VA Aid and Attendance is one of the most useful and most overlooked ways to help pay for in-home care in Utah. It is a monthly cash increase, usually paid as part of a veteran's or surviving spouse's VA pension, and because it is paid as cash, the money can go straight toward an aide who comes to the house. For a family trying to keep a parent at home rather than move them to a facility, that monthly check can be the deciding factor.

This guide explains exactly how Aid and Attendance works for in-home care, how much it pays in 2026, who qualifies, and how to get free help filing the claim.

In This Guide

How Much In-Home Care Costs in Utah

In-home care is a significant monthly expense. According to the Genworth/CareScout 2025 Cost of Care Survey (the most recent release, published March 2026), the national median for a non-medical caregiver is about $35 an hour, which works out to roughly $80,080 a year at 44 hours of care per week. Beginning with the 2025 survey, CareScout combined the former "homemaker" and "home health aide" categories into this single "non-medical caregiver" rate. CareScout does not publish a separate Utah in-home figure, so this national median is the best available benchmark; Utah's costs have been climbing, with one of the country's larger recent year-over-year increases.

In-home help ranges from a homemaker, who assists with errands, meals, and housekeeping, to a home health aide, who adds hands-on help with bathing, dressing, and similar daily tasks; CareScout now reports both together as a single non-medical caregiver rate. These are industry-survey medians, not government figures, so the real number for any one family depends on how many hours of care are needed each week and where in the state you live. Either way, paying for in-home care out of pocket adds up fast, which is why an extra monthly benefit matters. Trimming a fixed household bill helps too. If the veteran staying at home has a service-connected disability rating, Utah's property tax exemption for disabled veterans can lower the tax on that home; see our guide to Utah's disabled veteran property tax exemption for who qualifies and how to file with the county.

How Aid and Attendance Helps Pay for In-Home Care in Utah

Aid and Attendance is an increased monthly pension the VA pays a qualifying veteran or surviving spouse who needs help with daily activities, at a higher maximum rate than the basic VA pension. It is paid as cash, so unlike a benefit that only covers care at a specific facility, the money can go toward an in-home aide, a homemaker, or other care costs at home.

Here are the 2026 maximums (rates effective December 1, 2025 through November 30, 2026). VA publishes annual rates; a monthly amount is the yearly award divided by 12.

Category Maximum Annual Rate Approximate Monthly
Veteran alone $29,093 about $2,424
Veteran with one dependent $34,488 $2,874
Surviving spouse $18,697 about $1,558

These are ceilings, not payment amounts: the Maximum Annual Pension Rate is the maximum amount of pension payable, and VA pays the difference between your income for VA purposes and that limit.

Against a roughly $80,080-a-year cost for in-home care, the maximum veteran rate covers a meaningful share of part-time in-home care. It rarely covers full-time care on its own, but combined with other income it can keep a loved one safely at home.

How In-Home Care Costs Lower Your Countable Income for Aid and Attendance in Utah

VA Pension, including the Aid and Attendance increase, is a needs-based benefit: to be eligible, your yearly family income and net worth have to meet limits set by Congress. Because the benefit is keyed to income for VA purposes, recurring out-of-pocket care costs can be subtracted from the income the VA counts, which can make a family that looked "over income" eligible after all.

The rule has a floor. Only the portion of your unreimbursed medical expenses above 5% of the applicable Maximum Annual Pension Rate (MAPR) counts, and that MAPR excludes any aid-and-attendance or housebound increase. The VA states the deduction this way: "If you have medical expenses, you may deduct only the amount that's above 5% of your MAPR amount ($872 for a Veteran with no spouse or child)." The floor rises with dependents. In-home attendant care counts as a deductible medical expense when the veteran needs aid and attendance or is housebound, or when a physician, physician assistant, certified nurse practitioner, or clinical nurse specialist states in writing that the care is required.

For example, a veteran paying for an in-home aide might spend $25,000 over a year on that care. The first $872 does not count, but the remaining roughly $24,000 can be subtracted from countable income, often lowering it enough to qualify for the pension or increase the amount paid.

Who Qualifies

To qualify for Aid and Attendance, a veteran generally must meet all of the following:

  • Wartime service and no dishonorable discharge: at least 90 days of active duty with at least one day during a wartime period (such as World War II, Korea, Vietnam, or the Gulf War). Service that began after September 7, 1980 has its own length-of-service rules.
  • Age, disability, or benefit status: any one of these four is enough. Be at least 65 years old; have a permanent and total disability; 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. A wartime veteran under 65 who receives SSI meets this test with no disability rating at all.
  • A need for aid and attendance: need help with daily activities such as bathing, dressing, or eating, or have to stay in bed (or spend a large part of the day in bed) because of illness, or be in a nursing home due to incapacity, or have severely limited eyesight.
  • Net worth under $163,699 for 2026. VA's net worth calculation counts the claimant's and their dependents' assets and annual income together, so assets alone are not the test; the primary home, a vehicle, and basic household goods are excluded.

The VA reviews asset transfers made for less than fair market value during the three years before you file, so it is worth planning ahead. A surviving spouse can qualify under the Survivors Pension version of the benefit.

Using Aid and Attendance to Pay a Family Caregiver

Because Aid and Attendance is paid to the beneficiary in cash, as part of the monthly benefit, families commonly use it to help compensate a relative who provides care at home.

If you want a more structured way to pay a family caregiver, ask your VA medical center about Veteran-Directed Care (VDC). VDC gives a veteran a flexible, clinically set budget to hire their own caregivers, including family members and even a spouse, with a financial management service handling payroll. Eligibility requires VA enrollment, a clinical need for personal care, and risk of needing institutional care. VDC is a separate program from the Aid and Attendance pension, but the two can both support care at home.

How Aid and Attendance Works with Utah Medicaid

For Utah seniors who need long-term care, the Aid and Attendance allowance and Utah Medicaid can work together. Utah Medicaid's eligibility policy explicitly excludes the VA Aid and Attendance or Housebound allowance from countable income, and also excludes VA payments for unusual (unreimbursed) medical expenses.

Because the Aid and Attendance portion is not counted, receiving it does not by itself disqualify a veteran or surviving spouse from Utah Medicaid long-term-care coverage, though the basic pension and other income are still subject to Medicaid's income and asset rules. That exclusion settles eligibility only, not the bill: once a person is eligible and living in a nursing facility, income that was disregarded in determining eligibility must be counted in the share-of-cost calculation (42 CFR 435.725), so the Aid and Attendance amount does count toward what the resident owes the facility each month under Utah Medicaid. Not all of it does, because the agency is required to deduct incurred expenses for medical or remedial care that no third party pays before the bill is set, and that is a duty the state owes rather than a deduction a family has to claim. If your parent stays at home on a Medicaid home- and community-based waiver, there is still a share-of-cost calculation, but it is not the facility one described here, so ask Utah Medicaid which rule applies to a waiver participant and what it leaves the household each month. Confirm your specific situation with Utah Medicaid and an accredited Veteran Service Officer before relying on any single rule.

How to Apply and Get Free Help

Every claim starts with VA Form 21-2680 (Examination for Housebound Status or Permanent Need for Regular Aid and Attendance), whose examination information section a medical examiner completes to document the need for help. That form covers Aid and Attendance "that will be added to your monthly compensation or pension benefits," so it serves two routes.

The steps below are the pension route, the one this guide is about: as the VA puts it, "You may be eligible for this benefit if you get a VA pension." On that route, a wartime veteran who is not already receiving VA pension also files VA Form 21P-527EZ (Application for Veterans Pension) alongside the 21-2680. If the veteran receives VA disability compensation rather than a pension, 21P-527EZ is the wrong form: it is the wartime, means-tested pension application, and the increase in that case is added to the compensation instead. You can file online at VA.gov, by mail to the VA Pension Intake Center, in person at a VA regional office, or through an accredited representative. Asked how long a decision takes, the VA answers, "It depends." It processes claims in the order it receives them, unless a claim requires priority processing.

Do not do this alone. The Utah Department of Veterans and Military Affairs (UDVMA) offers free assistance to veterans and their family members with claims, applications, and appeals to the VA, and its Veteran Service Officers are trained and accredited to represent Utah veterans in filing claims and during the appeals process. Reach UDVMA's main office at 801-326-2372 to schedule a meeting with a VSO in person, over the phone, or by video conference. UDVMA also lists accredited representatives at the DAV, the American Legion, and the VFW, and per the VA, the services an accredited VSO representative provides on your claim are always free, while an accredited attorney or claims agent can charge you fees.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can Aid and Attendance be used to pay for in-home care in Utah?

Yes. Aid and Attendance is paid as cash, usually as part of a VA pension, so the money can go directly toward an in-home aide, a homemaker, or other care at home. It is not tied to a specific facility, which makes it well suited to families keeping a loved one at home.

How much does Aid and Attendance pay in 2026?

Up to $29,093 a year (about $2,424 a month) for a veteran alone, up to $34,488 a year ($2,874 a month) for a veteran with one dependent, and up to $18,697 a year (about $1,558 a month) for a surviving spouse. VA publishes annual rates, and these are ceilings rather than payments: the actual award is the difference between your income for VA purposes and the limit that applies to you.

Does my parent's income disqualify them if it looks too high?

Not necessarily. The VA subtracts unreimbursed care costs above a yearly floor of $872 for a veteran with no spouse or child, and the floor rises with dependents, so families that look over the limit often still qualify once in-home care costs are counted.

Can a veteran get both Aid and Attendance and Utah Medicaid?

Often yes. Utah Medicaid explicitly excludes the Aid and Attendance allowance from countable income, so receiving it does not by itself disqualify a veteran, though the basic pension and other income still count. That exclusion applies to the eligibility test, not the bill: once a veteran is eligible and living in a nursing facility, the Aid and Attendance amount does count toward the share of cost owed the facility (42 CFR 435.725), after the agency deducts the incurred medical or remedial care expenses no third party pays, which it is required to do. A veteran on a home- and community-based waiver has a share-of-cost calculation as well, but not that one, so ask Utah Medicaid which rule applies.

Compare Care Settings in Utah

Aid and Attendance can help pay for any care setting. See how it works for the others:

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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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