Yes, the VA does pay for a bathroom remodel when the work is medically necessary because of a service-connected disability. Three grant programs cover this kind of project: the Specially Adapted Housing (SAH) grant, the Special Home Adaptation (SHA) grant, and the Home Improvements and Structural Alterations (HISA) grant. In fiscal year 2026, the largest of these provides up to $126,526 in lifetime funding, and the smallest still covers common accessibility work like roll-in showers and grab bars. Which program fits you depends on your disability, whether you own the home, and how extensive the work is.
The Three Grants at a Glance
The SAH grant is the most substantial. It helps veterans with severe service-connected disabilities build, buy, or modify a home for wheelchair-accessible living, and it can cover major structural changes to a bathroom.
The SHA grant is smaller and targeted. It serves veterans whose service-connected disabilities affect their hands or involve severe burns or certain respiratory injuries, and it goes toward adapting an existing home or buying one that already works.
HISA covers the widest group of veterans. It funds medically necessary modifications to your primary residence — roll-in showers, lowered sinks, wider doorways, plumbing upgrades for medical equipment. HISA is the one grant that also covers veterans who rent, provided the landlord gives written approval.
SAH and SHA are run by the Veterans Benefits Administration; HISA is run by the Veterans Health Administration. That split matters because a HISA grant can be received alongside an SAH or SHA grant.
Who Qualifies
SAH
SAH requires a permanent and total service-connected disability in one of these categories:
- Loss or loss of use of both legs, severe enough that you cannot move around without braces, crutches, canes, or a wheelchair
- Blindness in both eyes with visual acuity of 20/200 or less even with corrective lenses
- Loss or loss of use of one leg combined with residual effects of organic disease or injury, or loss of use of one arm, that together prevent walking without assistance
- Loss or loss of use of both arms at or above the elbows
- Severe burn injury as determined by VA regulations
- For post-9/11 service members: loss or loss of use of one or more lower extremities that prevents walking without assistance, if the disability was incurred on or after September 11, 2001
You must own or plan to own the home, and it must be your permanent residence.
SHA
SHA covers a narrower set of disabilities:
- Loss or loss of use of both hands
- Severe burn injury as determined by VA regulations
Unlike SAH, the home can be owned by a family member rather than the veteran, but it still must be the veteran’s permanent residence.
HISA
HISA is available to any veteran with a service-connected disability that creates a medical need for home modifications. Veterans with non-service-connected disabilities can also qualify if they have a separate service-connected disability rated at 50 percent or higher, or if the non-service-connected condition is being treated by the VA. Every HISA project needs a prescription from a VA physician describing the modification and explaining why it is medically necessary.
How Much You Can Get in FY 2026
All three programs have lifetime caps. The SAH and SHA amounts are adjusted each year based on a cost-of-construction index. For fiscal year 2026:
- SAH grant: up to $126,526
- SHA grant: up to $25,350
- HISA grant (service-connected disability): up to $6,800
- HISA grant (non-service-connected disability meeting the criteria above): up to $2,000
These are lifetime totals. You can use an SAH or SHA grant up to six separate times, drawing from the same aggregate cap. Spend $80,000 of an SAH grant on an initial adaptation and the balance stays available for a bathroom project later.
Grants can be combined across the two administrations. A veteran who exhausts SAH funding on major structural work can still use HISA for additional medically necessary bathroom modifications. If you qualify for both SAH and SHA, however, you receive only the larger of the two.
What the VA Will and Won’t Pay For
The VA covers modifications tied to a documented medical need. For bathrooms, commonly approved work includes:
- Roll-in showers and accessible tub replacements
- Grab bars and support rails, including any wall reinforcement they require
- Wider doorways to accommodate wheelchairs
- Lowered sinks and counters
- Raised or accessible toilets
- Non-slip flooring
- Plumbing and electrical upgrades needed for medical equipment
A VA physician’s prescription is required for HISA and strongly expected for SAH and SHA.
Cosmetic and luxury upgrades don’t qualify. HISA specifically excludes spas, hot tubs, and Jacuzzi-type tubs. Routine maintenance, such as replacing a water heater or fixing plumbing that isn’t part of an accessibility change, is also excluded, along with removable items like portable ramps. If you are combining accessible features with aesthetic ones in the same remodel, only the accessibility-related portion is eligible for VA funding.
If You’re Living Somewhere Temporary
Veterans who qualify for SAH or SHA but are living temporarily in a family member’s home can use the Temporary Residence Adaptation (TRA) grant to modify that home instead. You do not need to own the property. For FY 2026, TRA provides up to $50,961 for SAH-eligible veterans and up to $9,099 for SHA-eligible veterans. TRA can be used only once, and it counts as one of the six lifetime uses of your SAH or SHA grant.
How to Apply
SAH and SHA
Apply online at VA.gov, by mail, or in person at a VA regional office using VA Form 26-4555 (Application in Acquiring Specially Adapted Housing or Special Home Adaptation Grant). Include medical documentation of your qualifying disability and itemized cost estimates for the proposed work. For SAH, SHA, and TRA projects, the VA requires a minimum of three contractor bids. More are encouraged, and the bids do not need a fully itemized cost breakdown.
HISA
HISA uses VA Form 10-0103 (Veterans Application for Assistance in Acquiring Home Improvements and Structural Alterations). You will need a VA physician’s prescription that includes your diagnosis, a description of the proposed project, and a medical justification explaining why the modification is clinically appropriate. Attach a signed, itemized estimate covering labor, materials, permits, and inspections.
After you submit, a VA representative reviews the application and may schedule an in-home assessment. Processing generally takes several weeks. Applications move most smoothly when the physician’s prescription and the contractor estimates are complete on the first pass.
Taxes
VA housing grants are not taxable. The IRS excludes veterans’ benefits paid under VA-administered programs from gross income, and that includes grants for wheelchair-accessible housing. SAH, SHA, HISA, and TRA funds do not go on your federal tax return.