What SMC is
Special Monthly Compensation (SMC) is extra, tax-free pay above the normal rating schedule for the most serious service-connected disabilities, loss or loss of use of a hand, foot, eye, or reproductive organ; blindness or deafness; being housebound; or needing the regular aid and attendance of another person.
2026 SMC rates at a glance
These are the 2026 monthly rates for a vet with no dependents, effective December 1, 2025:
- SMC-K: $139.87. Loss or loss of use of one hand, one foot, both buttocks, one or more creative organs, blindness in one eye, deafness, or complete organic aphonia. This one is added on top of your regular compensation, up to three awards.
- SMC-S (housebound): $4,408.53. Substantially confined to your dwelling by service-connected disabilities, or 100% plus an additional 60%.
- SMC-L: $4,900.83. Loss of use of both feet, one hand and one foot, blindness in both eyes, permanently bedridden, or needing aid and attendance.
- SMC-R1: $9,826.88. Regular aid and attendance requiring daily personal healthcare services.
- SMC-R2 / T: $11,271.67. The top level, for higher-level aid and attendance or a traumatic brain injury requiring in-home care.
Those are five of the ten levels. The half-steps between L and O, plus every rate with dependents, are in the full 2026 SMC rate table.
Is there an "SMC form"? Mostly, no.
Here's what trips people up: there is no single SMC application for most cases. VA is supposed to award SMC automatically when your disability qualifies, for example, when your rating already shows loss of use of a hand or leg.
The exception is Aid and Attendance or Housebound SMC, that one you do apply for, with a specific form.
The forms that matter
- VA Form 21-2680. Examination for Housebound Status or Permanent Need for Regular Aid and Attendance. This is the key form for Aid and Attendance (SMC-L) and Housebound (SMC-S). Your physician completes the medical examination describing your need for help with everyday activities. Complete it and mail it to your nearest VA regional office.
- VA Form 21-526EZ, the standard disability claim. If you're filing or updating a claim, this is where you state the SMC basis (for example, "loss of use of left foot").
- VA Form 21-0779, if you're in a nursing home and claiming Aid and Attendance.
How to claim SMC, step by step
- Identify your basis, loss or loss of use of a limb or organ, blindness or deafness, housebound, or aid and attendance.
- For loss / loss of use: make sure your rating reflects it. SMC should be awarded automatically. If it wasn't, raise it (VA is supposed to consider it).
- For aid & attendance or housebound: have your doctor complete VA Form 21-2680 and submit it to your regional office.
- Attach the evidence, exam findings, your doctor's statements, and records of the loss or the need for daily care.
- Get free help. A VSO can make sure SMC is claimed and rated correctly, at no cost.
Good to know
- SMC is added on top of your regular compensation at lower levels (like SMC-K) and replaces it with a higher amount at the top levels, and it's tax-free.
- Even if you didn't apply, VA is required to consider SMC when your evidence supports it. If you have a qualifying loss and never received SMC, that's worth raising.
- Want every level and the rates with dependents? See the full 2026 SMC rate table, or check VA.gov.
Sources
- VA Form 21-2680 (Aid & Attendance / Housebound): https://www.va.gov/find-forms/about-form-21-2680/
- VA. Special Monthly Compensation rates: https://www.va.gov/disability/compensation-rates/special-monthly-compensation-rates/
- 38 CFR 3.350 (SMC ratings): https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/38/3.350