Level K
SMC-K — the add-on that stacks
A flat monthly amount added for each qualifying loss.
- Anatomical loss or loss of use of one or more creative organs, one hand, one foot, or both buttocks
- Blindness in one eye having only light perception
- Complete organic aphonia — a constant inability to communicate by speech
- Deafness of both ears with absence of air and bone conduction
- In the case of a woman Veteran, anatomical loss of 25% or more of tissue from a single breast or
from both breasts in combination — including loss by mastectomy or partial mastectomy — or receipt of
radiation treatment of breast tissue
Service-connected erectile dysfunction is treated as loss of use of a creative organ and
qualifies for SMC-K under 38 CFR 3.350(a). It does not need to be your only condition.
How it stacks. VA's own words: "We add this rate to your basic disability compensation rate for
any disability rating from 0% to 100%. We also add this rate to all SMC basic rates except SMC-O,
SMC-Q, and SMC-R," and "You may receive 1 to 3 SMC-K awards in addition to basic and SMC rates."
SMC-K is paid for each qualifying loss, subject to the statutory caps in 38 U.S.C. 1114(k).
★ More than one loss can mean more than one award.
Level S
SMC-S — housebound
Two separate doors. You only need one of them.
- Door one. A service-connected disability rated as total, plus additional
service-connected disability or disabilities independently ratable at 60% or more that are
separate and distinct from the total disability and involve different anatomical segments or bodily
systems.
- Door two. A service-connected disability rated as total, plus being permanently
housebound — "substantially confined," as a direct result of service-connected disability, to your
dwelling and the immediate premises, or if institutionalized, to the ward or clinical area, where it
is reasonably certain the confinement will continue throughout your lifetime.
Read that carefully. "Substantially confined" is the regulation's own language — 38 CFR
3.350(i)(2). You do not have to be unable to leave the house at all. The element people miss is
permanence, not total confinement.
If your total rating is TDIU. The statute, 38 U.S.C. 1114(s), says "a service-connected
disability rated as total" — it does not say the word "single." The regulation is written more
tightly. If your total rating is Individual Unemployability premised on one service-connected
disability, do not count yourself out. Ask VA in writing to consider SMC-S on that basis, and have an
accredited representative look at it with you.
★ A combined 100% is not the same thing. Ask anyway.
Levels L, M, N
Loss, loss of use, and aid and attendance
Each level is a list of independent paths. Any one of them is enough.
- SMC-L — anatomical loss or loss of use of both feet; or of one hand and one foot; or
blindness in both eyes with visual acuity of 5/200 or less; or being permanently bedridden; or being
so significantly disabled as to need regular aid and attendance.
- SMC-M — anatomical loss or loss of use of both hands; or of both legs with factors
preventing natural knee action with prostheses in place; or of one arm and one leg with factors
preventing natural elbow and knee action with prostheses in place; or blindness in both eyes having
only light perception; or blindness in both eyes so significantly disabling as to need regular aid and
attendance.
- SMC-N — anatomical loss or loss of use of both arms with factors preventing natural elbow
action with prostheses in place; or anatomical loss of both legs so near the hip as to prevent use of
prosthetic appliances; or anatomical loss of one arm and one leg with factors preventing use of
prosthetic appliances; or anatomical loss of both eyes; or blindness without light perception in both
eyes.
Between the letters there are more levels. VA publishes intermediate rates — SMC-L 1/2,
SMC-M 1/2 and SMC-N 1/2 — that sit above L, M and N. Under 38 CFR 3.350(f), an additional single
permanent disability, or a combination of permanent disabilities, independently ratable at the
prescribed level can move you to the next intermediate or the next higher rate. If you only read the
lettered rows on a chart, you never learn these exist.
★ Both feet is L, not M. Know your own row.
Levels O, R, T
The top of the table
These are the highest payments VA makes. The rules for reaching them are specific.
- SMC-O — payable where you meet the criteria for two or more of SMC levels L through
N at the same time, with no single condition counted twice; or for specified combinations such as
anatomical loss of both arms so near the shoulder as to prevent use of a prosthetic appliance.
- SMC-R.1 — you need regular aid and attendance and you are entitled to SMC at the (O)
rate, at the maximum (P) rate, or at the intermediate rate between (N) and (O) together with SMC-K.
Being at L, M or N alone does not reach R.1.
- SMC-R.2 — all three: entitlement under (O) or the maximum (P) rate; meeting the regular aid
and attendance criteria of 38 CFR 3.352(a); and needing a higher level of care — personal health-care
services provided daily in your home by, or under the regular supervision of, a licensed health-care
professional — without which you would require hospitalization, nursing home care or other residential
institutional care.
SMC-T is its own level, and it has no (O) or (P) prerequisite. Under 38 U.S.C. 1114(t), SMC-T
is for a Veteran who needs regular aid and attendance for the residuals of traumatic brain
injury, is not eligible for compensation under (r)(2), and who without that aid and attendance
would require hospitalization, nursing home care or other residential institutional care. If you carry
TBI residuals and need daily help, you are not shut out because you never reached the (O) level.
The two deafness-with-blindness paths into SMC-O, from 38 CFR 3.350(e)(1)(iii) and (iv):
bilateral deafness rated 60% or more disabling, with hearing impairment in either one or both ears
service-connected, combined with service-connected blindness of bilateral visual acuity 20/200 or
less. Or: service-connected total deafness in one ear, or bilateral deafness rated 40% or more
disabling, combined with service-connected blindness of both eyes having only light perception or
less.
★ Name the level you are claiming.
Do not rule yourself out
Hearing and vision
This is where bad information stops people from filing.
Hearing. VA's SMC criteria for hearing loss vary by level. Deafness of both ears with absence
of air and bone conduction qualifies at SMC-K. Deafness in both ears rated 10%, 20%, 30% or 60% or
more qualifies at higher SMC levels when combined with blindness or other losses, and total deafness
in one ear combined with blindness in both eyes also qualifies. Do not assume one-sided hearing
loss rules you out. Ask.
Vision. VA uses specific thresholds: anatomical loss of an eye; blindness in one eye with only
light perception; bilateral visual acuity of 5/200 or less. Ordinary correctable vision loss is rated
under the regular schedule, not SMC — but the thresholds above are acuity measurements, not a
requirement that you see nothing at all.
Paired organs — 38 CFR 3.383. If one eye or one ear is service-connected and the other is not,
VA can pay you as if both were service-connected. For vision: when acuity is 20/200 or less in
each eye, or the field is 20 degrees or less in each eye. For hearing: when the service-connected ear
is rated 10% or more and the other ear meets VA's hearing-loss standard under 38 CFR 3.385. The
non-service-connected loss must not result from willful misconduct. This is the most commonly missed
route into SMC for eyes and ears.
★ One bad ear or one bad eye is not the end of it.
How to claim
The forms, and the letter that is not a claim
- Review your current ratings and gather medical records showing your condition and what you can
no longer do for yourself.
- File VA Form 21-526EZ for a new claim or a claim for increase, and write "Special Monthly
Compensation" in it.
- If you already have a decision, use a Supplemental Claim, VA Form 20-0995, or a
Higher-Level Review, VA Form 20-0996.
A letter simply "requesting SMC" is not a claim. Under 38 CFR 3.155, VA will treat it as a
request for an application form, and it does not hold a date. SMC can still be granted as part of a
claim that is already pending — but it cannot be started by an informal letter.
The form that wins aid and attendance and housebound claims: VA Form 21-2680, Examination
for Housebound Status or Permanent Need for Regular Aid and Attendance. Your physician completes it.
If you are in a nursing home, the companion is VA Form 21-0779. Bring 21-2680 to the
appointment. Do not leave it to chance.
Dates
Where the back pay is won or lost
- File an Intent to File — VA Form 21-0966 — today. It holds your effective date while you
gather evidence.
- The increase rule, 38 CFR 3.400(o)(2). VA pays from the earliest date it is factually
ascertainable that the increase occurred, but only if your complete claim or intent to file is
received within one year of that date. File later and the effective date is the date VA
receives your claim.
- There is no time limit on filing a claim after service, or a claim for increase. If you have been
putting it off for twenty years, file.
If SMC was overlooked in a decision: Higher-Level Review — one year from the decision. Board
Appeal — one year. Supplemental Claim — no deadline, but file within one year of the decision to keep
your original effective date. Contested claims — 60 days, and they go to the Board only.
va.gov/decision-reviews
★ An intent to file costs you nothing and can be worth a year.
Representation
Free help, and what a fee can cost you
SMC awards often produce large retroactive payments. That makes you a target.
- An accredited VSO representative is free. Recognized organizations and their accredited
representatives are not permitted to receive fees.
- An accredited attorney or claims agent may charge — but only after VA issues its initial
decision on the claim.
- Under 38 CFR 14.636, a fee not exceeding 20% of past-due benefits is presumed reasonable.
A fee exceeding 33 1/3% is presumed unreasonable.
- Nobody can charge you to file your first claim.
★ Read the fee agreement before you sign it.
Rates and Family
The number on the chart is not your number
I am not printing dollar figures here. SMC rates change every December 1, and the published
tables are built for a Veteran alone with no dependents. A printed chart goes stale without warning.
Get the current amount from VA directly:
va.gov SMC rates.
VA phone:
800-827-1000.
- If you have a spouse, children, or a dependent parent, you are entitled to more than the
Veteran-alone figure. Make sure your dependents are on file with VA.
- A Veteran can also receive additional compensation for a spouse who needs regular aid and
attendance, under 38 U.S.C. 1115.
- SMC is tax-free and is paid on top of your regular disability compensation.
Survivors. SMC itself is a Veteran benefit. Survivors have their own parallel increases —
DIC aid and attendance or housebound under 38 U.S.C. 1311(c) and (d), and dependent-parent aid and
attendance under 38 U.S.C. 1315. If you are a surviving spouse or a dependent parent, ask about those
by name.
★ Check your dependents are on file.