Home changes and hidden costs

HUD and the Justice Department name a wider doorway, a ramp, and grab bars as examples of a reasonable modification. The VA home improvement program names a roll-in or walk-in shower, a permanent ramp, a wider doorway to a bedroom or bathroom, and a lower kitchen or bathroom counter. USDA has described a wheelchair ramp and a walk-in tub as examples of access work its repair grant can cover for an eligible older homeowner.

We did not find an official national price for those jobs, so this page does not print one. A local contractor's bid is the price. The dollar figures below are program caps, not bids.

VA says a Specially Adapted Housing grant is up to $126,526 for fiscal year 2026, and a Special Housing Adaptation grant is up to $25,350 for the same year. Those are the current total maximums on the VA page, not a check for that amount in every case. Eligibility depends on the service-connected disability. Apply on VA.gov or with VA Form 26-4555.

A separate Home Improvements and Structural Alterations benefit can be up to $6,800 for a lifetime when it addresses a service-connected condition, or a non-service-connected condition if the veteran is rated at least 50 percent. Up to $2,000 may cover a disability that is not in that first group. The VA page says the project has to be medically justified, and it tells you to ask the local prosthetic service what is left on that lifetime benefit. The VA fact sheet excludes removable ramps, porch lifts, stair glides, and routine repairs.

USDA Section 504 lends to low and very-low-income homeowners who live in the home and cannot get affordable credit elsewhere. The page says the maximum loan is $40,000, at a fixed 1 percent, for 20 years. Grants are for homeowners age 62 or older with very-low income, to remove health and safety hazards. The maximum grant is $10,000, with a lifetime grant limit of $10,000. A loan and a grant together can be up to $50,000. A grant must be repaid if the home is sold in less than 3 years. The home has to be in an eligible rural area. Renters do not apply. Use a local Rural Development office.

In California, Medi-Cal Community Supports can include home changes such as a ramp, grab bars, a wider doorway, a stair lift, or a bathroom a wheelchair can use. Plans are encouraged to offer these supports. They are not all required to offer every one. Ask your plan. The Dignity at Home Fall Prevention Program, through a local Area Agency on Aging, may include an in-home assessment, home changes, and equipment. You must have a disability or be 60 or older, income must be at or under 80 percent of the area median, and you must have fallen, be at risk of falling, or be at risk of institutionalization. The local agency decides.

In Texas, the Amy Young Barrier Removal Program gives one-time grants of up to $22,500 for access modifications and hazardous conditions. A household member must have a disability. Income cannot be over 80 percent of the area median. Tenants and homeowners can qualify. It is not available in every part of Texas, and households do not apply straight to the state. Use Help for Texans and search your city or county. A Texas waiver interest list is not a promise that a waiver will pay for a ramp. Ask that program what it covers.

The modification rule says a landlord may require any building permits the work needs. Call the city or county building department before work starts and ask if your job needs one. This page does not know the fee. The office does.

A ramp, a lift, or a shower still needs repair later. The grant pages we opened do not promise to pay for that later repair. USDA does say a Section 504 grant must be repaid if the property is sold in less than 3 years. Ask each program what happens when something breaks.

Call your insurer before the work and ask if the policy or the premium changes. We did not find a federal page that sets that premium, so this page does not guess it.

In California, some access work on an existing home can be left out of a reassessment. The Board of Equalization says the owner-occupied claim is form BOE-63, for a severely and permanently disabled person who lives in the home, and the home has to qualify for the homeowners' exemption. A different form, BOE-63-A, is for some other existing buildings. The county assessor handles the claim. It is not automatic, and a brand-new building or a brand-new addition does not qualify for the BOE-63-A exclusion.

The Texas Comptroller pages we opened do not say that an access remodel is left off the appraisal. A disabled homeowner may qualify for an extra school-tax homestead exemption. The Comptroller says school districts must give an additional $60,000 homestead exemption to a person who qualifies as disabled under the Social Security definition and lives in the home. That exemption is not a reward for doing the remodel. Ask the local appraisal district. Texas sales tax is separate. The Comptroller lists some access items, including a ramp for a residence, that can be exempt when you give the seller a prescription or the exemption form, and the ramp's materials charge has to be separate from installation.