The 2027 VA disability COLA is not official yet. So far only the July 2026 CPI-W is known — 327.104, up 3.4 percent over the year — and it is the first of three figures the cost-of-living adjustment uses. Published forecasts cluster near 3.5 to 3.6 percent: AARP estimates 3.5 percent and The Senior Citizens League projects 3.6 percent, both non-government numbers dated August 2026. The August CPI is due September 11 and the September CPI on October 14, when the official Social Security percentage can be set. VA compensation rises by that same percentage, but only after Congress passes the annual Veterans’ Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act, which is still pending. The projected rate table below uses today’s official 2026 rates and the 3.6 percent forecast; it is an estimate, not an official VA table. We update this page as each number arrives.
What is the latest 2027 VA disability COLA estimate?
There is no official 2027 VA disability COLA yet, and there will not be one until October. What exists today is a set of forecasts from non-government organizations, built on one month of inflation data.
The two most-cited come from AARP and The Senior Citizens League (TSCL), and both were published on August 12, 2026, the day the July Consumer Price Index came out:
| Source | 2027 COLA forecast | As of | Basis |
|---|---|---|---|
| AARP | 3.5% | August 12, 2026 (revised down from 3.6%) | AARP's own model using BLS data through July 2026 plus Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland inflation nowcasts for August and September |
| The Senior Citizens League | 3.6% | August 12, 2026 (revised down from 3.8%) | The July 2026 CPI-W applied to the third-quarter formula, with the remaining months held flat |
These are independent analyses, not one group repeating the other: TSCL projects from the actual CPI-W reported so far, while AARP layers in a separate forecast for the two months that have not been published. A 3.5 to 3.6 percent range is not a consensus that the answer is 3.6 percent — it is two estimates that will both move when real data replaces the assumptions. Neither number is a VA figure, a Social Security Administration figure, or a rate you can rely on for budgeting.
Why the 2027 VA COLA is not official yet
Three things all have to happen before the 2027 VA disability rates are real, and none of them has:
- The Social Security COLA has to be calculated. That needs the CPI-W for July, August and September 2026. Only July is in. The August figure publishes September 11 and the September figure publishes October 14.
- The COLA has to be announced. The Social Security Administration is expected to announce the official 2027 COLA on October 14, 2026, right after the September CPI release. SSA has not published a specific announcement time beyond that release date.
- Congress has to pass the VA increase. Unlike Social Security, VA disability compensation does not rise automatically. Congress passes a Veterans’ Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act every year. The 2026 versions — H.R. 8552 and S. 4487 — are still in committee.
Until all three are done, every 2027 VA rate you see, including the table on this page, is a projection.
How the 2027 COLA is calculated
The cost-of-living adjustment is set by law from the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) — a specific index the Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes, not the headline “CPI” number in most news reports (that is the broader CPI-U).
The Social Security Administration averages the CPI-W for July, August and September of the current year and compares that average with the same three-month average from the last year a COLA took effect. If the newer average is higher, the percentage increase — rounded to the nearest one-tenth of one percent — is the COLA. If it is not higher, there is no COLA that year.
Why July’s 3.4% inflation number is not a 3.4% COLA
When the July 2026 CPI came out, the headline was that prices were up about 3.4 percent over the year. The CPI-W rose 3.4 percent too. That number is real, but it is July-to-July inflation — this July compared with last July. It is not the COLA calculation.
The COLA compares a three-month average against a three-month baseline from a different year. Run July 2026 alone through that comparison and you get a different figure:
- July 2026 CPI-W: 327.104
- 2025 third-quarter baseline: 317.265
- (327.104 − 317.265) ÷ 317.265 × 100 = about 3.1 percent
So there are two different “3-point-something” numbers, and a third one that is only a forecast:
- 3.4% — July 2026 CPI-W versus July 2025 (year-over-year inflation).
- ~3.1% — July 2026 CPI-W versus the 2025 third-quarter COLA baseline (the first-month position).
- 3.5%-3.6% — what AARP and TSCL forecast the full three-month result will be.
None of those is the official 2027 COLA. That needs July, August and September 2026 averaged together.
What July 2026 CPI-W tells us so far
July gives us one of the three data points and nothing more. Measured against the 2025 third-quarter baseline, July 2026 sits about 3.1 percent higher. If August and September came in exactly flat from July — which essentially never happens — the COLA would round to about 3.1 percent. If prices keep rising through the quarter, the final figure lands higher, which is why the forecasts sit above the first-month position.
What can still move the number: the August and September CPI-W readings themselves, and within them energy prices, food, shelter and the other components BLS tracks. A hotter August pushes the COLA up; a cooler one pulls it down. We are not forecasting those components here — that is what the September 11 and October 14 releases are for.
When the next COLA numbers come out
- August 12, 2026: July 2026 CPI released. CPI-W = 327.104. First of the three inputs.
- September 11, 2026: August 2026 CPI released, 8:30 a.m. ET. Second input. Two of the three months known.
- October 14, 2026: September 2026 CPI released, 8:30 a.m. ET. Third and final input; the full third-quarter average — and the official 2027 COLA — can now be calculated.
- On or about October 14, 2026: the Social Security Administration is expected to announce the official 2027 COLA.
- December 1, 2026: the effective date written into H.R. 8552 and S. 4487 for a VA compensation increase — if Congress enacts the matching legislation.
We plan to update this page after the September 11 release, again after October 14, and again whenever the legislation moves or VA publishes official rates.
Projected 2027 VA disability rates if the COLA is 3.6%
The table below applies the 3.6 percent forecast — the higher of the two current estimates — to the current official 2026 rates for a Veteran with no dependents. These are the amounts effective December 1, 2025.
| VA disability rating | Current 2026 monthly rate | Projected 2027 monthly rate (3.6%) | Estimated monthly increase |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10% | $180.42 | $186.92 | $6.50 |
| 20% | $356.66 | $369.50 | $12.84 |
| 30% | $552.47 | $572.36 | $19.89 |
| 40% | $795.84 | $824.49 | $28.65 |
| 50% | $1,132.90 | $1,173.68 | $40.78 |
| 60% | $1,435.02 | $1,486.68 | $51.66 |
| 70% | $1,808.45 | $1,873.55 | $65.10 |
| 80% | $2,102.15 | $2,177.83 | $75.68 |
| 90% | $2,362.30 | $2,447.34 | $85.04 |
| 100% | $3,938.58 | $4,080.37 | $141.79 |
These are mathematical estimates using today’s official 2026 rates and the 3.6 percent forecast. VA’s official 2027 tables may differ after the final COLA is set and the statutory increase is implemented. If the COLA comes in at 3.5 percent instead, every figure is slightly lower — the 100 percent rate would be about $4,076.43 rather than $4,080.37.
How much could a 3.6% COLA add each month?
Under the 3.6 percent scenario, the monthly increase for a Veteran with no dependents would be roughly:
- 10%: about $6.50 more a month (about $78 more for the year).
- 50%: about $40.78 more a month (about $489 more for the year).
- 100%: about $141.79 more a month (about $1,701 more for the year).
A COLA is not a raise or a bonus. It is an adjustment meant to keep the payment’s buying power roughly level as prices rise; the extra dollars are meant to offset inflation that has already happened, not to add spending power on top of it.
What happens to dependent rates?
VA disability compensation at 30 percent and higher varies by dependents — a spouse, children, dependent parents, and spousal Aid and Attendance each add a set amount. When a COLA takes effect, the same percentage is applied across those statutory amounts, so a Veteran with dependents sees the increase on their higher starting figure.
This page shows only the Veteran-alone column, because the full dependent tables are long and VA publishes the official versions itself. As one worked example, a Veteran rated 100 percent with a spouse and no children currently receives $4,158.17 a month; a 3.6 percent COLA would put that near $4,307.86, an estimate.
Two current rules do not change: a 10 percent or 20 percent rating pays the same whether or not you have a dependent spouse, child or parent, so there is no dependent projection for those rows.
Does the COLA also affect DIC and special monthly compensation?
Yes. The annual Veterans’ Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act raises more than the basic disability rates. It also increases Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) for surviving spouses and children, the clothing allowance, and the Special Monthly Compensation (SMC) rates for the most serious disabilities and losses.
The current basic DIC rate for a surviving spouse is $1,699.36 a month, effective December 1, 2025. A 3.6 percent COLA would put it near $1,760.54, an estimate; VA will publish the official figure with the rest of the 2027 tables. The SMC rates move by the same percentage; VA maintains the full SMC table, which this page does not reproduce.
Why VA disability COLA matches Social Security
By law and by the design of the annual COLA bill, VA increases disability compensation by the same percentage as the Social Security title II cost-of-living increase. That is why a Social Security COLA forecast is also a VA disability COLA forecast — the percentage is shared, even though the underlying benefits are completely separate.
The difference is the mechanism. The Social Security COLA is permanent law: it happens automatically each year. The VA increase is not — Congress has to pass it annually, which is what H.R. 8552 and S. 4487 would do for 2027. Separate bills to make the VA COLA automatic have been introduced for years and have not become law.
The COLA also raises military retired pay through the same CPI-W mechanism. The separate question of whether a medically retired Veteran’s retired pay is reduced when they also draw VA disability compensation — and the Major Richard Star Act proposal to change that — is a different issue, covered in our Major Richard Star Act explainer on concurrent receipt, CRDP and CRSC. The annual COLA does not touch that offset.
What is the Veterans’ Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act of 2026?
It is the annual bill that authorizes the VA increase. There are two companion versions in the 119th Congress:
- H.R. 8552, introduced April 28, 2026 by Representative Morgan Luttrell of Texas, with Representative Morgan McGarvey of Kentucky as the original cosponsor.
- S. 4487, introduced May 11, 2026 by Senator Jerry Moran of Kansas, with a bipartisan group of 15 original cosponsors.
Both would direct VA to increase, effective December 1, 2026, the rates of wartime disability compensation, the additional amounts for dependents, the clothing allowance, and DIC for surviving spouses and children, by the same percentage as the Social Security COLA that takes effect the same day. VA would then publish the increased amounts in the Federal Register. The bills set the mechanism; they do not name a number, because the number is the COLA that has not been calculated yet.
Has the 2027 VA COLA bill passed?
No. As of September 4, 2026:
- H.R. 8552 was referred to the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs and then to its Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs. The subcommittee held a legislative hearing on June 25, 2026 and, on June 30, 2026, forwarded the bill to the full committee by voice vote. That is the most recent action. The full committee has not marked it up or reported it, and the House has not voted on it.
- S. 4487 was read twice and referred to the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs on May 11, 2026. There has been no further action.
- Neither bill has become law. There is no public law and no Federal Register notice of 2027 rates.
A subcommittee voice vote to move a bill forward is a procedural step, not passage by the House. These annual COLA bills are historically non-controversial and usually enacted before December, but “usually” is not “done.”
When would new VA disability rates take effect?
If Congress passes the bill with its current wording, the increased VA compensation rates would be effective December 1, 2026. Prior annual VA COLA laws have used the same December 1 effective date.
VA disability compensation is paid in arrears — the payment you receive at the start of a month covers the previous month. So a December 1, 2026 rate change would first appear in the payment covering December 2026, which Veterans typically receive around the turn of the year. We are not publishing a specific deposit date; if VA or the Treasury posts an official 2027 payment schedule, we will link it here.
When will VA publish the official 2027 rate tables?
After the COLA is announced and the legislation is enacted. VA updates its compensation-rate pages with the new amounts once the increase is law, and the exact December 1, 2026 figures — including the full dependent and SMC tables — come from VA at that point, not from this projection. This page will be updated to point to the official tables when they publish.
Do Veterans have to apply for the COLA?
No. An across-the-board statutory COLA is applied automatically to existing awards. There is no application, no form, and no need to file a new disability claim to receive it.
Filing is only relevant for a different benefit change — asking VA to increase your disability rating because a condition worsened, adding or removing a dependent, or applying for Special Monthly Compensation. Those are separate from the annual COLA and follow their own processes.
Does the COLA change my disability rating?
No. A COLA changes the dollar amount of the monthly payment. It does not change your disability rating. A Veteran rated 70 percent is still rated 70 percent after a COLA; only the payment attached to that rating goes up. The annual COLA is not a rating increase and does not require or trigger a re-evaluation.
What should Veterans do now?
Not much needs to change based on a forecast:
- Budget with the current 2026 rates, not the projection. The numbers in the table above are estimates.
- Do not change your claim activity because of a COLA forecast. If a condition has genuinely worsened, that is a rating question — separate from the COLA — and worth pursuing on its own timeline.
- Check back after September 11 and October 14, or watch SSA, BLS and VA directly for the official figures.
For official contacts, our official Veteran Resources directory groups the federal VA, Social Security and DFAS starting points with the dates each was verified, so you can confirm any COLA or rate figure against the responsible agency rather than a forwarded message.
No legitimate process asks you to pay a fee, share your bank login, or send your VA file number to “unlock,” “claim” or “expedite” your COLA — it is automatic. Treat any message that does the way you would treat any unexpected VA-looking contact, using the independent-verification habit in our guide to spotting fake VA messages and websites. WVCOFCSRA does not provide individual financial advice; a VA-accredited representative can address a specific situation.
2027 VA COLA update log
- September 4, 2026 — initial publication. Latest official CPI-W input: July 2026, 327.104 (up 3.4% over 12 months). Official 2027 COLA: not yet known. Current published forecasts: AARP 3.5%, The Senior Citizens League 3.6% (both August 12, 2026). August 2026 CPI scheduled for September 11, 2026; September 2026 CPI scheduled for October 14, 2026. VA COLA legislation: H.R. 8552 forwarded from a House subcommittee to the full Committee on Veterans' Affairs by voice vote on June 30, 2026; S. 4487 referred to the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs on May 11, 2026 with no further action. Neither bill is law.
Future updates will be added here as new CPI-W data, the official COLA, the legislation and VA’s official 2027 rate tables become available. The web address of this page will not change.
Bottom line
The 2027 VA disability COLA is still an estimate. July 2026 CPI-W of 327.104 is the first of three inputs and puts the running calculation about 3.1 percent above the 2025 third-quarter baseline; the July-to-July inflation figure of 3.4 percent is a different measure. AARP forecasts a 3.5 percent COLA and The Senior Citizens League forecasts 3.6 percent, both non-government estimates from August 2026. The official number can be calculated after the September CPI-W is released on October 14, 2026, and the VA increase then needs the annual Veterans’ Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act — H.R. 8552 and S. 4487 — which has only cleared a House subcommittee. Projected 2027 rates, including the roughly $141.79 monthly increase at the 100 percent level, are arithmetic on today’s official rates, not VA tables. Use the current 2026 rates until the real figures arrive.
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.
Discussion
Loading discussion…
No comments yet.
Comments are temporarily unavailable.
Leave a comment
Comments are moderated before publication. Your email address will not be published.
Please do not include Social Security numbers, VA claim numbers, medical records, financial information, or other sensitive personal information.