HISA is the everyday accessibility benefit. SAH and SHA are the large-scale ones — built for veterans whose service-connected disabilities require a home to be substantially adapted or, in some cases, purpose-built.
SAH: Specially Adapted Housing
The FY2026 maximum is $126,526. SAH is intended for veterans with severe service-connected disabilities such as:
- Loss or loss of use of more than one limb
- Certain severe burn injuries
- Blindness in both eyes combined with loss of a lower extremity
The grant can be used to build an adapted home, remodel an existing one, or pay down the unpaid balance on a home already adapted. It can be used up to six times in a lifetime, as long as the total stays inside your entitlement.
SHA: Special Home Adaptation
The FY2026 maximum is $25,350. SHA covers a different set of qualifying conditions, including:
- Loss or loss of use of both hands
- Certain severe respiratory injuries
- Certain severe burn injuries
- Blindness in both eyes
Typical SHA projects are the ones that make daily routines workable: roll-in showers, widened doorways, kitchen adaptations that allow independent cooking. It is also usable up to six times.
TRA: adapting someone else’s home
If you are living temporarily in a home owned by a family member, Temporary Residence Adaptation can pay for modifications there. The FY2026 limits are $50,961 if you are SAH-eligible and $9,100 if you are SHA-eligible. Important: TRA is drawn from your existing SAH or SHA entitlement, so using it reduces what remains.
These amounts move every year
The VA re-indexes SAH and SHA maximums every October 1 based on residential construction costs. If you are reading this well into the fiscal year, treat the numbers above as the FY2026 baseline and confirm the current figures directly with the VA before you sign anything.
Grants, not loans
There is no repayment, no interest, and no recapture provision if you sell later. SAH and SHA are also independent of the VA-guaranteed home loan benefit — you can use both, and many veterans do: the loan buys the house, the grant adapts it.
How to apply
The application is VA Form 26-4555, filed online, by mail, or with help from a VA Regional Loan Center. Once approved, you are assigned a specialist who reviews plans and contractor bids before construction begins. Do not start work before that approval — unauthorized work is a common reason costs end up uncovered.
Where AccessHome Pro fits
SAH and SHA projects are real construction jobs, not weekend installs. They need contractors who can produce plans and bids a VA specialist will accept. We can help you find accessibility remodelers in your area; the grant determination itself is entirely the VA’s.