SMC Rates Explained — Letters K Through T

Why SMC exists

The schedular rating system caps at 100% combined. For veterans whose disabilities go beyond what 100% captures — loss of a limb, blindness, the need for daily aid from another person — Special Monthly Compensation under 38 U.S.C. § 1114 and 38 CFR § 3.350 provides additional monthly compensation, paid on top of the schedular rating.

SMC is not just for catastrophic injuries. SMC-K can apply to a single anatomical loss alongside a 30% rating. SMC-S applies any time a single 100% disability sits next to an additional independent 60%. Many eligible veterans never receive SMC because the rater did not screen for it.

SMC-K — flat-rate special compensation

Added on top of the schedular rating for each instance of anatomical loss or loss of use of: one hand, one foot, both buttocks, one or more creative organs, one eye with light perception lost, deafness in both ears, complete aphonia (loss of voice), or in women, loss of breast tissue. SMC-K is stackable — a veteran with loss of use of both hands receives two SMC-K rates.

SMC-L through SMC-O — escalating severity

• L — Aid & attendance: blind, bedridden, or so helpless as to need regular aid of another person.
• L½ — Intermediate step between L and M.
• M — More severe combinations (loss of both hands, both feet at a level preventing use of prosthetics, both eyes 5/200, etc.).
• M½ — Intermediate step between M and N.
• N — Anatomical loss of both hands above the elbow, both legs at hip, blindness with light perception in both eyes, or comparable combinations.
• N½ — Intermediate step between N and O.
• O — Highest 'paired-loss' level: blindness with loss of use of both feet, paraplegia, complete deafness with blindness, or combinations producing equivalent severity.

SMC-R — regular and higher-level aid & attendance

R(1) provides additional compensation for veterans entitled to SMC-O (or P) who also need regular aid and attendance. R(2) is the highest SMC level — for veterans needing a 'higher level' of skilled aid and attendance, typically equivalent to in-home professional nursing care, where the alternative would be hospitalization.

SMC-S — housebound

Available when a veteran has a single service-connected disability rated 100% (or TDIU based on a single condition) plus additional service-connected disabilities independently rated at 60% or more. Also available when the veteran is permanently and substantially confined to the home or immediate premises.

SMC-T — severe TBI requiring in-home care

Created by the Caregivers and Veterans Omnibus Health Services Act of 2010 (effective Oct 1, 2011). Pays at the SMC-R(2) rate for post-9/11-era veterans with service-connected TBI who, in the absence of in-home aid, would require hospitalization, nursing-home care, or other residential care.

Where to find current dollar amounts

Exact SMC monthly amounts change every December 1 with the cost-of-living adjustment. Rather than reproducing figures that go stale, we direct readers to VA's published tables: va.gov/disability/compensation-rates/special-monthly-compensation-rates/. Add dependents using the SMC dependent additive table on the same page.

Where these claims break down

• ×Assuming SMC only applies to amputees — SMC-K, L, and S sweep in many more veterans than just catastrophic injuries.
• ×Not flagging SMC-S when a single 100% rating sits next to an unrelated 60% combined.
• ×Confusing aid-and-attendance under SMC-L (service-connected) with the pension-based Aid & Attendance benefit (need-based, non-service-connected).
• ×Reading old rate tables — SMC adjusts annually with COLA.

Frequently Asked Questions