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.
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 the dollar amounts? See the SMC rate levels on the VA Ready pay-rates pages, or on 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