Fact-checked guides for the benefits you earned.

Plain-English answers to the things government PDFs never make clear. Every number is checked against an official .gov source.

DisabilityPay & BenefitsEducationCareerTransitionFinancialState BenefitsHousing

Disability

TDIU 2026: 100% Pay Without a 100% Rating

TDIU pays the 100% VA rate without a 100% rating: the 60/40 rule, extraschedular TDIU under 4.16(b), the work-income test, and the Bradley SMC-S kicker.

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Disability

2026 VA Disability Pay Rates: Monthly Chart

The 2026 VA disability compensation rates after the 2.8% COLA: every rating from 10% to 100%, the with-dependents tables, and the add-on amounts.

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Disability

Can the VA Reduce Your Rating? 5-10-20 Rules

VA rating reductions have hard brakes: the 5-year stabilization rule, 10-year service-connection lock, 20-year continuous-rating floor, and 100% rules.

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Disability

SMC Explained: Special Monthly Compensation

Special Monthly Compensation tiers K to T at 2026 rates: the bilateral factor, half-steps, Aid & Attendance, Housebound, and the Bradley SMC-S path.

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Disability

PACT Act Presumptives, What They Are and Who Qualifies

The PACT Act added 30+ presumptive conditions for burn pit, Agent Orange, radiation, and Camp Lejeune exposure. Who qualifies and what's covered.

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Disability

VA Combined Ratings: Why 50 + 30 Is Not 80

The VA math that makes 50 + 30 ≠ 80: the efficiency formula, the combined ratings table, and the rounding rule most free calculators get wrong.

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Pay & Benefits

VA DIC 2026: Rates, Eligibility, the 8-Year Rule

Dependency and Indemnity Compensation pays a surviving spouse $1,699.36/month tax-free in 2026. Who qualifies, the 8-year add-on, and how to claim it.

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Pay & Benefits

CHAMPVA: Health Coverage for Veteran Families

A permanent and total rating unlocks CHAMPVA for your family: $50 deductible, 25% cost share, $3,000 out-of-pocket cap. Who qualifies and how to apply.

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Pay & Benefits

VA Dependent Benefits: Raise Your Monthly Check

At a 30%+ rating, the VA pays more for a spouse, each child, a child in college, and a dependent parent. The exact amounts and the forms that claim them.

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Pay & Benefits

Aid & Attendance: The Most-Missed VA Benefit

VA Pension with Aid & Attendance pays wartime vets up to $29,093/year for care. Who qualifies, the income and net-worth rules, and the poacher trap.

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Pay & Benefits

CRDP vs CRSC, Getting Back the Retired Pay the VA Waiver Takes

Retirees lose retired pay dollar-for-dollar when they take VA disability. CRDP vs CRSC: who it pays, the tax difference, and how DFAS decides.

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Pay & Benefits

What Is BAH? 2026 Rates & How It's Calculated

How BAH is set: MHAs, with-dependents vs without, rate protection, partial BAH, BAH during TDY and PCS, and why a buddy one zip code over gets paid more.

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Education

Chapter 35 DEA 2026: $1,574/mo for Dependents

Chapter 35 DEA pays a Veteran's spouse or child $1,574/month for school in 2026. Who qualifies, the age-26 rule (and when it's waived), and DEA vs Fry.

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Education

GI Bill Comparison 2026: Which One Pays Most

Post-9/11 vs Montgomery vs DEA vs VR&E in 2026 dollars: the $29,920.95 private-school tuition cap, housing allowance, Yellow Ribbon, and which one pays most.

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Education

VR&E vs GI Bill, Which Funded Path Should You Actually Use?

VR&E (Chapter 31) usually beats the Post-9/11 GI Bill for service-connected vets retraining, and it doesn't burn your GI Bill. The decision framework.

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Education

Yellow Ribbon, How Private Schools Fill the GI Bill Gap

Yellow Ribbon covers private-school tuition above the Post-9/11 GI Bill cap. Who qualifies, how VA matching works, and how to pick the right school.

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Career

Your Security Clearance Is Worth $25,000–$50,000 a Year

Security clearances command a real salary premium with federal contractors. How big by level, how reciprocity works, and how to package it on a resume.

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Career

Federal Hiring for Veterans: Your USAJOBS Edge

Veterans' preference, VRA, VEOA, the 30%-or-more disabled direct-hire authority, and Schedule A: five paths into a federal job the public cannot use.

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Transition

DD-214 Decoder: What Your SPD & RE Codes Mean

Look up any of 194 SPD codes and 35 RE codes in plain English: what each means for VA benefits, reenlistment, and federal hiring, and how to fix a wrong code.

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Transition

First 90 Days After Separation, The Checklist Nobody Hands You

Your 90-day post-separation playbook: health care, BAH replacement, GI Bill activation, VA loan COE, residency, TSP, taxes, and benefits to claim now.

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Financial

SCRA + MLA: Military Financial Protections

The SCRA 6% interest cap, lease termination, foreclosure protection, default-judgment reopening, and protections active-duty troops forget to claim.

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State Benefits

California Veteran Benefits 2026: Tax & CalVet

California Veteran benefits that pay: the disabled Veterans' property tax exemption, the military retirement tax break, the CalVet Fee Waiver, and home loans.

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State Benefits

Florida Veteran Benefits 2026: The Full List

Florida Veteran benefits that pay: the full 100% homestead property tax exemption, no state income tax, the Bill Young tuition waiver, and DV plates.

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State Benefits

Texas Veteran Benefits 2026: Hazlewood & More

Texas Veteran benefits that pay: the disabled property tax exemption, Hazlewood Act free tuition, vehicle registration, and Texas Land Board loans.

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Housing

VA Home Loan: Funding Fee, COE & the Refund

VA loan funding fee by service category, the COE process, IRRRL recoupment, the Net Tangible Benefit test, and the funding-fee refund buyers miss.

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25 guides. Every figure cites a .gov source.

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