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
- 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.
- 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.
- 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
- Alabama SCRA Benefits: The Honest Picture for Guard & Tax
Alabama extends SCRA to Guard on emergency state duty (Title 31, ch. 12) but, unlike many neighbors, taxes active-duty pay. The federal SCRA carries the rest.
💰 Federal floor + emergency state duty
- Alaska SCRA Benefits: State-Duty Coverage & Contract Exits
Alaska extends SCRA to its Guard on state duty (AS 26.05.135), lets you cancel gym, TV, and internet contracts on 90-day orders, and has no state income tax.
💰 State-duty Guard + no income tax
- Amex Military Benefits: SCRA & MLA Annual Fee Waiver
American Express waives annual fees for eligible military. SCRA covers pre-service accounts; the MLA gives covered borrowers $0 fees on any personal card.
💰 Platinum annual fee to $0
- Advertisement
- Arizona SCRA Benefits: Tax-Free Military Pay & State Duty
Arizona subtracts all active-duty military pay from state income tax (A.R.S. § 43-1022) and extends SCRA protections to Guard on the governor's orders.
💰 No state tax on active-duty pay
- Bank of America SCRA Benefits: 4% Mortgage, Fees for Life
Bank of America applies the 6% cap, drops mortgages it owns and services to 4%, and waives select card fees for life after service. How to file.
💰 4% on BofA-serviced mortgages
- Best Bank for Military Members: How to Choose
The right bank for a military member waives fees, runs a real SCRA desk, posts your pay early, and works overseas. How to choose, and which banks deliver.
💰 Fee waivers, early pay, sub-6% caps
Every claim cited to the U.S. Code · Reviewed for accuracy · Free forever
Read our editorial policy. And remember: general information, not legal or financial advice.