You earned it. See what your GI Bill pays
Pick your benefit and answer a few one-tap questions. You get tuition, housing and books at your tier, the moves that raise them, and a Yellow Ribbon check for private schools.
GI Bill Calculator · VA rates for 2026-27
See what your GI Bill pays at your tier
Tuition, housing and books by chapter, from VA’s current rate tables. A few one-tap questions, no name or email.
Which fits you best?
A planning estimate from VA’s published rates, not a VA decision. Comparing schools afterwards is optional.
Review the methodology behind this result
Results are shown before email capture or partner handoff. The estimate uses source-backed rules and public data so you can evaluate the result before taking the next step.
Post-9/11 pays up to $30,908.34 in private tuition a year, plus housing and books
VA’s Post-9/11 rate table for August 1, 2026 to July 31, 2027 caps private-school tuition and fees at $30,908.34 a year at the 100% tier. At a public school it pays in-state tuition and fees in full at that tier.
On top of tuition, VA pays a monthly housing allowance tied to your campus ZIP code and up to $1,000 a year for books. The calculator above runs those rates for your tier, school type and credits.
Private tuition cap a year at 100% (Post-9/11, August 1, 2026 to July 31, 2027)
National-average housing a month at 100%, in person
Months of entitlement, about four nine-month school years
Your tier sets every Post-9/11 figure
Post-9/11 pays a share of each rate, from 50% to 100%. The share comes from your total active-duty time after September 10, 2001: 36 months or more pays 100%, 24 to 29 months pays 80%, and 90 days to 5 months pays 50%.
A Purple Heart, or a discharge for a service-connected disability after at least 30 continuous days, also pays 100%. Your Certificate of Eligibility shows your tier.
Five GI Bill chapters pay in two different ways
Post-9/11 GI Bill (Chapter 33)
Tuition goes straight to the school. Housing and books go to you. At 100%, housing equals the E-5 with dependents BAH for your campus ZIP code; the national average is $2,522 a month.
Housing scales with your credits. VA divides your credits by full time and rounds to the nearest tenth, so 9 credits out of 12 pays 80% of the rate. At half time or less there is no housing allowance.
Montgomery GI Bill Active Duty (Chapter 30)
A flat monthly payment to you: $2,601 a month at full time with 3 or more years of active duty (October 1, 2026 to September 30, 2027). You pay tuition out of it, so it goes further at a low-cost school.
If you qualify for both, you can switch from Chapter 30 to Post-9/11. The switch can’t be undone, so talk to a VA education counselor first.
Montgomery GI Bill Selected Reserve (Chapter 1606)
For Guard and Reserve members with a 6-year Selected Reserve obligation: $508 a month at full time (October 1, 2026 to September 30, 2027). Federal active-duty time of 90 days or more can also qualify you for Post-9/11.
Dependents’ Educational Assistance (Chapter 35)
For the spouse or child of a veteran who died or is permanently and totally disabled from service: $1,621 a month at full time (October 1, 2026 to September 30, 2027). Families of a service member who died on active duty can compare it with the Fry Scholarship.
Veteran Readiness and Employment (Chapter 31)
VR&E isn’t bound by the Post-9/11 tuition cap. Under a rehabilitation plan approved by a VA counselor, it can pay tuition, fees, books and supplies, plus a monthly subsistence allowance. You need a service-connected disability rating; see VA.gov for the rules.
Benefit | Post-9/11 (Ch. 33) | Montgomery AD (Ch. 30) | Selected Reserve (Ch. 1606) | DEA (Ch. 35) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tuition | In-state public in full at 100%; $30,908.34 private cap | You pay it from the monthly rate | You pay it from the monthly rate | You pay it from the monthly rate |
| Housing | E-5 BAH by campus ZIP; $1,261 fully online | Inside the monthly rate | Inside the monthly rate | Inside the monthly rate |
| Monthly rate, full time | Varies by ZIP | $2,601 | $508 | $1,621 |
| Books | Up to $1,000 a year | Inside the monthly rate | Inside the monthly rate | Inside the monthly rate |
| Key requirement | 90+ days active duty after 9/10/2001 | Active duty, $1,200 buy-in | 6-year Selected Reserve contract | Veteran died or is totally disabled from service |
Sources: VA Post-9/11 rates (August 1, 2026 to July 31, 2027); Montgomery Active Duty rates, Selected Reserve rates and DEA rates (October 1, 2026 to September 30, 2027).
Online students: one class on campus changes your housing
Fully online students get half the national average, up to $1,261 a month for August 1, 2026 to July 31, 2027. Take at least one in-person class a term and VA pays the rate for that campus’s ZIP code instead.
The national average in-person rate is $2,522 a month. Your campus rate may be higher or lower, so ask whether your program offers a hybrid option.
Yellow Ribbon can cover private tuition above the cap
When a private school costs more than $30,908.34 a year, the Yellow Ribbon Program can close part or all of the gap. The school puts in an amount, and VA matches it dollar for dollar.
Example: a school charging $50,000 a year leaves a gap of $19,092. A school that covers half of that, matched by VA, closes it. Actual amounts and student limits vary by school.
You need the 100% tier. Pick “Private college” in the calculator to search VA’s current list of participating schools by name.
Stack your GI Bill with federal aid
GI Bill benefits and Pell Grants are separate programs, and filing the FAFSA does not reduce your GI Bill. The maximum Pell Grant is $7,395 for 2026-27; whether you get one depends on your FAFSA.
Check your Pell GrantEvery veteran should file the FAFSA
Filing the FAFSA is free and cannot reduce your GI Bill benefits. A veteran on Post-9/11 who also qualifies for a Pell Grant receives both, because Pell is paid on top of GI Bill tuition and housing.
Many schools and states also run scholarships and grants for military-connected students. Ask each school’s veterans office, and see our guide to scholarships for adult students.
Transferred benefits pay the same tuition, with one housing rule
Eligible service members can transfer unused Post-9/11 entitlement to a spouse or children, and the request must be made while still serving. The family member gets the same tuition coverage and books, at the service member’s tier.
A spouse gets no housing allowance while the service member is on active duty; a child does. Once the service member separates, a spouse gets housing too. Check remaining entitlement at VA.gov.
Three steps after you run the calculator
First, file the FAFSA at StudentAid.gov to add federal aid. Second, ask each school’s certifying official whether your program is approved for GI Bill benefits and what housing rate its campus pays.
Third, for a private school, check Yellow Ribbon participation and the school’s amount before you enroll.
Check your other aid
Pell Grants and state aid are separate from the GI Bill. The free aid check shows which ones to look into.
Run the aid checkCheck your other aid
Pell Grants and state aid are separate from GI Bill benefits
Check your other aidSources & Methodology
Corrected . The Survivors’ and Dependents’ (Chapter 35) monthly rates were the previous year’s, shown under the 2025-26 label. They now match VA’s published rates.All corrections