If you're a veteran getting ready to use the Post-9/11 GI Bill®, tuition is only one of the things it may pay for. Depending on your eligibility and how you study, the GI Bill can also pay a monthly housing allowance, a books and supplies stipend, tutoring and licensing tests. This guide sets out what the GI Bill covers for the 2026–27 academic year, how much each part pays, and how studying on campus, hybrid or online changes the total, so you can compare programs before you enroll.
In this guide
The Post-9/11 GI Bill (Chapter 33) pays in three main parts, plus a few smaller benefits most veterans never hear about. These are VA's maximums for August 1, 2026 to July 31, 2027:
Tuition and fees
Public schools: net in-state tuition and mandatory fees. Private and foreign schools: up to $30,908.34 a year. Paid to the school.
Housing allowance
A monthly payment if you study more than half time, based on the campus ZIP code. All online: up to $1,261 a month. Paid to you.
Books and supplies
Up to $1,000 a year, at $41.67 per credit for up to 24 credits. Paid to you.
Tutoring
Up to $100 a month, and up to $1,200 in total, if you need help to pass a course in your program.
Licensing and certification tests
Up to $2,000 for an approved test, such as a professional license or an IT certification.
Rural relocation
A one-time $500 payment if you qualify when moving from a rural county to attend school.
Source: VA.gov Post-9/11 GI Bill rates (last updated July 31, 2026) and Post-9/11 GI Bill overview (last updated July 23, 2026), checked September 2026. Amounts shown are at the 100% level.
Every one of these is scaled by your eligibility percentage. VA sets it by your active-duty service after September 10, 2001: 50% for 90 to 179 days, 60% for 6 to 17 months, 70% for 18 to 23 months, 80% for 24 to 29 months, 90% for 30 to 35 months and 100% for 36 months or more. A Purple Heart, or 30 continuous days of service followed by a discharge for a service-connected disability, also puts you at 100%. At 70%, VA pays 70% of the tuition bill and 70% of the housing rate, and the rest comes from you or other aid. Your Certificate of Eligibility shows your percentage and how many months you have left.
On the Montgomery GI Bill it works differently: VA pays you a flat monthly amount and you pay the school yourself. Our complete GI Bill guide compares the two, so this post sticks to the Post-9/11 GI Bill.
How much tuition is covered depends on two things: the type of school, and whether you pay the in-state rate.
At a public college or university, the GI Bill pays the net in-state tuition and mandatory fees (what is left after scholarships or waivers that go straight to your tuition), multiplied by your percentage. There is no dollar cap, so at the 100% level in-state tuition is usually covered in full.
The GI Bill pays the in-state rate, not the out-of-state rate. Section 702 of the Veterans Choice Act requires public schools to charge in-state tuition to veterans with at least 90 days of active duty since September 10, 2001, who live in the state when classes start and use the Post-9/11 GI Bill, the Montgomery GI Bill or VR&E. You keep that status while you stay continuously enrolled. If you don't qualify and are charged the nonresident rate, the difference is yours to cover, unless the school takes part in the Yellow Ribbon Program for nonresident students.
VA pays up to $30,908.34 a year in net tuition and fees for 2026–27, scaled by your percentage. If a program costs more, the Yellow Ribbon Program can close some or all of the gap at participating schools: the school agrees to pay part of the remaining cost and VA matches it. Yellow Ribbon requires the 100% level. Our Yellow Ribbon schools guide explains who qualifies and how to find a school.
A master's or doctoral degree is covered the same way as a bachelor's, as long as the program is approved; for graduate programs, VA pays based on the rate of pursuit your school reports. Non-college degree programs, which include many technical and certificate programs, are covered up to the same $30,908.34 cap, with a books stipend of $83 a month instead of the per-credit rate.
Usually covered as tuition and fees
Not covered as tuition
Not sure how a program's costs line up with your benefit?
A free 30-minute call with a VeteranDegrees Benefits Navigator walks through your Certificate of Eligibility, the school's cost sheet and your options. No obligation to enroll anywhere.
Book a free Navigator call
Tuition is paid the same way whether you study online or on campus. The housing allowance is not. It is based on the Department of Defense's Basic Allowance for Housing for an E-5 with dependents in the ZIP code where you physically attend most of your classes, then scaled by your percentage and your rate of pursuit, which must be more than 50%. Here is how each format usually works out:
On campus
The standard housing rate for the campus ZIP code, if you are enrolled more than half time. The books stipend applies.
Hybrid
At least one in-person course that counts toward your program may qualify you for the standard campus rate. Your school's certifying official makes that call.
Online only
Tuition is paid at the same rate as in-person classes. Housing is up to $1,261 a month (50% of the national average), wherever you live.
Part time
Half time or less: no housing allowance. Above half time, housing is prorated by your rate of pursuit, and tuition and books follow your credits.
Apprenticeship and on-the-job training
Housing steps down every six months: 100%, 80%, 60%, 40%, then 20% after two years. Books: $83 a month.
On active duty
No housing allowance while you serve on active duty, or for the spouse of an active-duty member. Tuition and books still apply.
Source: VA.gov Post-9/11 GI Bill rates (last updated July 31, 2026) and Online and distance learning (last updated June 11, 2025), checked September 2026.
The gap between formats can be large. In the partner-campus cities we checked, the campus rate ran about two to four times the online rate; our online vs. hybrid housing comparison has the 2026–27 figures city by city. Use the MHA calculator to estimate the rate for a school's ZIP code, and read how the one-class rule works before you count on a hybrid rate. For the rules side by side, see hybrid vs. online for the housing allowance.
Summer courses are covered like any other term if they count toward your program and your school certifies them. Summer sessions are often shorter, so ask the certifying official how your summer load will be measured. VA pays housing only for the days you are enrolled, and a 2011 law stops it from paying during breaks between terms, so plan for the weeks between spring and summer, and between summer and fall.
General rules only take you so far. Before you commit to a program, work out what your own GI Bill will cover with these five steps:
Want a second set of eyes on the numbers?
Bring your Certificate of Eligibility and a school's cost sheet to a free Navigator call, and we'll go through what your GI Bill may cover and what it won't.
Book a free Navigator call
The right program is the one that fits your career goal and your schedule. The housing allowance is support while you study, not a reason to enroll. Still, format affects more than your commute, so it belongs in the comparison. If you work full time, a hybrid schedule with limited campus time can let you keep your job while taking at least one in-person course. Three of our partner schools offer formats like that:
The Professional Weekend format adds one three-day residency per semester. Details are in our Professional Weekend guide.
The MBA in Executive Management pairs one online and one hybrid course in each 14-week term. The MS in Data Analytics and the MA in Organizational Leadership are online.
Monroe offers hybrid courses in majors including the MBA, MPA, MS in Accounting and MS in Computer Science for Winter 2027, with in-person sessions at the Bronx campus.
Whether a hybrid course qualifies you for the campus housing rate is decided when the school certifies your enrollment, so confirm it with the certifying official before you register. For an online program such as CIAM's MS in Data Analytics, plan on the online housing rate.
At the 100% level for 2026–27, the Post-9/11 GI Bill pays net in-state tuition and fees at public schools, up to $30,908.34 a year at private and foreign schools, a monthly housing allowance based on the campus ZIP code (up to $1,261 a month if all your classes are online), and up to $1,000 a year for books and supplies. Below 100%, each amount is scaled by your percentage.
It pays the in-state rate. Under the Veterans Choice Act, public schools must charge in-state tuition to covered veterans who live in the state when classes start. If you are charged the nonresident rate, the Yellow Ribbon Program may cover some of the difference at participating schools if you qualify at the 100% level.
Not directly. Room, board and meal plans are not tuition or mandatory fees, so VA does not pay them to the school. The monthly housing allowance, paid to you if you study more than half time, is meant to help with living costs.
Yes. VA pays tuition and fees for online courses at the same rate as in-person courses, and a books stipend may apply. If all your courses are online, the housing allowance is based on 50% of the national average, up to $1,261 a month for 2026–27. Taking at least one in-person course may qualify you for the standard rate.
Yes, if the courses count toward your program and your school certifies them. Housing is paid only for the days you are enrolled, and VA does not pay it during breaks between terms.
Yes, if the program is approved for GI Bill benefits. Graduate degrees are paid the same way as undergraduate ones. Non-college degree programs, including many certificates, are covered up to the $30,908.34 cap, with a books stipend of $83 a month. Check the exact program on VA's GI Bill Comparison Tool.
Want to talk it through? A VeteranDegrees Benefits Navigator can look at your Certificate of Eligibility and the programs you are weighing, and show you what your GI Bill may cover at each one. Book a free Navigator call. No cost, no obligation to enroll anywhere. And before you commit to any school, run the program through our six-step check and VA's official GI Bill Comparison Tool and WEAMS.