VA Compensation Rates (2026)

VA disability compensation rates increased by 2.5% effective December 1, 2025, as part of the annual Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA). These rates apply to all veterans with a service-connected disability rating of 10% or higher. All VA disability compensation is tax-free — you do not report it on your federal or state tax return.

Use our VA Rating Calculator to see how multiple ratings combine and estimate your monthly payment.

Veteran Without Dependents

Note: Veterans rated at 10% or 20% receive the same rate regardless of dependents. Dependent-related increases only apply at 30% and above.

For the full official rate tables, visit VA.gov Disability Compensation Rates.

Veterans rated at 30% or higher receive additional monthly compensation for qualifying dependents, including a spouse, children, and dependent parents. The additional amounts increase with your disability percentage.

With Spouse Only (No Children)

Additional Amounts for Children & Aid & Attendance

Spouse Aid & Attendance is an additional amount paid when your spouse needs regular help with daily activities (dressing, eating, bathing) due to a disability. This is separate from and in addition to the veteran's own Aid & Attendance benefit.

Special Monthly Compensation (SMC) is a higher rate of compensation for veterans with especially severe disabilities or combinations of disabilities. SMC is paid in addition to or instead of the standard disability rate, depending on the level.

SMC-K — Loss of Use or Anatomical Loss

Rate: $139.87/month — added on top of any disability rating (even 0%). This is the most commonly awarded SMC level. You qualify if you have lost, or lost the use of, a creative organ, one hand, one foot, both buttocks, one or more toes, breast tissue, or have blindness in one eye with light perception only. SMC-K can be combined with other SMC levels.

SMC-L — Aid & Attendance

Rate: ~$4,900.83/month (veteran alone). Awarded when a veteran needs the regular aid and attendance of another person due to service-connected disabilities. This includes blindness or near-blindness in both eyes, being a patient in a nursing home, or needing help with daily activities like dressing, bathing, and eating.

SMC-M through SMC-N — Severe Combinations

These levels cover increasingly severe combinations of disabilities. SMC-M (~$5,408/mo) is awarded for conditions such as loss of both hands, both legs at or above the knee, or blindness in both eyes plus loss of an extremity. SMC-N (~$6,152/mo) covers the most severe combinations, including loss of both arms or both legs. Half-step rates (L½, M½, N½) exist between each level.

SMC-O/P — Most Severe Disabilities

Rate: ~$6,877.12/month (veteran alone). Awarded at VA's discretion for the most severe combinations of disabilities. SMC-O is set by statute; SMC-P is set by the VA Under Secretary for Benefits.

SMC-R — Higher-Level Aid & Attendance

SMC-R.1 (~$9,826.88/mo): For veterans who need a higher level of daily personal healthcare services. Requires a 100% service-connected rating plus additional disabilities independently rated at 60% or more.

SMC-R.2 (~$11,271.67/mo): The highest regular aid and attendance level. For veterans who would require hospitalization or nursing home care without in-home personal healthcare. Also the rate for SMC-T (Traumatic Brain Injury with aid and attendance needs).

SMC-S — Housebound

Rate: ~$4,408.53/month (veteran alone). Awarded when a veteran has a single service-connected disability rated at 100% and is permanently housebound, or has a single 100% disability plus additional disabilities independently rated at 60% or more.

2026 SMC Rates at a Glance (Veteran Alone)

Dependent additions apply to all SMC levels. See the full SMC rate tables at VA.gov SMC Rates.

DIC is a tax-free monthly benefit paid to eligible surviving spouses, children, and parents of veterans who died from a service-connected cause or who were rated totally disabled for a certain period before death. Surviving spouses can apply using VA Form 21P-534EZ.

Surviving Spouse Rates (2026)

Key DIC Details

• 8-year add-on: An extra $360.85/month if the veteran was rated totally disabled (100%) for at least 8 continuous years before death and the surviving spouse was married to the veteran for those same 8 years.
• Aid & Attendance: An additional $421.00/month if the surviving spouse has a disability requiring help with daily activities.
• Housebound: An additional $197.22/month if the surviving spouse cannot leave home due to disability.
• Transitional DIC: $359.00/month per child for the first two years after the veteran's death, providing extra support during the adjustment period.

Surviving Children (No Eligible Spouse)

When there is no eligible surviving spouse, children may receive DIC directly: $717.50/month for the first child and $371.76 for each additional child. An adult child (18–23) in a qualifying school program receives $356.66/month. A helpless child over 18 receives $717.50/month.

Parents' DIC

Parents of deceased veterans may qualify for income-based DIC. Rates decrease as countable income increases. A single surviving parent with income of $800 or less receives up to $842/month; at $11,200+ income, the minimum is $5/month. An Aid & Attendance supplement of $458/month may be added if the parent qualifies.

Full DIC rate tables: VA.gov DIC Survivor Rates.

VA Pension is an income-based benefit for wartime veterans who are age 65 or older, or who are permanently and totally disabled. Unlike disability compensation, pension is not based on service-connected conditions. It is need-based and counts your household income and net worth. You can apply using VA Form 21P-527EZ.

Eligibility Basics

• Served at least 90 days of active duty with at least one day during a wartime period (or 24 months for post-9/11 veterans)
• Net worth must be below $163,699 (2026 limit, adjusted annually)
• Countable income must be below the Maximum Annual Pension Rate (MAPR)
• Medical expenses above 5% of the applicable MAPR can be deducted from countable income

2026 MAPR Rates (Monthly)

Each additional dependent adds approximately $249/month. A child's work income up to $16,100/year is excluded from countable income.

Aid & Attendance vs. Housebound

• Aid & Attendance (A&A): For veterans who need help with daily activities — eating, bathing, dressing, adjusting prosthetics — or who are bedridden, in a nursing home, or have severely limited eyesight.
• Housebound: For veterans who are substantially confined to their home due to a permanent disability. A lower threshold than A&A but still provides an enhanced rate.

Survivors Pension

Surviving spouses of wartime veterans may qualify for a Survivors Pension. Annual rates for a surviving spouse with no dependents: Basic $11,699, Housebound $14,298, Aid & Attendance $18,697. Each additional child adds $2,984/year. The same net worth limit of $163,699 applies.

Full pension rate tables: VA.gov Veterans Pension Rates.

VA benefit rates are adjusted every year through a Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) that matches the Social Security COLA exactly. The adjustment is based on the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W), measured by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

How COLA Is Calculated

• The CPI-W from the third quarter (July–September) of the current year is compared to the third quarter of the previous year
• The percentage increase becomes the COLA for the following year
• If CPI-W does not increase, there is no COLA (0% adjustment — this happened in 2010, 2011, and 2016)
• The Social Security Administration typically announces the COLA in mid-to-late October
• New VA rates take effect December 1 each year

Recent COLA History

Payment Schedule

VA disability compensation is paid in arrears — you receive payment for a given month on the 1st business day of the following month. When the 1st falls on a weekend or federal holiday, payment is issued on the last business day before the 1st.

Tip: Some banks (such as Navy Federal Credit Union or USAA) may release VA direct deposit funds 1–2 days early. VA also offers opt-in text notifications when payments are deposited.

After a new rating decision, your first payment typically arrives within 15 days of the decision notice. Set up or change direct deposit at VA.gov Direct Deposit or call 1-800-827-1000.

By law, military retirees normally have their retired pay reduced dollar-for-dollar by their VA disability compensation amount (the "VA waiver" or "offset"). Two programs — CRDP and CRSC — exist to restore some or all of that offset.

CRDP — Concurrent Retirement & Disability Payment

CRDP allows eligible retirees to receive both full military retired pay and full VA disability compensation without the dollar-for-dollar offset.

• Eligibility: Military retiree with 20+ years of creditable service and a combined VA disability rating of 50% or higher
• No application needed — DFAS (Defense Finance and Accounting Service) automatically calculates and applies CRDP
• Full restoration: As of 2014, CRDP fully restores military retired pay for all eligible retirees
• Tax treatment: The restored retired pay through CRDP is taxable as regular military retirement income. Your VA compensation remains tax-free.

Who Does Not Qualify for CRDP

• Retirees with a combined VA disability rating below 50%
• Chapter 61 medical retirees with fewer than 20 years of service
• Veterans who are not receiving military retired pay

CRSC — Combat-Related Special Compensation

CRSC provides tax-free monthly payments to military retirees whose disabilities are directly related to combat or combat-related activities. Unlike CRDP, CRSC requires an application.

• Eligibility: Military retiree with a VA disability rating of at least 10% whose disabilities are combat-related
• Combat-related means: direct combat with the enemy, hazardous duty (parachute/flight/diving), training simulating war conditions, or injuries from instrumentalities of war (military vehicles, weapons, aircraft — even in peacetime)
• Retirement pathways: 20+ years, Chapter 61 medical retirement with 30%+ disability, or TERA coverage
• Tax treatment: CRSC is completely tax-free

How to Apply for CRSC

• Complete DD Form 2860 ("Claim for Combat-Related Special Compensation")
• Submit to your branch of service (not the VA) with supporting documents: service medical records, combat decorations (Purple Heart, Combat Action Badge/Ribbon), and retirement orders
• There is a 6-year statute of limitations — file within 6 years of your VA rating decision or retirement eligibility to receive full back payments

CRDP vs. CRSC Comparison

You cannot receive both. If you qualify for both CRDP and CRSC, DFAS automatically applies whichever provides the higher payment unless you elect otherwise. In general, CRSC may be better when your disabilities are predominantly combat-related (due to its tax-free status), while CRDP may be better when your total compensation is higher under that program.

Tax tip: If you receive a retroactive VA disability rating and previously paid taxes on military retired pay that was offset, you can file amended returns (IRS Form 1040-X) to reclaim taxes paid on the portion that should have been VA compensation.

Learn more: DFAS CRDP | DFAS CRSC | VA.gov CRSC Overview

In addition to standard disability compensation, the VA provides several special benefit allowances:

• Clothing Allowance: $1,053.19/year for veterans whose service-connected disability requires prosthetics, orthopedic devices, or skin medication that damages clothing. Application deadline: August 1 each year.
• Automobile Allowance: Up to $27,074.99 as a one-time grant for purchasing a specially equipped vehicle (effective October 1, 2025).
• Medal of Honor Pension: $5,780.00/month for living Medal of Honor recipients, in addition to any other compensation.
• Birth Defect / Spina Bifida Compensation: $430–$2,479/month for children of Vietnam, Thailand, or Korean DMZ veterans with spina bifida or certain covered birth defects, depending on disability level.

Full details: VA.gov Special Benefit Allowance Rates.

All VA disability compensation is completely tax-free at both the federal and state level. This includes disability compensation, Special Monthly Compensation, DIC, pension payments, and CRSC. You do not need to report these payments on your tax return.

What is taxable: Military retired pay and the restored portion under CRDP are taxable as regular income. If you received a retroactive VA rating that should have reduced your taxable retired pay in prior years, you may file amended tax returns (IRS Form 1040-X) to recover overpaid taxes.

Estimate your rating and payment: Use the VetAtlas Rating Calculator to see how VA math combines multiple disability ratings and what your estimated monthly payment would be.

For the most current official rates, always check VA.gov Disability Compensation Rates.