SMC-M rate and criteria

Who qualifies for SMC-M

VA lists 24 situations for SMC-M; any one of them is enough. The list below follows VA's wording on its rate page, rewritten without "you".

• Both hands amputated
• One hand amputated and loss of use of the other hand
• Both knees amputated
• One elbow and one knee amputated
• One foot amputated and loss of use of one arm at the shoulder
• One foot amputated, and one leg amputated so close to the hip that a prosthesis cannot be worn
• One foot amputated, and one arm amputated so close to the shoulder that a prosthesis cannot be worn
• One hand amputated, and one leg amputated so close to the hip that a prosthesis cannot be worn
• Loss of use of both hands
• Loss of use of both knees
• Loss of use of one elbow and one knee
• Loss of use of one foot and of one arm at the shoulder
• Loss of use of one foot, and one leg amputated so close to the hip that a prosthesis cannot be worn
• Loss of use of one foot, and one arm amputated so close to the shoulder that a prosthesis cannot be worn
• Loss of use of one hand, and one leg amputated so close to the hip that a prosthesis cannot be worn
• Blindness in one eye plus physical loss of the other eye
• Blindness in one eye plus total blindness without light perception in the other eye
• Blindness in one eye plus total blindness with only light perception in the other eye and total deafness in one ear
• Blindness in one eye plus total blindness with only light perception in the other eye and loss of use of one foot (rated less than 50% disabling)
• Blindness in both eyes that is total blindness with only the ability to perceive light
• Blindness in both eyes requiring daily help with basic needs, like eating, dressing and bathing
• Blindness in both eyes plus deafness in both ears rated 30% or more disabling
• Blindness in both eyes plus one hand amputated, or loss of use of one hand
• Blindness in both eyes plus one foot amputated, or loss of use of one foot rated 50% or more disabling

Criteria: VA, Current special monthly compensation (SMC) rates, checked 2026-10-21. VA's regulation on SMC, 38 CFR 3.350, and the decision letter govern the details.

SMC-M pay for every dependent row

Added amounts at SMC-M: $109.11 for each child under 18 beyond the first, $352.45 for each child aged 18 to 23 in a qualifying school program, and $201.41 when the spouse receives Aid and Attendance. These are the same added amounts as at 100%, and every dependent row sits the same distance above the SMC-M "alone" figure as the matching 100% row sits above 100% alone, so the last column is one constant: $1,469.97. A veteran at SMC-M with a spouse, two children under 18 and one child in college receives $6,250.52: $5,788.96 (smc-m rate: with spouse and 1 child (no parents)) + $109.11 (additional child under 18) + $352.45 (child over 18 in a school program).

VA's worked example at SMC-M

VA's SMC page works one example: a veteran at smc-l with a spouse who receives aid and attendance, three children under 18 and one child over 18 in a qualifying school program, which comes to $6,053.32 a month at SMC-L. The same family at SMC-M would receive $6,561.04, $507.72 more than at SMC-L: $5,788.96 (smc-m rate: with spouse and 1 child (no parents)) + $109.11 (additional child under 18) + $109.11 (additional child under 18) + $352.45 (child over 18 in a school program) + $201.41 (spouse receiving aid and attendance) = $6,561.04.

Where SMC-M sits among the SMC rates

One step down, SMC-L 1/2 pays $5,154.00, $254.55 less. The next step, SMC-M 1/2, pays $5,780.00, another $371.45. Because 38 U.S.C. 1114(k) adds K awards to the rates in (l) through (n), a veteran at SMC-M with one K award would receive $5,548.42 alone, subject to the statutory limit on K additions.

Among the 10 SMC rates with a table, SMC-M ranks 7 from the top for a veteran alone. With two dependent parents and no spouse or children it pays $5,761.03.

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.