Did you know?
Special Monthly Compensation
There is money above your rating. It is called Special Monthly Compensation — SMC. It is tax-free, it is paid on top of your regular disability compensation, and almost nobody will bring it up unless you do.
Ask for it by name. SMC is not a separate application and there is no "SMC form." It is
decided as part of a compensation claim, and VA is supposed to consider it when the evidence raises it.
In practice, Veterans often have to raise it themselves or appeal when it was not addressed. So write the
words "Special Monthly Compensation" into your claim and say which level you believe you meet.
Do not assume your current percentage is the highest benefit you are entitled to.
Veterans Crisis Line — dial 988, then press 1. Text 838255. Chat at
veteranscrisisline.net. TTY 711 then 988, or
1-800-799-4889. 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. You do not have to be enrolled in VA benefits or
health care to connect.
Effective December 1, 2025
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
The rating levels for gynecological conditions and breast surgery are on gynecological and breast VA ratings.
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.
Yes, it pays even at 0%. ED is rated 0% under Diagnostic Code 7522
(38 CFR 4.115b),
and the rating schedule itself tells VA to "review for entitlement to special monthly compensation
under § 3.350." VA's own words: "If you qualify for SMC-K, we add this rate to your basic disability
compensation rate for any disability rating from 0% to 100%." The 2026 SMC-K rate is
$139.87 a month (effective December 1, 2025), tax-free.
ED as a secondary condition. Under
38 CFR 3.310(a),
a disability that is "proximately due to or the result of" a service-connected disease or injury is
service connected. If you take medication for a service-connected condition (for example, a mental
health condition) and the medication caused or worsened your ED, claim the ED as secondary. What
helps: a current ED diagnosis from a medical provider, your service-connected primary condition, your
medication history showing what you take for it, and a medical opinion linking the ED to the
medication or the condition. Not every medication causes ED, so the link has to be shown for you.
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.
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, 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.
Example. A 100% rating for PTSD, plus separate back, migraine and radiculopathy ratings that
combine to 60% or more, meets door one. The added 60% has to come from disabilities separate and
distinct from the 100% condition — not the same disability or its complications.
Do not rely on a promise that it is "paid automatically." VA can grant SMC-S when the evidence
in your file shows it, but it often is not addressed unless you raise it. Ask for SMC-S by name.
Door two is normally documented with VA Form 21-2680 (see "How to claim").
★ A combined 100% is not the same thing. Ask anyway.
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.
Regular aid and attendance does not have to be constant. Under
38 CFR 3.352(a),
VA looks at whether you are "so helpless as to need regular aid and attendance, not that there be a
constant need." Examples the regulation lists: being unable to dress or undress yourself or keep
yourself ordinarily clean and presentable, unable to feed yourself, unable to attend to the wants of
nature, or needing care or assistance on a regular basis to protect yourself from the hazards or
dangers of your daily environment. It is not required that all of those conditions exist. Severe
mental health conditions can qualify when the evidence shows you need supervision or help to stay
safe or to perform daily activities. Regular aid and attendance and "permanently bedridden" are
different paths under SMC-L. Statements from doctors, caregivers and family help show the need.
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. Roughly: a separate
additional permanent disability ratable at 50% or more supports the next intermediate rate, and a
separate additional permanent disability ratable at 100% can support the next full statutory rate,
always subject to the maximum rate in the statute — these steps are not unlimited. 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.
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. VA's regulation, 38 CFR 3.350(h)(1), describes it as a Veteran receiving the maximum rate under 38 U.S.C. 1114 (o) or (p) who needs regular aid and attendance or a higher level of care.
- 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.
Pending bill — not law, and nothing is payable yet. H.R. 6047, the "Sharri Briley and Eric
Edmundson Veterans Benefits Expansion Act of 2026," would add a supplemental monthly allowance of
$833.33 (about $10,000 a year) for Veterans who receive the aid and attendance allowance under
38 U.S.C. 1114(r) or (t), starting December 1, 2026 if it is enacted as written. The House passed it
on May 21, 2026, and it was referred to the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs on June 2, 2026.
The Senate has not passed it as of this page's review. You cannot claim this money until it becomes
law; if you are at R.1, R.2 or T, watch the bill on
Congress.gov.
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.
What the levels pay a month
Veteran alone, no dependents. Effective December 1, 2025. Tax-free.
| Level | Monthly rate |
|---|---|
| SMC-K (added on top) | $139.87 |
| SMC-S (housebound) | $4,408.53 |
| SMC-L | $4,900.83 |
| SMC-L 1/2 | $5,154.00 |
| SMC-M | $5,408.55 |
| SMC-M 1/2 | $5,780.00 |
| SMC-N | $6,152.64 |
| SMC-N 1/2 | $6,514.00 |
| SMC-O / P | $6,877.12 |
| SMC-R.1 | $9,826.88 |
| SMC-R.2 / T | $11,271.67 |
For comparison, VA's 100% schedular rate for a Veteran alone is $3,938.58 a month (with a spouse and no other dependents, $4,158.17). The SMC levels above are paid in place of the basic rate, not added to it. The exception is SMC-K, which is added on top.
SMC-L (aid and attendance) with dependents: spouse $5,120.42; one child only
$5,047.68; spouse and one child $5,281.24.
SMC-S (housebound) with dependents: spouse $4,628.12; one child only $4,555.38; spouse and one child $4,788.94.
Add-ons: each additional child under 18, $109.11; each child over 18 attending a qualifying school, $352.45; a spouse who receives aid and attendance, $201.41.
SMC-S (housebound) with dependents: spouse $4,628.12; one child only $4,555.38; spouse and one child $4,788.94.
Add-ons: each additional child under 18, $109.11; each child over 18 attending a qualifying school, $352.45; a spouse who receives aid and attendance, $201.41.
Check the current figure before you rely on it. SMC rates change every December 1 with the
cost-of-living adjustment, so these numbers go stale. The current table is on
VA.gov.
Older-year charts still circulating online show lower numbers.
★ Same law, new number every December.
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.
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 (current edition
dated June 2026 on VA's forms site). 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.
1Review your current ratings and gather medical records showing your condition and what you can no longer do for yourself.
2File VA Form 21-526EZ for a new claim or a claim for increase, and write "Special Monthly Compensation" in it.
3If you already have a decision, use a Supplemental Claim, VA Form 20-0995, or a Higher-Level Review, VA Form 20-0996.
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.
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.
Find an accredited representative:
va.gov/get-help-from-accredited-representative/find-rep
★ Read the fee agreement before you sign it.
The number on the chart is not your number
- 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.
Phone numbers and official pages
- VA benefits hotline: 800-827-1000 — Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. ET. Disability compensation claims and general benefit questions.
- VA health benefits: 877-222-8387 — Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. ET. Health care enrollment and CHAMPVA questions.
- Veterans Crisis Line: dial 988, then press 1.
- Current SMC rates
- Current basic (schedular) rates
- How to file a disability claim
- VA Form 21-2680 (aid and attendance / housebound exam)
- VA contact page
★ Call, then write it down: who, when, what they said.
If you take one thing from this page. Write "Special Monthly Compensation" into your
claim, name the level, and file an intent to file the same day. If a level does not fit you, another one
may. And if VA says no, you still have a Higher-Level Review, a Supplemental Claim, and a Board Appeal in
front of you. I bring the truth, simple and to the point.
Sources — official pages behind this page
- VA.gov — Special monthly compensation rates (effective Dec. 1, 2025)
- VA.gov — Veteran disability compensation rates
- 38 CFR 3.350 — Special monthly compensation ratings
- 38 CFR 3.352 — Criteria for aid and attendance and housebound
- 38 CFR 3.310 — Disabilities that are proximately due to service-connected conditions
- 38 CFR 4.115b — Diagnostic Code 7522 (erectile dysfunction)
- GovInfo — H.R. 6047 (as referred to the Senate committee)
- Congressional Budget Office — H.R. 6047 cost estimate
- VA Form 21-2680
- VA.gov — Contact us (phone numbers and hours)
- VA.gov — How to file a claim
- VA.gov — Decision reviews and appeals
- VA.gov — Find an accredited representative
Related: The full list of the five 38 CFR 3.383 combinations, and the offset if you settle a case, is on the paired organs and extremities rule page.