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

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.

Read guide›

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.

Read guide›

Disability

VA Priority Group 1: Zero Copays for All Your VA Health Care

Veterans rated 50% or more, those with TDIU, and Medal of Honor recipients pay zero VA copays, even for prescriptions. See how Priority Group 1 works.

Read guide›

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.

Read guide›

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.

Read guide›

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.

Read guide›

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.

Read guide›

Pay & Benefits

Alabama Does Not Tax SBP Survivor Annuities: What You Save

Alabama exempts SBP, RCSBP, and RSFPP survivor annuities from state income tax. What that saves a surviving spouse each year and how to report it right.

Read guide›

Pay & Benefits

Arkansas Active Duty Military Pay Is 100% State Tax Exempt

Arkansas exempts 100 percent of active duty military pay from state income tax, worth about $1,000 a year for a typical E-5. How to claim it on the AR1000F.

Read guide›

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.

Read guide›

Pay & Benefits

LIHEAP for Veterans: Help Paying Your Heating and Cooling Bills

LIHEAP helps Veterans under the income limit pay energy bills. Benefit amounts are set by your state and vary widely. How to qualify, apply through your state, and get crisis help.

Read guide›

Pay & Benefits

ACMSS Annuity: $338.79 a Month for Forgotten Military Widows

Surviving spouses of retirees who died before they could elect SBP may get $338.79 a month from DFAS. See who qualifies for ACMSS and how to apply.

Read guide›

Pay & Benefits

VA Accrued Benefits: Claim a Veteran's Unpaid VA Money

Survivors can claim VA money a Veteran was owed but never received, including retro pay from pending claims. File VA Form 21P-601 within one year.

Read guide›

Pay & Benefits

VA Form 21P-601: Reimbursement for a Veteran's Funeral Costs

Paid a Veteran's funeral? If VA owed them unpaid benefits at death, Form 21P-601 can reimburse you up to what you paid. You have one year to file.

Read guide›

Pay & Benefits

VALife Insurance: Guaranteed Coverage Up to $40,000 for Veterans

VALife gives service-connected Veterans up to $40,000 in guaranteed whole life insurance with no health questions. See who qualifies and how to apply.

Read guide›

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.

Read guide›

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.

Read guide›

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.

Read guide›

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.

Read guide›

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.

Read guide›

Education

Air Force ECLRP: Up to $65,000 of Your Student Loans, Repaid

The Air Force's Enlisted College Loan Repayment Program pays a third of your unpaid federal loan principal, up to $21,664.50 per year for three years, if you contract for it at enlistment. How it works.

Read guide›

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.

Read guide›

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.

Read guide›

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.

Read guide›

Education

GI Bill Comparison 2026: Which One Pays Most

Post-9/11 vs Montgomery vs DEA vs VR&E in 2026 dollars: the $30,908.34 private-school tuition cap, housing allowance, Yellow Ribbon, and which one pays most.

Read guide›

Career

10-Point Veterans' Preference: Your Federal Hiring Edge

How 10-point Veterans' preference works in federal hiring: the CP, CPS, and XP categories, the SF-15 form, and how a VA rating moves you up the list.

Read guide›

Career

Your Security Clearance Is Worth $25,000 to $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.

Read guide›

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.

Read guide›

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.

Read guide›

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.

Read guide›

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.

Read guide›

State Benefits

Alabama Purple Heart Tuition Waiver: Up to a Full Degree

Alabama public colleges can waive undergraduate tuition and fees for Purple Heart recipients under Ala. Code 16-1-43. The dual residency rule explained.

Read guide›

State Benefits

Alabama Property Tax Exemption for SAH Grant Homes: $0 Bill

Alabama exempts homes acquired with a VA Specially Adapted Housing grant from all property tax, no value cap, for Veterans and unremarried surviving spouses.

Read guide›

State Benefits

Alaska National Guard Tuition Assistance: Up to 100% at UA

Alaska Army and Air National Guard members can stack federal and state tuition assistance to cover up to 100% of tuition at University of Alaska campuses.

Read guide›

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.

Read guide›

State Benefits

ANGEAP Application 2026: Deadlines and Up to $12,454 a Year

How to apply for ANGEAP in 2026: FAFSA first, the three-signature application, hard term deadlines, and up to $6,227 per semester at Alabama public colleges. Funds are limited, apply early.

Read guide›

State Benefits

Arkansas National Guard Tuition Waiver: Free Tuition, Now Including Private Colleges

Arkansas Guard members get tuition waived for up to 120 credit hours toward a bachelor's, and since 2025 the waiver also works at Arkansas private non-profit colleges. How to apply through SAMS.

Read guide›

State Benefits

Alabama Disabled Veteran Homestead Exemption: $0 Property Tax

Alabama Veterans rated 100% permanently and totally disabled pay zero property tax on their homestead, no income limit, up to 160 acres. How to claim it.

Read guide›

State Benefits

Alabama GI Dependents' Scholarship: Up to 10 Semesters Paid

Alabama pays tuition plus up to $1,000 per semester in books and fees at state schools for spouses and children of Veterans rated 40% or higher.

Read guide›

State Benefits

Alabama In-State Tuition for Veterans: Save Up to $24,000

Veterans pay resident tuition at Alabama public colleges without a waiting period, cutting a nonresident bill by roughly $19,000 to $24,000 a year.

Read guide›

State Benefits

Alabama Military Retirement Pay Is 100% State Tax Exempt

Alabama exempts all military retired pay from state income tax, including SBP survivor payments. What that saves a typical retiree and how to claim it.

Read guide›

State Benefits

Alabama Surviving Spouse Property Tax Exemption: What Continues

What happens to an Alabama Veteran's $0 property tax bill when the Veteran dies, which exemption actually continues for a surviving spouse, and how to keep it.

Read guide›

State Benefits

Alaska Disabled Veteran Property Tax Exemption: $150K Off

Alaska Veterans rated 50% or higher service-connected pay no property tax on the first $150,000 of their home's value, worth about $1,560 a year. How to apply.

Read guide›

State Benefits

Alaska Resident Tuition for Veterans: Save Up to $18,700 a Year

Veterans eligible for VA education benefits pay resident tuition at UAA, UAF, and UAS immediately, cutting the tuition bill by roughly $14,000 or more a year.

Read guide›

State Benefits

Alaska Surviving Spouse Property Tax Exemption: Keep $150K

Surviving spouses age 60+ of qualifying Alaska disabled Veterans can keep the $150,000 property tax exemption, worth about $1,560 a year. How to file.

Read guide›

State Benefits

Alaska Dependent Tuition Waiver: Free UA Tuition for Survivors

Spouses and children of Alaska service members who died in the line of duty or were POWs can get undergraduate tuition and fees waived at UA campuses.

Read guide›

State Benefits

Arkansas Disabled Veteran Property Tax Exemption: $0 Tax

Arkansas Veterans rated 100% permanent and total pay zero property tax on homestead and personal property. Eligibility, the VA letter, the 2025 change.

Read guide›

State Benefits

Arkansas In-State Tuition for Veterans: Save Up to $22,000

Veterans within 3 years of discharge or using the GI Bill pay resident tuition at Arkansas public colleges, worth about $22,000 a year at Fayetteville.

Read guide›

State Benefits

Arkansas Military Family Relief Fund: Grants Up to $2,500

Arkansas National Guard and reserve members hit by a financial emergency can get one-time grants up to $2,500 for rent, utilities, and essentials. Who to call.

Read guide›

State Benefits

Arkansas Military Retirement Pay Is 100% State Tax Exempt

Arkansas exempts all military retired pay and SBP survivor benefits from state income tax. What that saves a typical retiree and how to file it on the AR1000F.

Read guide›

State Benefits

Arkansas Surviving Spouse Property Tax Exemption Continuation

How an unmarried surviving spouse keeps an Arkansas disabled Veteran's $0 property tax bill: the statute, the affidavit, and the remarriage reinstatement rule.

Read guide›

State Benefits

Minnesota Disabled Veteran Homestead Exclusion: $300K Off

Minnesota Veterans rated 100% permanent and total can exclude $300,000 of home value from property taxes, saving about $3,390 a year. Here is how to apply.

Read guide›

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.

Read guide›

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.

Read guide›

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.

Read guide›

55 guides. Every figure cites a .gov source.

See your own number, not just the rules.

Benefitry runs your profile against every federal and state benefit and shows what you personally qualify for, in dollars.

Start 3-day free trial ›