The VA Caregiver Stipend in Georgia

01Who qualifies

• A serious injury. A single or combined service-connected rating of 70% or more³⁴.
• Any era. Since October 1, 2022, veterans of every service era can apply⁴.
• A need for personal care. At least six continuous months of help with an activity of daily living, or supervision, protection or instruction⁴.
• Care at home. In the veteran's home, with VA primary care and a caregiver who is a family member or lives with the veteran⁴¹.

PCAFC is separate from Aid and Attendance and from Georgia Medicaid’s Structured Family Caregiving; it’s tied to service connection, not income. See our national PCAFC guide for the full rules.

02How the stipend is figured

VA starts with the annual General Schedule rate for grade 4, step 1, in the federal locality pay area where the veteran lives, and divides it by 12. Level 1 caregivers get 62.5% of that monthly rate. Level 2 caregivers get 100%, when VA finds the veteran unable to self-sustain in the community²⁵. The rate follows OPM’s annual pay tables, so it usually rises each January⁵.

03Georgia's two pay areas

OPM puts 58 Georgia counties in the Atlanta–Athens-Clarke County–Sandy Springs pay area. Besides the metro counties such as Fulton, DeKalb, Cobb, Gwinnett, Clayton, Henry and Cherokee, it reaches Clarke and Oconee around Athens, Hall and Habersham in the northeast, Floyd and Gordon in the northwest, and Muscogee, Harris and Chattahoochee around Columbus⁶. Every other Georgia county, including Richmond (Augusta), Chatham (Savannah), Bibb (Macon), Dougherty (Albany) and Lowndes (Valdosta), is in the Rest of U.S. area⁶.

Our arithmetic from OPM's 2026 tables using VA's formula (annual rate ÷ 12, then × 0.625 for Level 1). VA's own payment may differ by cents; your award letter is the final word.

Source: OPM 2026 salary tables⁷⁸; 38 CFR 71.40²

So moving from Macon to Marietta, or the reverse, changes the stipend. VA uses the veteran’s address, so report a move promptly⁵.

04Level 1 or Level 2

Level 2 is for a veteran VA finds unable to self-sustain: fully dependent on someone else for three or more of the seven activities of daily living each time, or needing continuous supervision, protection or instruction³. Everyone else approved for the program is Level 1². For a Georgia caregiver in the Atlanta area, the difference is about $1,203 a month in 2026⁷².

05What else the caregiver gets

Beyond the stipend, an approved primary caregiver may get caregiver training, counseling and mental health services, respite of at least 30 days a year, beneficiary travel for the veteran’s care, and health coverage through CHAMPVA if they have no other insurance¹². Ask the caregiver support team about Georgia programs too: Structured Family Caregiving under the Medicaid waiver is a separate, income-tested option⁹.

06How to apply in Georgia

1. Talk to your caregiver support team. The Atlanta, Augusta and Dublin VA systems each have one^10111213.
2. Submit VA Form 10-10CG. The veteran and caregiver sign the joint application together¹.
3. Complete the assessments. VA evaluates the veteran's needs and the caregiver's ability, then sets the level⁴².
4. Get free help with the rating. If the veteran's rating is under 70%, a GDVS service officer can help file for an increase¹⁴.

07A Georgia example

A 46-year-old Army veteran in Columbus, rated 100% for a traumatic brain injury, needs his wife’s supervision all day. Because Muscogee County is in the Atlanta pay area, VA approves her as a Level 2 primary caregiver at $3,208.50 a month for 2026⁶⁷². If the family moved to Augusta, the Level 2 stipend would be $3,034.08⁸.

08Mistakes to avoid

• Assuming the Atlanta rate applies statewide. Only 58 counties are in that pay area⁶.
• Mixing up PCAFC with Medicaid caregiver pay. They're different programs with different rules⁹.
• Not reporting a move. The stipend follows the veteran's address⁵.

09Free help

More for Georgia families: Aid and Attendance for home care in Georgia and Georgia benefits by rating.