How to claim VA Aid and Attendance or Housebound benefits — added to Veterans Pension, Survivors Pension, DIC or compensation
VA Aid and Attendance (A&A) and Housebound benefits are monthly amounts added to a VA pension for veterans and survivors who need another person's help with daily activities, must stay in bed much of the day, are in a nursing home because of a disability, or have very limited eyesight (5/200 or less in both eyes, or a visual field of 5 degrees or less). For pension the benefit raises the Maximum Annual Pension Rate: effective December 1, 2025 a veteran alone with A&A has a MAPR of $29,093 (versus $17,441 without), a veteran with one dependent $34,488, and a surviving spouse alone $18,697. You cannot receive A&A and Housebound at the same time. Aid and attendance also exists in two other forms: a $421.00 monthly addition to DIC for surviving spouses, and special monthly compensation under 38 USC 1114(l) for veterans whose service-connected disabilities require it.
What you'll need
- VA Form 21-2680 (Examination for Housebound Status or Permanent Need for Regular Aid and Attendance) — a medical examiner completes the examination section
- VA Form 21-0779 (Request for Nursing Home Information in Connection with Claim for Aid and Attendance) if you live in a nursing home
- VA Form 21P-527EZ (Veterans Pension) or VA Form 21P-534EZ (Survivors Pension / DIC) if you are not yet receiving pension
- Proof of income, assets and unreimbursed medical expenses
- A free accredited representative (CVSO or VSO)
Step-by-step
Step 1: Qualify for the underlying pension first
A&A and Housebound are additions to VA pension, so you must meet the pension rules: wartime service (generally 90 days of active duty with at least one day in a wartime period, or 24 months or the full period called if you entered after September 7, 1980), a discharge that was not dishonorable, and age 65 or older, or permanent and total disability, nursing home residence, or Social Security disability. Net worth — your assets plus annual income, excluding your primary home and car — must be at or below $163,699 from December 1, 2025 through November 30, 2026, and VA looks back three years for assets transferred for less than market value (a penalty period of up to five years). Survivors Pension for a surviving spouse or child uses the same net worth limit.
Step 2: Meet one Aid and Attendance or Housebound test
Aid and Attendance: you need another person to help you with daily activities such as bathing, feeding or dressing; or you must stay in bed, or spend a large part of the day in bed, because of illness; or you are a nursing home patient because of a loss of mental or physical abilities related to a disability; or your eyesight, even corrected, is 5/200 or less in both eyes or your visual field is contracted to 5 degrees or less. Housebound: you spend most of your time at home because of a permanent disability. You can receive one or the other, not both.
Reference: https://www.va.gov/pension/aid-attendance-housebound/
Step 3: Have a medical examiner complete VA Form 21-2680
Any licensed medical examiner, VA or private, completes the examination section of VA Form 21-2680, describing what you can and cannot do without help, how far you can walk, whether you are bedridden or housebound, and your vision. If you live in a nursing home, also submit VA Form 21-0779 completed by the facility. Specific, functional descriptions decide these claims; vague statements do not.
Reference: https://www.va.gov/find-forms/about-form-21-2680/
Step 4: Apply online, by mail or in person
Apply online at VA.gov, or mail the forms to Department of Veterans Affairs, Pension Intake Center, PO Box 5365, Janesville, WI 53547-5365, or bring them to a VA regional office. If you are not yet receiving pension, file VA Form 21P-527EZ (veteran) or 21P-534EZ (survivor) at the same time and attach the 21-2680. VA processes claims in the order received unless a claim qualifies for priority processing, and does not publish a fixed decision time.
Reference: https://www.va.gov/pension/aid-attendance-housebound/
Step 5: Know the rates and the other aid-and-attendance routes
Effective December 1, 2025 the MAPR with Aid and Attendance is $29,093 for a veteran with no dependents, $34,488 with one dependent (add $2,984 for each additional dependent), $46,143 for two married veterans who both qualify, and $18,697 for a surviving spouse alone ($22,304 with one child). Housebound MAPRs are $21,313 (veteran alone), $26,710 (one dependent) and $14,298 (surviving spouse alone). Your pension is the MAPR minus your countable income, and unreimbursed medical expenses above 5% of the MAPR — including paid caregivers and facility charges — reduce countable income. Surviving spouses receiving DIC who meet the aid-and-attendance test get $421.00 added each month. Veterans whose service-connected disabilities require aid and attendance claim SMC(l) on VA Form 21-526EZ: $4,900.83 a month for a veteran alone.
Reference: https://www.va.gov/pension/veterans-pension-rates/
Critical tips
- Never pay anyone to "qualify" you by moving assets — transfers below market value within three years of the claim trigger a penalty period, and accredited representatives help for free.
- Paid in-home care, assisted living and nursing home charges usually count as medical expenses that lower your countable income; keep receipts.
- Aid and Attendance and Housebound cannot be paid together; VA pays the higher one you qualify for.
- Check claim status at VA.gov/claim-or-appeal-status or call 800-827-1000.
- A county veterans service officer can complete the forms with you for free: warriorsfund.org/find-cvso.
- In crisis: dial 988 then press 1, or text 838255.