As a veteran with a service-connected disability, you may be entitled to special monthly compensation (SMC) from the VA, such as an allowance for being housebound.
A housebound allowance is a form of SMC the VA provides to veterans as an added benefit because their disability confines them to their home. This benefit is separate from the compensation the VA provides veterans who are unable to work due to their service-connected disability. Rather, housebound benefits are given to acknowledge the challenges your disability adds to your life.
Housebound benefits are more common in cases of total and permanent disability that limit your movements (e.g., amputations, loss of organs, terminal diseases like cancer). The amount of your potential housebound allowance depends on factors like your marital status and the number of dependents.
This article will review the important details of SMC for housebound allowances. You’ll learn the requirements for eligibility, common qualifying disabilities, the application process, and how these benefits differ from the SMC benefits for aid and attendance.
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In this article about housebound disability benefits for veterans
Some background on SMC benefits for veterans
Before explaining the specifics of the SMC for housebound allowances, you may be wondering about SMC in general and how it differs from your VA disability rating. As stated above, SMC is a type of benefit for veterans that is separate from the compensation you receive based on your disability rating.
Veterans familiar with the disability rating process are often surprised to learn they can receive SMC benefits on top of the compensation for their 100 percent rated disability. While this article focuses on SMC for housebound veterans, the VA provides SMC to veterans for several other reasons. Many of these benefits are for the loss of function of extremities and other senses (e.g., loss of vision or sight).
The underlying purpose of SMC benefits is to allow you to purchase the equipment, tools, services, and other amenities needed to live a comfortable and fulfilling life despite your disability.
Understanding SMC benefits for housebound veterans
The requirements, application process, and other rules of SMC for housebound veterans can be complex and difficult to understand. This section provides some general information that can start you on the path to understanding if you’re eligible for housebound SMC.
How do you qualify for the housebound allowance?
To receive SMC for being housebound, you must meet the two requirements set forth in Section 3.350(i) of the CFR. The first requirement is to have a 100 percent rated service-connected disability.
The second requirement can be met in any one of two methods. The first is to have an additional disability rated at 60 percent that is distinct from your 100 percent rated disability. This means the two disabilities cannot involve the same anatomical segments or bodily systems. For example, a spinal fusion rated at 100 percent and back arthritis rated at 60 percent would likely not qualify because the two conditions involve the same anatomical segments – the back.
You can qualify for SMC housebound benefits if you have a 100 percent rating through total disability based on individual unemployability (TDIU). However, the disabilities used to establish your TDIU must not include the 60 percent rated disability used to meet the second requirement for SMC housebound.
Another method to fulfill the second requirement is to be permanently homebound because of your disability. The rules explain that you are considered permanently homebound if your disability directly and substantially confines you to your dwelling or immediate premises. Additionally, the VA will only consider you permanently homebound if it is reasonably certain that your disability and resulting confinement will continue for the rest of your life.
Common disabilities that might qualify you for SMC housebound allowance
If you already receive VA disability benefits but think you may qualify for SMC housebound allowance, then you may need to review your disability ratings. Conditions often associated with SMC housebound benefits include:
- Cancer
- Conditions that affect the nervous system, like multiple sclerosis and traumatic brain injuries (TBI)
- Musculoskeletal conditions, such as back injuries, spinal fusion, bulging disc, and degenerative disc disease.
- Deafness
- Blindness
- Amputations
No explicit rules exist that limit your eligibility for SMC housebound benefits to certain conditions or disabilities. Instead, what matters is having one or more disabilities that meet the rating requirements and make you permanently housebound.
How housebound allowances are calculated
The VA typically increases SMC rates annually to adjust for inflation. The amount of the monthly compensation depends on your number of dependent parents, dependent children, and marital status.
The VA publishes updated rating tables annually for housebound benefits. The benefits for SMC housebound are classified as SMC-S.
2023 SMC Housebound Rates
| Dependent Status | Monthly Compensation |
|---|---|
| Veteran alone | $4,054.12 |
| With spouse | $4,256.06 |
| With a spouse and 2 parents | $4,418.13 |
| With spouse and 2 parents | $4,580.20 |
| With 1 parent | $4,216.19 |
| With 2 parents | $4,378.26 |
| Veteran with 1 child | $4,189.17 |
| With 1 child and spouse | $4,403.95 |
| With 1 child, spouse, and 1 parent | $4,566.02 |
| With 1 child, spouse, and 2 parents | $4,728.09 |
| With 1 child and 1 parent | $4,351.24 |
| With 1 child and 2 parents | $4,513.31 |
and an additional $324.12 for every child over the age of 18
who is enrolled in a qualifying school program.
You can use the rating table published by the VA to determine your potential housebound benefits. You can also use our disability calculator to estimate your monthly VA disability benefits separate from your SMC. Together, these figures can show you what your total monthly VA compensation might look like.
Applying for SMC housebound allowance
The administrative process for claiming your SMC housebound benefits is similar to that of VA disability benefits but involves a different VA form and some added information. The VA does not specify how long the process will take but generally reviews applications in the order they are received.
To apply, you must submit a completed VA Form 21-2680 to your nearest Pension Management Center. The form will ask for various information about you and the benefits you seek. You will also need help from your doctor to complete the section that describes your disabilities and how they qualify you for homebound benefits (i.e., what disabilities cause you to be permanently homebound). This may include information about the assistance you need to leave your house or the number of hours you are confined to your bed.
Additional information beyond what is asked in Form 21-2680 may also be needed to supplement your application. This might include:
- Doctor reports recommending the need for housebound care
- Details of your daily activities
- Explanations of what disabilities affect your ability for self-care
Seeking professional help with your application can be beneficial in complex cases to ensure your circumstances are accurately represented in the information provided on the application.
Veterans who can’t hold down a steady job that supports them financially (known as substantially gainful employment) because of their service-connected disabilities are eligible for TDIU if they have:
- At least one service-connected disability rated at 60% or more disabling OR
- Two or more service-connected disabilities with at least one rated at 40% or more disabling and a combined rating of 70% or more
Is it possible to lose your housebound allowance?
For most veterans, SMC housebound benefits are given as a result of permanent and total disability. In those cases, SMC housebound benefits will generally not end. However, if the disability that qualifies you for housebound benefits is not permanent, your benefits may eventually end.
The VA periodically reviews claims for disability benefits to determine if the prior rating of the disability is still accurate. However, stabilized ratings are given after you’ve had your rating for at least five years. A stabilized rating means the VA will not reduce your disability rating without a medical exam showing sustained improvement. This can be an important timeline to monitor if your SMC housebound benefits are not based on permanent disabilities.
The difference between housebound and aid and attendance benefits
Aid and attendance benefits are another form of SMC benefit for veterans that are often mentioned in the same conversation as housebound benefits. You receive these benefits if your disability prevents you from being able to care for yourself properly, which necessitates the help of nurses or other in-house assistance.
The application process for aid and attendance benefits also requires completing the VA Form 21-2680. However, the requirements to qualify for aid and attendance benefits differ from those of housebound benefits, as discussed below. The main takeaway is that, unlike housebound benefits, you do not need to have a disability rated at 100 percent to qualify for aid and attendance.
Your aid and assistance benefits are determined using the same SMC rating table used for housebound benefits. Although aid and assistance benefits are classified as SMC Level R benefits. Again, the amount of your compensation will depend on your marital status, parents, and number of dependents.
Note that you can only receive housebound benefits or aid and attendance benefits, but not both.
How do you qualify for aid and attendance benefits?
You can qualify for SMC aid and attendance benefits through several methods based on the nature of your disability. Usually, one of the following events must be true to qualify for aid and assistance:
- You need help from another person to perform daily tasks such as eating, cleaning yourself, and getting dressed.
- Your illness causes you to spend most of your day in bed.
- You live in a nursing home because your disability has caused loss of your mental or physical abilities.
- You have limited vision, meaning 5/200 or less in both eyes even with glasses, or you have a concentric contraction of your visual field of five degrees or less.
If you need regular aid and assistance, then you can qualify for the standard SMC benefit for aid and assistance. If you need a higher level of care, you may be able to get a higher amount of aid and assistance benefits. To qualify for the higher benefit, you must show that without the higher level of care, you would require hospitalization, nursing home care, or other residential institutional care.
SMC aid and attendance is not the same as the VA caregiver stipend
A common source of confusion for veterans is the difference between the SMC aid and attendance compensation and the VA stipend that family caregivers receive.
Under the Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers (PCAFC), you can appoint a family member over the age of 18 to be your primary family caregiver. Primary family caregivers will receive education, training, a monthly stipend, and other resources to support their care for you.
To qualify for the PCAFC benefits, you must be a veteran with a VA disability rating of at least 70 percent. Plus, the disability must be connected to your active-duty service that occurred after September 11, 2001, or before May 7, 1975. You must also have been discharged from the U.S. military and require six months or more of continuous care from another person.
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Getting help with your claim for VA housebound compensation
If you receive VA disability benefits for service-connected medical conditions that confine you to your home or require help from other people to care for yourself, then you may be eligible for SMC housebound or aid and assistance benefits. SMC housebound benefits will be in addition to your 100 percent rated disability benefits.
However, the VA will not retroactively pay SMC housebound benefits to you from the date you first qualified for them. This means you should inquire about SMC housebound benefits as soon as you think you may be eligible to maximize your benefits.
These benefits can provide a great source of extra income to purchase equipment, services, or make other changes to your home that can bring comfort to your life. Overall, housebound benefits exist in recognition of the challenges your disability may cause and are meant to help ease them.
Woods & Woods is a family-owned law firm whose attorneys and staff are available to assist you with your application for SMC housebound benefits or other VA disability benefits. If you were recently denied a claim for SMC housebound benefits or other disability benefits, the attorneys at Woods & Woods are also experienced in guiding veterans through their appeal options.
At Woods and Woods, the Veteran’s Firm, we’ve helped thousands of veterans with their VA disability applications and appeals.
Call us today to discuss your VA disability appeal. The call is free and we won’t charge you a single fee until we win your case. You can look for a VA disability attorney near you or call us and join the thousands of veterans living off of VA disability thanks to Woods and Woods.
Talk to Us About Your Claim:
(812) 426-7200
Unless you have a permanent rating, the VA can lower or even take away your VA disability benefits. If your rating is given a permanent distinction, you don’t have to go back for any more exams or re-assessments. Once we look over your case and know that you should get a permanent and total rating, we’ll fight for it. We won’t charge you a dime until we win.
Yes, you can. If your disability isn’t severe enough to get a high rating, but you still need help in your home, you may be one of the many veterans that receive SMC with a 0% VA rating. Erectile dysfunction and several mental health conditions all work that way, among other disabilities.
Neil Woods
VA disability attorney
Woods & Woods
Neil Woods is the firm’s owner and president. He received his law degree from Western Michigan University.
