The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, in plain English
Know the law. Keep your money.
Federal law caps your pre-service debt at 6% APR, breaks leases when orders move you, and shields your home and car. Most service members never claim a dollar of it. Claiming takes one letter.
Where your money is hiding
- The 6% Interest Rate Cap
Cut every pre-service debt (credit cards, auto loans, mortgages, student loans) to 6% APR and claim refunds.
- Break Leases & Contracts Penalty-Free
End apartment leases, auto leases, and phone contracts without fees when orders move you.
- Protect Your Home & Car
Foreclosure and repossession protections that keep your biggest assets safe during service.
- Eligibility & Timing
Who qualifies, what paperwork proves it, and exactly when protections start and stop.
- Maximize: Advanced Strategies
The timing plays generic guides never cover: structuring debt before orders, the Guard activation cycle, fee-waived premium cards, and picking your tax state.
- Defend Your Rights in Court
Sued, served, or facing eviction while you serve? Default-judgment shields, the 90-day stay, the rights you can be tricked into waiving, and how to make a lender that broke the law pay.
- State-by-State SCRA Benefits
Your state stacks its own protections on top of the federal SCRA: state-duty Guard coverage, longer rate caps, broader lease exits. What applies where you live.
Start here
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What Is the SCRA? The Military Law Worth Thousands a Year
The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act caps your pre-service debt at 6%, breaks leases penalty-free, and blocks foreclosure. Here is what it is worth.
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The SCRA 6% Interest Rate Cap: Complete Guide
How to cut every pre-service debt to 6% APR with one letter: credit cards, auto loans, mortgages, student loans, retroactive to day one of active duty.
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SCRA Eligibility: Who Qualifies, When It Starts & Ends
Active duty, Guard, Reserve, spouses: who gets SCRA protections, what paperwork proves it, and the exact windows for each benefit.
Latest guides
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Arkansas SCRA Benefits: Tax-Free Active-Duty Pay
Arkansas fully exempts active-duty military pay from state income tax (A.C.A. § 26-51-306) and defers tax 180 days. For civil relief, the federal SCRA applies.
Active-duty pay: 0% state tax
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Connecticut SCRA Benefits: Full SCRA on State Active Duty
Connecticut applies the entire federal SCRA to its National Guard on state active duty (C.G.S. § 27-34a), plus job-leave and reemployment rights.
State-duty Guard: full SCRA
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Delaware SCRA Benefits: State-Duty 6% Cap for the Guard
Delaware's own SCRA (6 Del. C. ch. 25D) extends the 6% interest cap and default-judgment shield to National Guard members on state active duty.
State-duty Guard: 6% cap
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Idaho SCRA Benefits: The Militia Civil Relief Act
Idaho's Militia Civil Relief Act (Idaho Code 46-409) applies the federal SCRA and USERRA to National Guard members on state active duty in an emergency.
State-duty Guard: SCRA applies
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Indiana SCRA Benefits: 6% Cap on State Active Duty
Indiana's Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (IC 10-16-20) extends the 6% cap, default-judgment shield, and dependent protections to the Guard on state duty.
State-duty Guard: 6% cap
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Iowa SCRA Benefits: Strong Job Rights, Federal Floor
Iowa's military code (ch. 29A) gives strong reemployment and anti-discrimination rights but no state 6% cap. For financial relief, the federal SCRA applies.
Reemployment rights + federal floor
- Cited to the U.S. Code Every protection links to the statute
- Written by a veteran Air Force vet, banking background
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Read our editorial policy. General information, not legal or financial advice.