The GI Bill helps pay for school and training. This tool estimates your benefits from the two most common programs — pick one below.
- Post-9/11 GI Bill (Chapter 33)splits your benefit into three parts — tuition paid to your school, a monthly housing allowance, and a books stipend — each scaled by an eligibility percentage based on how long you served.
- Montgomery GI Bill – Active Duty (Chapter 30) instead pays you one flat monthly amount, with no separate tuition or housing.
Enter what you know below. Everything here is an estimate; your official figures are on your VA Certificate of Eligibility / Statement of Benefits.
Your service & school
Estimated benefits
Eligibility tier100%
Tuition covered (per year)$0
Monthly housing allowance$0
Books & supplies (per year)$1,000
Months of entitlement remaining36 of 36
Illustrative remaining value$4,000rough, at current rates
What these terms mean
- Eligibility tier (%)
- The share of the full Post-9/11 benefit you’ve earned, set by your total qualifying active-duty time since 9/11/2001. You need 36+ months for 100%. A Purple Heart, or a discharge for a service-connected disability after 30+ days, also gives 100%. Your tuition, housing, and books are all multiplied by this percentage.
- Rate of pursuit
- How much school you’re taking, as a share of full-time (e.g., 9 of 12 credits = 75%). It prorates your housing allowance — and you must be enrolled more than half-time to get any housing money.
- Monthly housing allowance (MHA)
- Money for housing while you’re in school more than half-time. VA bases it on the cost of living at your school (the military BAH rate for an E-5 with dependents), then scales it by your tier and rate of pursuit. Online-only students get about half the national average. Look up your school’s rate with the VA GI Bill Comparison Tool.
- Tuition & fees
- At the 100% tier, VA pays all in-state tuition at a public school. Private and foreign schools are capped at $30,908/year, and the amount is then scaled by your tier. Anything above the cap may be covered by the Yellow Ribbon Program at participating schools.
- Books & supplies
- Up to $1,000 per academic year, scaled by your tier.
- Months of entitlement
- You get 36 months of full-time benefits. This tool subtracts the months you’ve already used to show what’s left. (Some Veterans eligible for both Ch 33 and Ch 30 may qualify for up to 48 combined months — not calculated here.)
- Montgomery GI Bill (Chapter 30)
- A flat monthly payment made directly to you — no separate tuition or housing. Requires about 24 months of service and a $1,200 buy-in. If you give up Ch 30 to use Post-9/11, VA can refund up to $1,200.
Rates effective Post-9/11: Aug 1, 2026 – Jul 31, 2027 · MGIB-AD: Oct 1, 2025 – Sep 30, 2026. Sources: Post-9/11 rates, MGIB-AD rates. This is an educational estimate, not an official VA award.