Post-9/11 GI Bill: 2026-27 Rates, Eligibility Tiers and How to Apply

The Post-9/11 GI Bill (Chapter 33) resets its dollar caps every August 1. This page is the numbers-and-rules reference for the year that began August 1, 2026; for what the benefit is and how to think about using it, start with the Post-9/11 GI Bill guide.

Source: https://www.va.gov/education/benefit-rates/post-9-11-gi-bill-rates/ (effective August 1, 2026) and https://www.va.gov/education/benefit-rates/post-9-11-gi-bill-rates/past-rates-2025-2026/ (effective August 1, 2025).

Campus housing allowances follow the Department of Defense Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) tables, which reset January 1. The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) uses the 2026 tables this academic year.

You may be eligible for the Post-9/11 GI Bill if at least 1 of these is true:

• you served at least 90 days on active duty, all at once or with breaks, on or after September 11, 2001, or
• you received a Purple Heart on or after September 11, 2001 and were honorably discharged after any amount of service, or
• you served at least 30 continuous days on or after September 11, 2001 and were honorably discharged with a service-connected disability.

The discharge rule is stricter than for most VA benefits. 38 U.S.C. 3311 requires "an honorable discharge," so a general discharge under honorable conditions does not meet Chapter 33's rule. You can use the benefit while still on active duty, but without the housing allowance.

Your percentage tier matters most. VA multiplies every payment, tuition, housing and books, by it.

Source: https://www.va.gov/education/benefit-rates/post-9-11-gi-bill-rates/, effective August 1, 2026.

What do you get with 2 years of service? 730 days is 24 months, the 80% tier: the private cap becomes $24,726.67 and a $2,000 housing allowance becomes $1,600. The less-than-36-months post covers the mid tiers; the 100% eligibility post covers the 3 routes to the top. Count from your DD-214 dates.

Tuition and fees, paid to the school. At a public school VA pays all in-state tuition and mandatory fees. At a private or foreign school it pays actual charges up to $30,908.34 for the academic year. The Yellow Ribbon Program can cover part of anything above the cap; see the stacking section below.

Monthly Housing Allowance (MHA), paid to you. VA bases it on the BAH rate for an E-5 with dependents at the location where you physically attend most of your classes. Rules that decide whether you get it at all are in the next section.

Books and supplies, paid to you. Up to $1,000 an academic year at a college, figured at $41.67 per credit hour for up to 24 credits, and prorated by your tier. Non-degree and apprenticeship students get up to $83 a month, also prorated.

Source: https://www.va.gov/education/benefit-rates/post-9-11-gi-bill-rates/, effective August 1, 2026.

The full VA table is on the Post-9/11 GI Bill full rates post, and the GI Bill programs comparison sets Chapter 33 beside the Montgomery GI Bill and Chapter 35.

The MHA is where most of the money is. 4 rules decide it, and your tier multiplies the result.

1. Rate of pursuit must be more than 50%. VA divides your credits by what your school calls full time and rounds to the nearest tenth. Its example: 9 credits where 12 is full time is 80%, so you get 80% of the MHA. At 6 of 12 credits you are at exactly 50% and get no MHA at all.
2. Location is where you sit in class. VA pays the E-5-with-dependents BAH for the location where you physically attend most of your classes, not your home ZIP code. A satellite campus in a cheaper county pays that county's rate.
3. Online-only pays half the national average. If every class is online and you started using benefits on or after January 1, 2018, the cap is $1,261 a month.
4. No MHA in some situations. VA pays none while you are on active duty, to a spouse using transferred benefits while the veteran is on active duty, for correspondence or flight training, or during school breaks.

Examples, using a made-up campus rate of $2,400 for an E-5 with dependents:

Source: rules from https://www.va.gov/education/benefit-rates/post-9-11-gi-bill-rates/, effective August 1, 2026; the $2,400 campus rate is an illustration, not a real BAH figure.

To price a real campus, look up the E-5-with-dependents rate for the school's ZIP code with the BAH calculator. On-the-job training and apprenticeships pay MHA on a sliding scale: 100% for months 1 to 6, then 80%, 60%, 40% and 20% for each later 6-month block.

How do I apply, and how long does it take? 4 steps, and VA reports an average of 30 days for the decision.

1. Gather your information. Your Social Security number, bank direct deposit details, your education and military history, and basic information about the school you plan to attend. Have your DD-214 handy for the dates.
2. Submit VA Form 22-1990 online at VA.gov. The VA education application is VA Form 22-1990 for Post-9/11, Montgomery Active Duty and Montgomery Selected Reserve. A spouse or child using transferred months files VA Form 22-1990e instead. VA says you cannot change an application after you submit it, so check the benefit you pick before you send it.
3. Wait for the Certificate of Eligibility (COE). The letter shows your tier, your months of entitlement and, if you separated before January 1, 2013, your delimiting date.
4. Hand the COE to your School Certifying Official. They certify your enrollment to VA each term. Tuition goes to the school after certification; the books and housing payments come to you.

Questions about a pending application go to VA's GI Bill hotline at 888-442-4551, Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. ET.

The MHA is paid for the month just finished. VA's enrollment verification FAQ says payments "are scheduled to go out on the first of every month and can take up to five business days to arrive by electronic transfer." For a term that starts in late August, expect a prorated August payment in early September and the first full payment in early October.

Students receiving the MHA must verify enrollment at the end of each month by replying to VA's text (from 44354) or email, at VA.gov, or by phone at 888-442-4551. Text replies expire after 6 days and email links after 14.

Watch out: VA's rule is blunt: "If you fail to verify enrollment for two consecutive months, your MHA/kicker payments will be placed on hold." Reply to the text the day it arrives.

Does the Post-9/11 GI Bill expire? If you left active duty on or after January 1, 2013, no. The Forever GI Bill, formally the Harry W. Colmery Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2017, removed the deadline. If you separated before January 1, 2013, you have 15 years from your last discharge.

You get up to 36 months of full-time benefits. Part-time use draws them down more slowly. Two rules stretch them at the end:

• Rounding out. In your last term, VA lets you add classes you do not need to graduate so that you stay full time and keep the full MHA. VA Education Service's rounding out policy (PDF), in force since August 1, 2021, allows "any additional class(es) included within their program, even if it's not required," and classes outside the program once all program classes are done.
• Breaks. VA does not pay MHA between terms, so a summer off does not use entitlement.

Check your balance with VA's tool, explained in the remaining benefits post.

If you also earned the Montgomery GI Bill, 38 U.S.C. 3695 caps the combination at 48 months. Under the Supreme Court's Rudisill v. McDonough decision of April 16, 2024, a veteran with 2 separate qualifying periods of service no longer loses months by switching. VA's Rudisill page says it will "automatically evaluate your file" and that its October 1, 2030 deadline "no longer applies." The Montgomery GI Bill overview covers the other side of that math.

Yellow Ribbon. If you are at the 100% tier and a private, out-of-state or graduate program costs more than $30,908.34, a Yellow Ribbon school covers part of the gap and VA matches it. The school decides the amount, seats are first come, first served, and you ask the certifying official with your COE in hand. See the Yellow Ribbon Program guide.

Transfer. A service member with enough service can move unused months to a spouse or child while still serving; the transfer of benefits guide has the rules, and the Fry Scholarship guide covers the survivor version of Chapter 33. In-state status and Yellow Ribbon participation change what the benefit is worth at each school; the school selection guide shows how to compare.

Many states waive tuition at public colleges for resident veterans, and a waiver stacks with Chapter 33: the state removes the tuition and VA still pays the MHA and books. Pick your state below or start at the state veteran benefits finder.

Find your tier from your DD-214 dates, price the MHA for your campus, then apply on VA Form 22-1990. Recent changes are on the education blog.