VA HISA Grant (2026): Amounts, Eligibility & How to Apply

The VA Home Improvements and Structural Alterations (HISA) grant pays for medically necessary home modifications, up to a lifetime maximum of $6,800 if your need is tied to a service-connected disability (or you have a service-connected disability rated 50% or higher), and up to $2,000 if your qualifying condition is non-service-connected. These are lifetime caps, not annual allowances, and the grant is run by the VA health system rather than the benefits office. Here is exactly who qualifies, what it covers, and how to apply in 2026.

What the HISA grant is

HISA is a benefit from the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) that reimburses the cost of improvements and structural changes to your home when a VA clinician documents that you need them for medical reasons. Think ramps to get in and out, roll-in showers, widened doorways, lowered sinks and counters, and the plumbing or electrical work required to run home medical equipment. Because it flows through your VA medical center’s Prosthetic and Sensory Aids Service, HISA is usually faster and easier to access than the large adaptive-housing grants many veterans have heard of.

It is a modest but genuinely useful benefit. For a lot of families pricing out a wheelchair ramp or a bathroom conversion, $6,800 covers a meaningful share of the job. And HISA can be combined with the larger grants below, so it is worth claiming even if you qualify for more.

The two lifetime amounts, and who gets which

The dollar figure you are eligible for depends on how your medical need connects to your service. Per the VA’s Prosthetic and Sensory Aids Service (checked July 2026):

• Up to $6,800 (lifetime): Veterans and service members whose needed modification relates to a service-connected disability; those with a disability treated “as if” service-connected (for example, one acquired through VA care or vocational rehabilitation); or those with a non-service-connected condition who also carry a service-connected disability rated at 50% or higher.
• Up to $2,000 (lifetime): Veterans enrolled in VA health care whose qualifying condition is non-service-connected and who do not meet the higher tier.

These amounts are statutory lifetime maximums. They are not paid per project or per year, and they have held steady rather than rising with inflation. If you have used part of your HISA benefit before, only the remaining balance is available.

HISA vs. SAH vs. SHA: know the difference

HISA is easy to confuse with the VA’s much larger adaptive-housing grants, but they are separate programs run by different parts of the VA. The Specially Adapted Housing (SAH) and Special Home Adaptation (SHA) grants are administered by the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA), fund major remodeling or new construction, and require specific severe service-connected disabilities. HISA, by contrast, is administered by the health system (VHA) and is open to a much broader group, including veterans with non-service-connected conditions.

Grant	Maximum amount	Who administers it	Who qualifies
HISA	$6,800 or $2,000 lifetime	VHA (VA health system / Prosthetics)	Veterans enrolled in VA health care with a documented medical need; service-connected or non-service-connected
SAH	Up to $126,526 (FY 2026)	VBA (VA benefits office)	Specific severe service-connected disabilities, e.g. loss or loss of use of both legs, blindness, or certain other conditions
SHA	Up to $25,350 (FY 2026)	VBA (VA benefits office)	Specific service-connected disabilities such as loss or loss of use of both hands, certain severe burns, or respiratory injuries

The practical takeaway: if you have a qualifying severe service-connected disability, look at SAH or SHA first for the big-ticket work, then use HISA on top for additional medically necessary changes. HISA can be used alongside the SAH and SHA grants; it does not cancel them out. We cover the adaptive-housing grants in depth in a separate guide, and you can start any of them from the Coverage hub.

Eligibility in plain terms

To use HISA you generally need to be:

• Enrolled in VA health care. HISA is a health-system benefit, so enrollment is the foundation.
• Documented as medically needing the modification. A VA physician must write or approve a prescription establishing the diagnosis and the medical justification for the specific change.
• In a home you own or rent. Renters can qualify but must provide a notarized statement from the property owner authorizing the work.

Whether your need is service-connected or non-service-connected does not decide if you qualify so much as how much you can receive, per the two tiers above.

How to apply: step by step

The application runs through your local VA medical center’s prosthetics department, usually starting with your primary care team. Here is the path most veterans follow:

1. Talk to your VA care team. Explain the mobility or accessibility problem at home. Your primary care provider or a specialist assesses the need and, if appropriate, writes a prescription for the modification.
2. Get the prescription in writing. It should name you and your address, describe the exact project and the area of the home, list the diagnosis and medical justification, and note alternatives considered. This is the document that makes HISA possible, so make sure it is specific.
3. Complete VA Form 10-0103. This is the official “Veterans Application for Assistance in Acquiring Home Improvement and Structural Alterations.” Fill it out and sign it. You can get it from your medical center or from VA.gov.
4. Gather an itemized cost estimate. Get a written estimate from a contractor that breaks out labor, materials, permits, and inspections for the work.
5. Add supporting items. Include a color photograph of the area to be modified. If you rent, add the notarized owner-authorization statement.
6. Submit to the Prosthetic and Sensory Aids Service. Turn the package in to the prosthetics department at your VA medical center. They review the medical justification and the estimate, approve the eligible amount, and coordinate payment or reimbursement.

If you are unsure where to start, use the VA facility locator to find the prosthetics office at your nearest VA medical center and call them directly with eligibility questions.

What HISA covers, and what it does not

HISA is for medically necessary accessibility, not general home improvement. Knowing the line saves you a rejected application.

Typically covered

• Permanent ramping to allow entrance to or exit from the home, including improving an entrance path or driveway in the immediate area of the home
• Roll-in showers and other essential lavatory and sanitary facilities
• Widened doorways and improved accessibility to kitchen or bathroom sinks and counters (for example, lowering counters)
• Plumbing or electrical changes made necessary by the installation of home medical equipment

Not covered

• Routine repairs and maintenance, such as replacing a roof, furnace, or air conditioner
• Walkways to exterior buildings, exterior decking, and general landscaping
• Spas, hot tubs, or Jacuzzi-type tubs, and home security systems
• Removable or portable equipment such as portable ramps, porch lifts, and stair glides
• New construction

That last category matters for anyone shopping a stair lift: because a stair glide is treated as removable equipment, it generally falls outside HISA even though a permanent ramp does not. If a stair lift is your goal, look at other funding paths first, since Medicare does not cover stair lifts either, and some state Medicaid waivers do, as in our Florida Medicaid example.

The bottom line

HISA is one of the most accessible home-modification benefits the VA offers: a lifetime $6,800 or $2,000 toward medically necessary changes, run through your VA health care rather than a lengthy benefits claim. It will not fund a whole remodel or a stair glide, but for ramps, roll-in showers, and accessible bathrooms it can meaningfully cut what your family pays out of pocket, and it stacks on top of the larger SAH and SHA grants if you qualify for those. Start with a conversation with your VA care team, get the prescription, and file Form 10-0103 through prosthetics.