VAC clothing allowance rates 2026.

What the clothing allowance covers

Veterans Affairs Canada describes the clothing allowance as a monthly payment for people whose disability causes wear and tear on their clothing or who need custom-made clothing. Its examples are a brace, a splint or a prosthetic that requires specially made clothes or causes extra wear and tear, and VAC adds that you can use the monthly allowance to pay to have damaged clothes mended. The only eligibility test on the program page is that you must have a disability benefit for a condition that can affect your clothing.

The 2026 rates by grade

The policy appliance table (Article 6.02) lists devices by grade, and a few entries are marked grade 10 only "if wear and tear demonstrated". Grades 1, 2 and 7 do not appear in that table at all. Those amounts exist on the rates page, but we found no VAC policy text naming a typical case for them, so this page does not guess one.

Which grade goes with which situation

VAC's policy chapter on clothing allowances separates four situations:

• Wear and tear from an appliance. Braces, splints and similar devices are graded one by one in the Article 6.02 table. For example, a Harris brace is Grade 6, a leg brace #69 is Grade 4, an ankle brace #63 is Grade 9 and a universal hand splint is Grade 10.
• Wear and tear from amputation. Article 6.03 fixes it at Grade 4 for a single amputation and Grade 3 for a double amputation.
• Specially made wearing apparel. Article 6.04 fixes it at Grade 4.
• Soiling. Article 6.05 sets the maximum clothing allowance for soiling at Grade 5.

The policy does not say, in the pages we read, whether more than one situation can be paid at the same time or how amounts combine. If you are in that position, ask VAC rather than adding up rows from this table.

How the rates are set each year

Policy Article 6.02 says the rates in the Pension Act and the Veterans Well-being Act are subject to supplements based on the Consumer Price Index under section 75 of the Pension Act, and that the value of each grade is published annually as adjusted to the CPI. The table above carries the 1 January 2026 effective date shown on VAC's rates page. Expect a new table to replace it; this page is stamped to the 2026 version.

Worked example (hypothetical)

Take a veteran with a single amputation whose file puts wear and tear at Grade 4. The 2026 table gives $105.34 a month, or $1,264.08 over twelve months. A different, hypothetical veteran whose only qualifying item is an ankle brace at Grade 9 would see $46.86 a month, or $562.32 over twelve. The gap between the two is $58.48 a month. Both people are invented, and a real grade is assigned by VAC on the file.

How to apply and appeals

You can apply through My VAC Account or by mail to Veterans Affairs Canada, PO Box 6000, Matane, QC G4W 0E4, and staff are available on 1-866-522-2122. A declined application can be taken to written review. The RCMP section of VAC's site carries its own clothing allowance page that links to the same rates table.

Who this is for

Veterans and retired RCMP members who wear a brace, splint or prosthetic, people with an amputation who want to check which grade the policy names, and family members reading a VAC letter that gives only a grade number.

What this does not cover

It does not tell you whether your device or condition qualifies, whether wear and tear has been demonstrated, or how VAC will grade your file. It leaves out the attendance and exceptional incapacity allowances, disability pension amounts, treatment benefits and prosthetic funding. The VAC pages we read do not say whether the clothing allowance is taxable, so there is no tax statement here. The policy chapter we used was last modified on 28 June 2024, so a device added or re-graded since then may not appear.

Sources

• Veterans Affairs Canada, Rates (clothing allowance Grades 1 to 10, effective 1 January 2026; page modified 1 October 2026; retrieved 20 October 2026)
• Veterans Affairs Canada, Clothing allowance (what it covers, eligibility, how to apply; page modified 29 July 2026; retrieved 20 October 2026)
• Veterans Affairs Canada, Table of Disabilities, Chapter 6, Clothing Allowances (grades 1 to 10, Articles 6.02 to 6.05; page modified 28 June 2024; retrieved 20 October 2026)
• Veterans Affairs Canada, Clothing allowance for RCMP members (RCMP copy of the program page; retrieved 20 October 2026)