The Department of Veterans Affairs has announced the Post-9/11 GI Bill rates for the 2026-2027 school year. New rates take effect Aug. 1 of each year.
By law, the Post-9/11 GI Bill rate is tied to the average cost of undergraduate tuition in the U.S. For the 2026-2027 school year, the rate went up 3.3%.
Private and Foreign School GI Bill Rates
Effective Aug. 1, those using the Post-9/11 GI Bill at a private or foreign school saw their maximum yearly GI Bill rate increase to $30,908.34.
Flight Training
Those enrolled in flight schools saw their annual maximum GI Bill benefit increase to $17,661.89.
Licensing/Certification/National Testing
GI Bill users are entitled to the reimbursement of up to $2,000 per test for licensing and certification tests. For national testing programs, there is no maximum amount of GI Bill reimbursement. The VA will charge a user’s entitlement one month for every $2,578.64 spent in 2026-2027.
Correspondence Courses
For correspondence courses, recipients are entitled to reimbursement of the actual net costs, not to exceed $15,012.59 annually in 2026-2027.
The Post-9/11 GI Bill’s monthly housing allowance (MHA) also changes Aug. 1.
For students who attend classroom sessions, the housing allowance rate is based on the ZIP code of the campus location where they attend the majority of their classes.
The MHA is prorated based on a recipient’s length of active-duty service and course load.
Those who attend a foreign school receive an MHA of up to $2,522.00 in 2026-2027 if they started using their benefits in 2018 or later. That’s the U.S. national average.
Those attending all their classes online, and who started using benefits after that date, receive a maximum housing allowance of $1,261.00 in 2026-2027.
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