Frequently Asked Questions


GI Bill housing allowance is paid after the fact. So if you start school on September 1, the earliest you could be paid under the best of circumstances is October 1. In addition, the VA will issue partial housing allowance if you were not in school the entire month.

What is the monthly housing allowance?

It’s a monthly benefit paid via direct deposit to students while attending school under the Post-9/11 GI Bill and is equal to the Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) of an E-5 with dependents. It is based on the zip code of the school (a chart of BAH rates by ZIP code). Active duty members and spouses of active duty members using transferred entitlement cannot receive the benefit, but Veterans, their spouses, and dependents can receive the benefit.

When does VA send payments?

Payments are issued at the beginning of each month for training that occurred during the previous month. For example, assuming timely certification of enrollment by the school and timely processing by VA, payments for training taken in January will be issued by VA in February. The school must submit a student’s enrollment information to VA in order to start the payments.

Why is my payment less than expected?


For example, suppose you are attending school full-time and your housing rate is $800 per month. The term starts on January 19 and goes until May 14. All months are based on 30 day periods, so months that have more or less days do not impact the benefit amount. Therefore, the payment in this case for the month of January will be for 12 out of 30 days (19–30), in the amount of $320, and it will be received in February. The payments for February, March, and April will be $800 each month, and the payment for May will be $373.33 (pro-rated from the 1 through the 14).


Lastly, lower than expected payments may also be caused by over payments. Over payments are usually caused by students reducing the number of credit hours for which they are enrolled during the middle of a term, which can cause payments to be made based on the incorrect number of credit hours. When this occurs, the amount of the over payment is deducted out of future benefit payments until the account is corrected.

Other housing payment issues:

The monthly housing allowance payment rate for those enrolled solely in distance learning is half the national average of the BAH rates payable for an E-5 with dependents in the continental U.S. ($684 per month for the current academic year). A student can receive the full housing rate by attending one “brick and mortar’’ class where he or she physically attends.
