GI Bill® calculator for 2026–2027

How the math works

Four amounts, each times your benefit level. The Post-9/11 rates run from August 1, 2026 to July 31, 2027.

1. Benefit level from your days of service1,095+ days → 100% · 910–1,094 days → 90% · 730–909 days → 80% · 545–729 days → 70% · 180–544 days → 60% · 90–179 days → 50%. A Purple Heart (on or after September 11, 2001), or 30+ days in a row with a discharge for a service-connected disability, is 100%.The eCFR copy of 38 CFR 21.9641 still shows older tiers (90–179 days → 40%, 180–364 days → 50%, 365–544 days → 60%); we use VA.gov’s current table.Post-9/11 GI Bill rates (page dated October 13, 2026) · 38 CFR 21.9641, Post-9/11 GI Bill rates of payment (page dated October 2, 2026)
2. Tuition and feesPublic school: net in-state tuition and fees × your level, with no cap. Private or foreign school: up to $30,908.34 a year × your level. Flight training up to $17,661.89; correspondence up to $15,012.59.Post-9/11 GI Bill rates (page dated October 13, 2026)
3. Housing: the BAH for an E‑5 with dependents at the school’s ZIP× your level × your rate of pursuit rounded to the nearest tenth — and only when the rate of pursuit is more than 50%. VA uses the January 2026 BAH for the whole year. Online only: up to $1,198 × your level; outside the U.S.: up to $2,396. Not paid while you’re on active duty.Post-9/11 GI Bill rates (page dated October 13, 2026) · BAH rates, all locations and pay grades, 2026 (ASCII)
4. VA’s own figure: your school, or the ZIPType your school’s name in the ZIP box and the calculator uses the housing figure on that school’s profile in VA’s GI Bill Comparison Tool (223 schools with the most GI Bill students, read October 7, 2026); for 221 of them it equals DoD’s BAH at the school’s ZIP. For a ZIP alone the answer is DoD’s BAH; where VA’s ZIP data shows the same figure (380 ZIPs read) the card says so, and otherwise it is marked “DoD-based estimate”. VA’s ZIP-lookup table often names a far-away area (ZIP 23511 → “Hampton, VA”, $2,274.00), so a figure from it that differs from DoD’s is reported, never used.VA GI Bill Comparison Tool ZIP rates (79607) · GI Bill Comparison Tool
5. Books and supplies$41.67 a credit, up to 24 credits ($1,000) a year × your level.Post-9/11 GI Bill rates (page dated October 13, 2026)
6. Montgomery GI Bill Active DutyA flat monthly payment by enlistment length and enrollment: $2,601.00 full time for 3+ years, $2,110.00 for under 3, from October 1, 2026.Montgomery GI Bill Active Duty rates (page dated October 1, 2026)