A wartime veteran in Tennessee who has a spouse and needs daily help with bathing or dressing can receive up to $2,874 a month in VA pension, and a surviving spouse up to $18,697 a year. VA Aid and Attendance in Tennessee is a federal pension benefit, so the rates and rules are the same as in every state, but the help with filing is local: the Tennessee Department of Veterans Services and county Veterans Services Offices.

In This Guide

What Is Aid and Attendance?

Aid and Attendance (A&A) is an enhanced VA Veterans Pension benefit for wartime veterans and their surviving spouses who need help with everyday activities. It isn't a separate program. It's an increase added to a monthly VA benefit: on the pension route it's the same VA pension paid at a higher maximum rate when you need regular care, so the Aid and Attendance rate sets the ceiling for the whole pension rather than adding a second payment to the basic rate. The same benefit can also be added to a veteran's monthly compensation.

You may qualify if you need help with daily activities such as:

  • Bathing or showering
  • Dressing and undressing
  • Feeding yourself
  • Using the toilet
  • Adjusting prosthetic devices
  • Protecting yourself from everyday hazards

You can also qualify if you're bedridden, if you're a patient in a nursing home because of a loss of mental or physical abilities related to a disability, or if your eyesight is limited to 5/200 or less in both eyes (or your visual field is contracted to 5 degrees or less).

What you pay for care also feeds back into the benefit. Payments to an in-home attendant, a nursing home, or an assisted living facility can count as unreimbursed medical expenses that lower your income for VA purposes, each on its own conditions under 38 CFR 3.278(d). An assisted living facility's meals and lodging count only if the facility provides or contracts for your care, or a clinician states in writing that you must live there to get it. That link between care costs and the benefit matters to Tennessee families piecing together long-term care.

Not sure whether your parent qualifies for Aid and Attendance? Chat with Brevy's care navigator at brevy.com.

Do You Qualify?

To receive Aid and Attendance, you have to meet all four of these requirements.

1. Wartime service, without a dishonorable discharge. How much service the VA requires turns on when the veteran started active duty, not on which war they served in. A veteran who started active duty before September 8, 1980 must have served at least 90 days of active duty with at least one day during a recognized wartime period. A veteran who started active duty as an enlisted person after September 7, 1980 generally needs at least 24 months, or the full period for which they were called or ordered to active duty, again with at least one day during wartime. A third branch covers an officer who started active duty after October 16, 1981 and had not previously served on active duty for at least 24 months. Recognized wartime periods include World War II, the Korean conflict, the Vietnam War era, and the Gulf War, which runs from August 2, 1990 through a future date to be set by law or presidential proclamation.

2. Age, disability, or one of two other routes. The VA lists four alternatives here, and meeting any one of them satisfies the test. The veteran must be at least 65 years old; or have a permanent and total disability; or be a patient in a nursing home for long-term care because of a disability; or be getting Social Security Disability Insurance or Supplemental Security Income. The nursing-home and SSDI/SSI branches stand on their own, so a wartime veteran under 65 who receives SSI meets this requirement without any adjudicated permanent-and-total rating.

3. Need for assistance. The veteran or surviving spouse must need regular help from another person with daily activities, be bedridden, be a patient in a nursing home because of a disability-related loss of abilities, or have severely limited eyesight as described above.

4. Net worth under $163,699. This is the 2026 limit. It counts your assets and income, and your dependents', combined. Your primary residence, your car, and basic household items don't count.

Surviving spouses qualify too. If the veteran has passed away and the surviving spouse needs help with daily activities, they can apply for the VA Survivors Pension with Aid and Attendance.

VA Aid and Attendance Rates in Tennessee (2026)

The Maximum Annual Pension Rate (MAPR) for your category is the maximum amount of pension payable, and the VA pays the difference between your income for VA purposes and that limit. If your countable income for VA purposes is zero, the award is the full ceiling. These rates are federal, so they're the same in Tennessee as anywhere else.

One note before the table: the VA publishes these as yearly rates. Pension is paid monthly, and under 38 CFR 3.273 the VA works out your monthly payment by subtracting your countable income from the yearly rate and dividing what is left by 12.

Category Maximum Annual Rate
Veteran, no dependents $29,093
Veteran with spouse $34,488
Two veterans married to each other (both A&A) $46,143
Surviving spouse, no dependents $18,697
Veteran, no dependents (Housebound) $21,313
Surviving spouse, no dependents (Housebound) $14,298
Veteran, no dependents (basic pension) $17,441
Surviving spouse, no dependents (basic pension) $11,699
Each additional dependent +$2,984 a year

Here's how the math works. If a veteran with a spouse has $12,000 in annual countable income and qualifies for A&A, the VA pays the difference: $34,488 minus $12,000 leaves $22,488 a year, which the VA pays in monthly installments. Unreimbursed medical expenses, including what you pay for care, reduce your countable income, which raises your benefit. Only the portion above 5% of the basic pension rate (the MAPR without the Aid and Attendance increase) is deductible, which is $872 for a veteran with no spouse or child.

The Net Worth Limit and 3-Year Look-Back

The 2026 net worth limit is $163,699. This combines your assets (savings, investments, and property other than your home) with your annual income.

What counts: bank accounts, stocks, bonds, investment property, IRAs, and other financial assets, plus your annual income.

What doesn't count: your primary residence, your car, and basic household items. The house you live in doesn't push you over the limit.

The 3-Year Look-Back Rule

The VA reviews any assets you transferred for less than fair market value in the three years (36 months) before you file your claim, under 38 CFR 3.276. If you gave away or sold assets below market value to get under the net worth limit, the VA may impose a penalty period of up to five years during which you won't receive pension benefits. Moving money into an annuity, a trust, or another investment that lowers your net worth also counts as a transfer for less than fair market value, unless you can cash out the whole balance for your own benefit, in which case VA counts it as net worth.

This rule exists to stop people from simply giving away savings to qualify. If you're thinking about transferring assets, talk to a VA-accredited attorney or an elder law attorney first. The penalty can be severe.

How to Apply for VA Aid and Attendance in Tennessee

Aid and Attendance is an increase added to a monthly VA benefit, and VA Form 21-2680 covers it whether it is being added to a VA pension or to monthly compensation. The steps below are the pension route, the one a wartime veteran or surviving spouse follows to claim Aid and Attendance as part of a VA pension. When Aid and Attendance would be added to VA disability compensation instead, the same exam form applies, but the pension application in step 3 is not part of that route.

1
Step 1

File an intent to file, if you're still gathering paperwork

VA Form 21-0966 (Intent to File) tells the VA a claim is coming. The VA says submitting an intent to file can secure the earliest possible effective date for any retroactive payments you may be eligible to receive, so it can protect your effective date while you collect records.

2
Step 2

Get a medical examination

A medical examiner fills out the examination information section of VA Form 21-2680 (Examination for Housebound Status or Permanent Need for Regular Aid and Attendance), documenting which daily activities you need help with and why. Be thorough. The more detail about specific limitations, the stronger the claim.

3
Step 3

Complete the pension application

On the pension route, a wartime veteran who is not already receiving a VA pension submits VA Form 21P-527EZ (Application for Veterans Pension). This is the needs-based wartime pension application, so it is not the form for a veteran whose Aid and Attendance would be added to disability compensation.

4
Step 4

Submit everything

You can file online at VA.gov, mail the forms to the VA Pension Intake Center, or bring them in person to a VA regional office. An accredited attorney, claims agent, or Veterans Service Organization representative can also help you file the claim, and TDVS field offices help veterans file claims for federal VA benefits.

5
Step 5

Wait for a decision

Asked how long a decision takes, the VA's answer is "It depends." It processes claims in the order it receives them, unless a claim qualifies for priority processing. A complete application with strong medical documentation gives the VA less to go back and ask for.

Documents to Gather First

  • DD-214 (discharge papers) showing wartime service dates
  • Medical records documenting the need for daily help
  • Income documentation (Social Security and pension statements)
  • Asset information (bank and investment statements)
  • Marriage certificate, if claiming as a veteran with a spouse
  • Death certificate, if applying as a surviving spouse

Help Filing in Tennessee: TDVS and County Service Officers

You don't have to file this claim alone. TDVS and county offices help across the state, and the VA says the services an accredited VSO representative provides on your VA benefit claims are always free, while an accredited attorney or claims agent can charge you fees.

The Tennessee Department of Veterans Services (TDVS)

The Tennessee Department of Veterans Services (TDVS) runs State Veterans Services field offices across Tennessee that help veterans file claims for federal VA benefits. For help filing a federal claim, TDVS tells veterans to contact one of its field offices to reach that claims assistance and expertise. The federal benefits the VA administers include disability compensation and pension, and Aid and Attendance is a monthly payment added to the amount of a monthly VA pension for qualified veterans and survivors. Find your nearest State Veterans Services Office and make an appointment with a Veterans Resource Coordinator to start your claim.

County Service Officers

TDVS publishes a lookup called Find Your County Veterans Services Office for finding the Veterans Services Office nearest you by county. Its 106 records list the county, the office, the TDVS region, the address, phone, fax where there is one, and office hours. Check the hours before you go: some offices see veterans by appointment only, and some are open only part of the week. TDVS posts the lookup alongside a downloadable spreadsheet, the TN County and State Service Officer Contact Roster, so the listings include state service officers as well as county offices. Carter County's office, for example, says it is not part of the VA and can't decide claims, but can advise on programs and eligibility and help you complete the forms to file a claim or an appeal.

Tennessee also offers state-funded property tax relief for qualifying disabled veterans, which is not a VA payment: the state reimburses part or all of the property tax a qualifying disabled veteran pays on their home, and applications are filed through the county trustee's office. See our guide to Tennessee's disabled veteran property tax relief for who qualifies and how the filing works.

A Note on Tennessee's Veteran Population

Tennessee is home to several hundred thousand veterans. The VA's National Center for Veterans Analysis and Statistics (NCVAS), in its FY2025 Tennessee state summary, puts the state's veteran population at 425,755 for 2025, out of 17,587,676 nationwide, and 46.2 percent of Tennessee veterans are 65 or older. These are modelled estimates rather than a head count. It's worth contacting a service officer early rather than waiting until a care crisis forces the issue. TDVS keeps its own county-level map of veteran population and VA expenditures.

A word of caution: be wary of companies that charge fees to help with VA claims. The VA says the services an accredited VSO representative provides on your VA benefit claims are always free, while an accredited attorney or claims agent can charge you fees, so an accredited Veterans Service Organization representative is a route that costs you nothing. Carter County says there is no charge at its county office, so ask yours about cost when you call.

Tennessee State Veterans' Homes

For a veteran who needs more care than family can provide at home, Tennessee runs its own veterans' homes. The Tennessee State Veterans' Homes (TSVH) provide skilled nursing care in Murfreesboro, Humboldt, Knoxville, Clarksville, and Cleveland, with a new home under construction in Arlington. They offer long-term care, short-term skilled nursing, and rehabilitative therapy, name 24-hour clinical oversight as part of their mission, and are governed by the Tennessee State Veterans' Homes Board, whose members the Governor appoints. A veteran may qualify for admission if honorably discharged from active service, in need of a skilled level of care, and meeting at least one of five Tennessee connections: living in Tennessee at admission, being born in Tennessee, entering the Armed Forces in Tennessee, having a Tennessee home of record, or having a Tennessee-resident family member as primary caregiver. Spouses and Gold-Star parents of qualified veterans are eligible on a space-available basis, and they must also need a skilled level of care. Meeting the criteria doesn't guarantee a bed, because TSVH reviews each admission case by case.

TSVH is independent of the VA, but it says qualified veterans may be eligible for free or reduced-rate programs through the VA. A veteran who isn't can pay through Medicare, a Medicare managed care plan, Tennessee Medicaid, long-term care insurance, or privately. Medicare isn't open-ended: Part A pays for up to 100 days in a skilled nursing facility after a qualifying hospital stay if daily skilled nursing or therapy treatments are required. It pays in full for days 1 to 20, then from day 21 to day 100 a percentage of the daily rate if you meet the Medicare requirements, and from day 21 you pay part of the charges. For care Part A doesn't cover, residents can use TennCare, long-term care insurance, or private funds.

How Aid and Attendance Works with TennCare

Aid and Attendance and TennCare, Tennessee's Medicaid program, are run separately, under different rules. A veteran can receive both at the same time, but the two count money differently, so a few points are worth understanding.

  • A&A income doesn't automatically disqualify you from TennCare. TennCare's income policy for aged, blind, and disabled applicants lists VA Aid and Attendance and Housebound allowances as excluded, in line with the federal SSI rule, so it's the basic pension amount, not the A&A increase, that counts toward the income limit. Confirm the rule with TennCare or the office taking your application.
  • In a nursing facility, A&A can count toward what you owe. TennCare's patient-liability policy counts income that was excluded at eligibility, so an A&A amount the VA still pays at the full rate can count toward a resident's share of the bill, after deductions such as a personal needs allowance and incurred medical expenses. A veteran with no spouse or dependent child, or a surviving spouse with no dependent child, whose pension the VA has cut to $90 a month, for the months after admission to a Medicaid-covered nursing facility, doesn't have that $90 counted. In a state veterans home, pension over $90, including any A&A, is counted and applied to the home's cost of care. If you're getting CHOICES care at home, ask TennCare which cost-share rule applies to you, and anyone outside the $90 cap should confirm their patient liability with TennCare.
  • The two programs work differently. A&A raises the ceiling on your VA pension, while TennCare's CHOICES program provides long-term services and supports to eligible older adults and adults with physical disabilities at home, in the community, or in a nursing facility.
  • Timing matters. Because VA pension income factors into any patient liability or cost share, the order in which you apply can affect eligibility for one or both. Talk to a benefits counselor who understands both programs before you file.

For how TennCare itself pays for nursing-home and long-term care, see our guide to Tennessee Medicaid long-term care and nursing homes.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much does VA Aid and Attendance pay in Tennessee in 2026?

The maximum depends on your situation. The ceiling is $29,093 a year for a veteran alone, $34,488 a year ($2,874 a month) for a veteran with a spouse, and $18,697 a year for a surviving spouse, and the VA pays it monthly. These are federal rates, identical in Tennessee. Your actual payment is reduced by your countable income, and out-of-pocket medical expenses can lower that income and raise your benefit.

Can I receive Aid and Attendance and TennCare at the same time?

Yes. A Tennessee veteran or surviving spouse can receive both. When TennCare decides eligibility, its income policy excludes the aid and attendance allowance (the basic pension amount is what counts toward the limit), but in a nursing facility an A&A amount the VA still pays at the full rate can count toward your patient liability, while a pension the VA has reduced to $90 a month does not. The two can still work side by side, since TennCare CHOICES covers long-term services and supports at home, in the community, or in a nursing facility. Talk to a benefits counselor before applying, because timing can affect eligibility.

Where can I get help applying in Tennessee?

Contact the Tennessee Department of Veterans Services or your county Veterans Services Office. TDVS runs State Veterans Services field offices across the state and tells veterans to contact one for help filing a federal claim. Its county-office lookup finds the county office nearest you. The VA says the services an accredited VSO representative provides on your claim are always free, while an accredited attorney or claims agent can charge you fees. Ask a county office about cost when you call; Carter County, for one, says it charges nothing.

How long does it take to get approved?

The VA's own answer is "It depends." It works through claims in the order it receives them, unless a claim qualifies for priority processing. Have the medical examiner be detailed on VA Form 21-2680 and submit all supporting documents at once, so the VA has less to come back and ask for.

Learn More

MedicareMedicare Plans and Coverage in TennesseeMedicare in Tennessee for 2026: Part A, Part B, Medicare Advantage, Part D, Medigap, plus TennCare programs that help pay your Medicare costs. MedicaidTennessee Medicaid Long-Term Care and Nursing HomesTennessee Medicaid nursing home coverage runs through TennCare CHOICES Group 1. 2026 eligibility, patient liability, estate recovery, and how to apply. MedicaidTennessee Medicare Savings ProgramsTennessee Medicare Savings Programs in 2026: QMB, SLMB, and QI income limits, the Part B premium savings, Part D Extra Help, and how to apply through TennCare. Care TypesNursing Homes in TennesseeTennessee nursing homes 2026: about $113,150/yr semi-private, how Medicare and TennCare CHOICES pay, CMS Five-Star ratings, and what to ask on a facility tour. CaregiverYour Guide to Being a Family Caregiver in TennesseeTennessee caregivers guide for 2026: how to get paid via TennCare CD or PC 182 agency route, find respite, layer programs, and reach the right TN AAAD. MedicaidYour Guide to TennCare and Tennessee MedicaidTennessee Medicaid (TennCare) covers 1.4M Tennesseans in 2026. Eligibility, CHOICES, ECF CHOICES, Katie Beckett, MCOs, estate recovery, and how to apply.
Your next step Find personalized help applying for VA Aid and Attendance in Tennessee at brevy.com.

The information on Brevy.com is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional legal, financial, or medical advice. Rules vary by state and program and change frequently. Always verify with the relevant agency or a qualified professional. Brevy is not a law firm, financial advisor, or healthcare provider.

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