, which rounds to 327.793 at three decimals. That two-month average is useful context, but the law uses the complete July-through-September quarter. Treating 327.793 as the comparison-quarter average would skip a required month.

How the 2027 COLA formula works

Social Security’s method uses the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers—not the broader CPI-U number that usually leads news reports. It compares the average CPI-W for July, August, and September 2026 with the corresponding average from the last year in which a COLA took effect.

The 2025 base quarter is:

• July: 316.349
• August: 317.306
• September: 318.139
• Total: 951.794
• Average, rounded to 0.001: 317.265

The formula cannot produce an official result while September is blank. The annual year-over-year inflation figure, a two-month average, and a scenario all answer different questions.

Current provisional scenarios—not forecasts

The table below does not predict September. It holds July and August at their authenticated BLS values and changes only the explicitly stated September assumption. Each result follows the SSA sequence: round the Q3 average to 0.001, compute the increase, then round the percentage to 0.1.

The middle row is the simplest current reference scenario because it assumes no September change from the latest actual index. It is still an assumption. BLS has not published 328.481 for September, SSA has not announced 3.4%, and VA has not adopted that number.

What would September need to be?

With July and August fixed, the final rounded result changes at calculable September index levels. These thresholds are not forecasts; they show where the official rounding would move if BLS later reports a value at or above the listed point.

For example, an official September CPI-W of 328.096 would be just enough for the final calculation to round to 3.4% under this input set. A value one-thousandth below a threshold can remain in the lower rounded band. The thresholds were independently recomputed using decimal arithmetic and integer-thousandth enumeration.

Why there is no projected 2027 VA rate table here now

Applying 3.4% to today’s payment amounts can produce arithmetic, but not VA’s final table. Three separate things are still missing:

1. The September CPI-W input and official COLA. BLS and SSA have not completed those steps.
2. Enacted VA COLA legislation. H.R. 8552 and S. 4487 remain pending.
3. VA implementation and published amounts. Statutory and agency rounding can matter across basic, dependent, DIC, clothing-allowance, and SMC tables.

For scale only, multiplying the current 100% Veteran-alone 2026 rate of $3,938.58 by 1.034 gives $4,072.49. That is a worked example under a provisional assumption—not a final 2027 rate, payment promise, or VA table. Use the official current disability-rate guide for amounts that apply now.

Where the 2027 VA COLA bills stand

The Social Security COLA does not by itself rewrite the title 38 VA amounts. Congress normally passes an annual Veterans’ Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act that directs VA to use the same percentage.

As of this update:

• H.R. 8552 was introduced April 28, 2026 and forwarded by the House Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs to the full House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs by voice vote on June 30. The full House has not passed it.
• S. 4487 was introduced May 11, 2026 and referred to the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs. No later action appears in the current official status file.
• Neither bill is law. Both propose a December 1, 2026 effective date and tie the VA increase to the Social Security percentage; neither supplies the still-unknown percentage.

A subcommittee action is not House passage, Senate passage, enrollment, or enactment. This tracker will update the status if either bill moves.

What happens next?

1. August 12, 2026: BLS released July CPI-W at 327.104. First official Q3 input.
2. September 11, 2026: BLS released August CPI-W at 328.481. Second official Q3 input.
3. October 14, 2026 at 8:30 a.m. ET: BLS is scheduled to release September CPI-W. The complete Q3 calculation can then be performed.
4. After the official percentage: Congress still must enact the VA increase, and VA must publish the implemented 2027 amounts.
5. December 1, 2026: proposed effective date in H.R. 8552 and S. 4487 if matching legislation becomes law.

Do not file a claim or pay anyone to “activate” an annual COLA. An enacted across-the-board adjustment applies automatically to existing awards; it does not change a disability rating. A rating increase, dependent change, or SMC request is a separate transaction with separate evidence.

2027 VA COLA update log

• September 16, 2026 — substantive update after the August release. Added official August 2026 CPI-W of 328.481, preserved July 327.104 and the 2025 base quarter, marked September pending, independently recalculated three scenarios and five rounding thresholds, replaced stale pre-August forecasts with a labeled 3.4% hold-August-flat scenario, removed the old projected 3.6% table, and set October 14 at 8:30 a.m. ET as the next official milestone. The official 2027 COLA and final VA tables remain unavailable.
• September 4, 2026 — initial publication. Published the tracker after the July CPI release with then-current non-government forecasts, the pending August and September inputs, and the official bill status. The canonical URL and original publication date are preserved.

This page will keep the same web address. The next substantive update is due after the September CPI release or an earlier material legislative action.

Bottom line

July CPI-W is 327.104 and August is 328.481. Their two-month average, 327.793, is not the 2027 COLA because September is still missing. If September matches August, the official method would yield a provisional 3.4% scenario; the rounded 3.4% band begins at a September CPI-W of 328.096 with the current inputs. BLS is scheduled to publish the last month on October 14, 2026 at 8:30 a.m. ET. Until then, no official percentage exists. Even after that calculation, pending VA legislation must become law and VA must publish the implemented amounts. Use current 2026 rates—not a scenario—for actual budgeting.

About this update: The CSRA Women Veterans Resource Guide is an independent informational publisher, not the Department of Veterans Affairs or another government agency. This article does not determine eligibility or replace instructions from the responsible official source.

Questions or corrections? Contact us.

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