SMC-K: Specified anatomical loss or loss of use (add-on)

What this level is

SMC-K is a separate monthly amount for each listed anatomical loss or loss of use. A creative organ is one item on that list. The level also covers one hand, one foot, both buttocks, blindness of one eye having only light perception, deafness of both ears having absence of air and bone conduction, complete organic aphonia with constant inability to communicate by speech, and, in the case of a woman veteran, loss of 25 percent or more of tissue from a single breast or both breasts in combination (including loss by mastectomy or partial mastectomy) or radiation treatment of breast tissue.

How it is paid

SMC-K is an add-on. It does not replace the 10 to 100 percent table by itself. Section 3.350(a) pays it in addition to the basic rate of compensation, inside two caps. Paid with a rate under 38 U.S.C. § 1114(a) through (j) or (s), the combined rate may not exceed the § 1114(l) rate. When there is entitlement under § 1114(l) through (n), or an intermediate rate under (p), the additional allowance is payable for each listed loss that exists in addition to what that basic rate already requires, and the total may not exceed the § 1114(o) rate. Those caps do not bar additional compensation for dependents under 38 U.S.C. § 1115, or the aid-and-attendance allowance under § 1114(r). VA.gov’s rate table effective December 1, 2025 says VA adds SMC-K to basic disability compensation for a rating from 0% to 100%, adds it to SMC basic rates except SMC-O, SMC-Q, and SMC-R, and that a veteran may receive 1 to 3 SMC-K awards. The statute’s printed dollar figures are not the current rates. Read the current amount on VA.gov.

Criteria

• One hand, or one foot.
• Both buttocks.
• One or more creative organs.
• Blindness of one eye having only light perception.
• Deafness of both ears, having absence of air and bone conduction.
• Complete organic aphonia with constant inability to communicate by speech.
• In the case of a woman veteran, anatomical loss of 25 percent or more of tissue from a single breast or both breasts in combination (including loss by mastectomy or partial mastectomy), or following receipt of radiation treatment of breast tissue.
• Section 3.350(a) states how loss of use is shown for a hand or foot, a creative organ, both buttocks, one eye, deafness, and aphonia. Those measurement rules control. This page does not restate them.