VA’s Post-9/11 GI Bill rate tables changed over on August 1, 2026. The new period runs through July 31, 2027.
The number most people will feel: the cap on net tuition and mandatory fees at private, foreign and non-college-degree programs went from $29,920.95 to $30,908.34. That is $987.39 more a year that VA will cover. It is the difference between the two figures VA published, not an estimate.
Who it actually reaches. Only students whose net tuition and mandatory fees already ran past the old $29,920.95 cap. If your bill came in at $18,000, the higher ceiling puts nothing new in your account. If it was $32,000, what you or your school had to find drops by up to $987.39.
At a public school the cap does not apply. 38 U.S.C. 3313(c) has VA paying “the actual net cost for in-State tuition and fees assessed by the institution.”
Above the cap, Yellow Ribbon can help. VA’s wording: it “can help you pay for higher out-of-state, private school, foreign school, or graduate school tuition and fees that the Post-9/11 GI Bill doesn’t cover.” It runs school by school and is not automatic.
Two things the video did not have room for
1. The other tuition caps moved too. Flight training went from $17,097.67 to $17,661.89, up $564.22. Correspondence went from $14,533.00 to $15,012.59, up $479.59. All three rose about 3.3 percent.
2. Housing moved further than tuition did, and it is a separate payment. The fully-online monthly housing allowance is now up to $1,261, and the foreign-school rate is up to $2,522, from $2,338. One piece of fine print worth knowing: last year’s $1,169 online figure was published with a condition attached, “if you started using your benefits on or after January 1, 2018.” The new table states $1,261 with no such condition on it.
What did not move
Books and supplies stays at up to $1,000 each academic year, and the per-credit-hour figure stays at up to $41.67 for up to 24 credits. Both are identical on the two tables.
The proration nobody puts in the headline
Every figure above is the full benefit level. VA’s instruction: “If you’re eligible for a percentage of the full benefit, multiply the rates on this page by your percentage.” At 70 percent the cap you are really working against is about $21,636, not $30,908.34. Housing prorates too.
One more lever, straight off the rate page: “If you take at least 1 class in person while taking other online learning classes, you may be eligible for the higher resident MHA.” That is the difference between the $1,261 half rate and a full local one.
Source: the new VA rate table, checked line by line against the outgoing one.
Also filed
Treasury began depositing the one-time $1,000 Trump Account contribution on July 4, 2026, for children born January 1, 2025 through December 31, 2028. Where a state has not updated its hospital form, a parent opens the account with IRS Form 4547. SSA, July 3, 2026
Federal student borrowing caps took effect July 1, 2026: $257,500 lifetime, $100,000 graduate, $200,000 professional, and $65,000 Parent PLUS per dependent student rather than per parent. The lifetime figure counts what you borrowed “without regard to amounts repaid, forgiven, canceled or otherwise discharged.” Federal Student Aid loan-limit FAQ
Starting with tax year 2026, people who take the standard deduction can deduct up to $1,000 in cash charitable gifts, $2,000 married filing jointly. Any single gift of $250 or more needs a written acknowledgment from the charity before you can claim it. IRS Tax Tip 2026-57, July 23, 2026
The FTC is mailing 62,893 checks totaling more than $2.7 million to people who worked on the Handy platform between January 2019 and November 2024. Checks must be cashed within 90 days of the date printed on them. FTC, July 7, 2026
One thing to do this week
Before your school certifies your fall enrollment, ask your certifying official two questions: which rate year your term falls in, and, if you are at a private, foreign or non-degree school, whether the school runs Yellow Ribbon and whether seats are still open. Both answers change what lands in your account, and both get decided before the money moves.
Educational only. Not financial advice.