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Benefits by rating → Guide

SAH and SHA grants: VA money to build or adapt a home

QUALIFYING LOSSESDecided by: VA Loan Guaranty Service / Regional Loan Center (VA Form 26-4555).

Veterans with specific severe service-connected losses may be eligible for a grant to build or adapt a home, verify with the VA housing grants program.

38 CFR §3.809 / §3.809aVerified Jul 2026

Loss-gated, not percentage-gated

These grants do not turn on a combined rating. SAH, under 38 CFR §3.809, requires a permanent and total disability due to specific losses, for example the loss or loss of use of both legs such that locomotion requires braces, crutches, canes, or a wheelchair, certain blindness combinations, and certain severe burns. SHA, under §3.809a, covers the loss or loss of use of both hands, certain blindness, and certain burn or respiratory injuries.

A high combined rating neither implies nor is required for eligibility; the specific loss controls. That is why the Benefits Explorer shows this row with a qualifying-losses tag instead of a minimum percentage.

FY 2026 amounts and the fine print

The maximums are set each fiscal year in the Federal Register. For FY 2026, effective October 1, 2025, SAH is capped at $126,526 and SHA at $25,349 (VA.gov rounds the SHA figure to $25,350; the Federal Register notice is the controlling figure).

Ownership and residency rules apply, the grant can be used up to 6 times within the lifetime cap, and a temporary-residence variant exists for veterans living in a family member's home. The VA Loan Guaranty Service decides (VA Form 26-4555); verify your qualifying conditions there.

See it next to everything else your rating may open

The Benefits Explorer lists this program beside the rest of the federal set, and your state’s verified programs, keyed to your combined rating. Educational only. Every program is decided by the agency named on it.

Open the Benefits Explorer →Decode your letter first