Special monthly compensation / SMC-K
38 U.S.C. 1114(k) · effective December 1, 2025 · checked 2026-10-21
SMC-K: the added SMC amount
SMC-K adds $139.87 a month for each qualifying loss, under VA's table effective December 1, 2025, on top of whatever the basic rating pays. Over a year one award is worth $1,678.44. SMC-K is an added amount, not a level of its own: it is paid on top of the basic rate, at any schedular rating from 0% to 100%, for each qualifying loss.
Who qualifies for SMC-K
VA's rate page has no list for SMC-K, so the conditions below are summarized from 38 U.S.C. 1114(k), the statute that sets the rate.
- Anatomical loss or loss of use of one or more creative organs
- Anatomical loss or loss of use of one foot
- Anatomical loss or loss of use of one hand
- Anatomical loss or loss of use of both buttocks
- Blindness of one eye, having only light perception
- Complete organic aphonia, with constant inability to communicate by speech
- Deafness of both ears, with absence of air and bone conduction
- For women veterans: anatomical loss of 25 percent or more of breast tissue, or radiation treatment of breast tissue
38 U.S.C. 1114(k) pays the K amount for each qualifying loss, independently of the basic rates in subsections (a) through (j) and (s), up to a monthly limit written in the statute.
When the veteran is also entitled to one of the rates in subsections (l) through (n), or an intermediate rate between them, each K award is added to that rate, again up to a statutory limit. VA's rate page does not print those limits for the current year, so this site does not state them.
VA's page: "If you qualify for SMC-K, we add this rate to your basic disability compensation rate."
Criteria: 38 U.S.C. 1114 (Cornell LII), checked 2026-10-21. VA's regulation on SMC, 38 CFR 3.350, and the decision letter govern the details.
What one K award adds at each rating
| Rating | Veteran alone | With one K award |
|---|---|---|
| 10% | $180.42 | $320.29 |
| 20% | $356.66 | $496.53 |
| 30% | $552.47 | $692.34 |
| 40% | $795.84 | $935.71 |
| 50% | $1,132.90 | $1,272.77 |
| 60% | $1,435.02 | $1,574.89 |
| 70% | $1,808.45 | $1,948.32 |
| 80% | $2,102.15 | $2,242.02 |
| 90% | $2,362.30 | $2,502.17 |
| 100% | $3,938.58 | $4,078.45 |
The K amount is the same at every rating, so it matters most at low ratings: at 10% it raises $180.42 to $320.29, an increase of 77.5%. At 100% the total becomes $4,078.45. A K award can also be paid at 0%: a service-connected loss of use rated noncompensable, such as erectile dysfunction rated 0% under diagnostic code 7522, can still bring $139.87 a month through K for loss of use of a creative organ. Two separate qualifying losses mean two K awards, $279.74.
K with the higher SMC levels
At SMC-S a K award is paid on top of the S rate, giving $4,548.40 for a veteran alone. At SMC-L through N 1/2, 38 U.S.C. 1114(k) adds each K award to that rate, giving $5,040.70 at SMC-L with one award, up to a statutory limit. At O/P and the R levels, K is part of the qualifying path for R.1 (the intermediate rate between N and O plus K) rather than an addition. SMC-Q, at $67.00, is a separate protected rate: SMC-Q is a protected rate that VA has not awarded since August 19, 1968; it is paid in place of the basic rate.
How SMC is decided
VA considers SMC as part of a compensation claim; it is not a separate rating percentage, and the decision letter names the level. Pages on this site for the conditions behind many SMC awards: sciatic nerve paralysis, foot drop, traumatic brain injury and voiding dysfunction. The SMC table compares every level, the 100% page shows the schedular rate, and the calculator takes an SMC level and K awards. For survivors, see DIC rates.
Rates: VA, Current special monthly compensation (SMC) rates, effective December 1, 2025, checked 2026-10-21. Statute: 38 U.S.C. 1114 (Cornell LII).
Rating Ledger is not part of VA and does not file or decide claims. Amounts are VA's published special monthly compensation rates effective December 1, 2025, under 38 U.S.C. 1114 and 38 CFR 3.350; whether a level applies is decided by VA from the evidence. Last checked 2026-10-21. Only a VA decision sets a rating, an SMC level or a payment. See the methodology.