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GI Bill Information: Ask the Expert BlogHow is the Post-9/11 Housing Allowance Paid?
February 4th, 2010
by Ron Kness
by Ron Kness
When we get paid our BAH while we are in school how do we get that paid out to us? Is it in one lump sum for the semester or is it paid monthly? Also do you have any idea what it will show up as? It will not have anything to do with DFAS will it? — Dustin
Your housing allowance from your Post 9/11 GI Bill will come monthly either by check or deposited into your bank account by direct deposit. As far as what it will say on your deposit, I can’t tell you. It will come from the VA, though. You can find out how much you should get using the BAH calculator. Enter your school’s zip code in the Duty Zip Code block and select E-5 from the drop-down menu for the grade. When the results come up, your figure will be the one with dependents.
Your book stipend should come with your housing stipend or as a separate deposit. The amount will be $41.67 per credit times the number of credits you are taking for that term. Once you have hit the cap of $1,000, then it will stop for the rest of the academic year.
You can add your housing allowance and book stipend together and look for a similar amount either by check or as a deposit. Keep in mind you are not authorized the housing allowance if you are taking all online classes or if you are still on active duty.
289 Responses to “How is the Post-9/11 Housing Allowance Paid?”
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Great!
You would get the E-5-with-dependents-for-the-zip-code-of-your-school-calculated-by-how-many-credits-you-are-taking housing allowance. Fun, isn’t it!
Hi, I recently asked a question and now there are over 250 comments and the link to the older comments isn’t working so I can’t see if my question got answered…is there any way to fix that link? Thanks!
Is the housing allowance pro-rated for partial months or do you get the full payment?
No it goes by partial months. For example if your semester ended on December 15 and you didn’t start back to school until January 11th, your housing allowance for December would be for 15 days and for January 21 days. Also, you might recall that break or interval pay was abolished under the GI Bill 2.0 changes, so you won’t get any housing allowance between semester anymore.
Does anyone know if we have to specifically apply for this housing allowance or if it is automatically given to you under the post 911. Like do we have to fill out additional paperwork or something?? and what classifies as full time student?? I herd two online classes and one face to face but wanted to make sure..Im attending the University of Maryland University College Asia
If you are authorized the housing allowance, you will get it automatically. A full-time student classification is taking at least the number of credits your school considers to be full-time. It varies from school to school, so you may have to ask or search your school’s website to find the answer. Many school use 12 credits as their minimum full-time limit.
As far as the housing allowance it makes a difference in how much you get whether you take all your classes online or a mix of online and on campus. If you are a full-time student taking all online classes, then you would get $673.50 per month. If you add in one on campus class per semester that applies to your degree plan, you would get the full housing allowance based on the zip code of your school. But because you are attending a foreign school, you would get the foreign school housing allowance, which is something like $1,300 a month give or take a few dollars.
Ashlee – Your school must Certify your Enrollment. If you don’t ask your School Certifying Official to certify you each semester – you won’t receive any benefits under any GI Bill Program.
How long does it take to receive housing allowance after being approved?
do i have to provide proof that i am renting or paying a mortgage in order to receive BAH while on post 911 GI Bill. also will my BAH be dependent on the amount i pay for rent or mortgage or will i get the full amount no matter the cost of renting.
No you do not have to provide proof of what you pay for rent or mortgage. As a matter-of-fact, you could live a home and still get the Post 9/11 GI Bill housing allowance. What determines how much you will get is the zip code of your school and the number of credits you are taking each semester.
with the post 9/11, will i receive the bah if im living on campus?
Iam just wondering if housing allowance is paid the same way as our payments were in service. My case being the first falls on a saturday, should i get paid on friday or the following week. If it depends on the bank then that would be a answer I am looking for as well, but still would like to know.
Thanks.
I am not quite understanding the percentage of BAH I will get. I am planning to go brick-and-mortar, full-time status, but I my length of deployment only qualifies me for 50% of tuition and fees. Does this apply to the BAH as well, or is it 100% of the E5 w/ dependents regardless?
Are the dependents eligible to receive the housing allowance or is this only for military personnel?
If you are using the Post 9/11 GI Bill, your spouse is no longer serving, and you are taking enough credits to be considered a greater than half-time student, then yes you can get the housing allowance. It is based on the zip code of your school, how many credits you take and paid at the pay grade of an E-5 with dependents.
No if you are at the 50% tier, the the VA will only pay 50% of your tuition, and you would get 50% of the E-5 with dependents housing allowance and 50% of the book stipend.
No Joe, the payment schedule is altogether different. First, you only get paid once each month. The housing allowance payment is usually after-the-fact, so you should get paid early in the month for the proceeding month.
I live in an apartment ON campus and paid the bill for what the apartment would have cost a regular student. I also paid a $125 school fee for the apartment. Can I get the $125 back since it is a fee? Perhaps get the whole amount back because the “apartments” are exactly the same as the traditional dorms?
Just in case I’m not being clear… Do you have to pay the housing if you live in the dorms on campus?
Thanks for any advice!
I am enrolled full-time for spring semester (12 credits). 2 of the classes end a month before semester end date and the other 2 classes end at end of semester. Does the monthly housing allowance pay full rate through end of semester? Or will it stop/prorate when the first 2 classes end? Thanks!
Is there a day of the month that the 9/11 housing stipend is paid.
Hi Mike. No it will prorate depending on the number of credits you are taking at the time. If you fall below 51% of the number of credits your school considers to be full-time when your 2 classes end, you would be ineligible for the housing allowance for the rest of that semester.
Yes you do Dan. The VA does not pay for a dorm room or apartment. You have to pay for that like any other student, but you can use your monthly housing allowance to pay your room and board.
While the VA does pay some fees, it is normally limited to the fees they charge all students. I’m guessing for those living off campus don’t pay the fee, so most likely the VA would not pay it. But, it never hurts to ask them.
Post 9/11 GI Bill payments are made once all the paperwork is processed by the VA, so it can vary by a few days each month.
Yes you will Todd. The VA doesn’t care where you live as long as you meet the requirement of taking at least the number of credits to classify you as greater-than-half-time student. You can even live at home and not pay any rent or room and board ans still collect the same amount.
I am in school full time. Does the VA know our back account information or do I have to submit that to them for recieving the BAH.
Has anyone recieved the BAH and book stipend for 9-11 GI Bill for distance learning since it was effective Oct. 2011? I’ve been doing school online since Nov. and have even recieved the letter from VA telling me that I’m entitled but have not been paid.
You have to give the VA your bank account information if you want your payments direct deposited into your bank account. Otherwise, you will get a hard copy check mailed to you at the address you listed on your VA Form 22-1990 (veteran) or 22-1990e (spouse or dependent child).
Can anyone help Manny out with an answer?
@Manny, I also take full time online classes by distance learning.
Once you received your VA cert of eligibility, you would need to fax it or email it to your schools VA office or financial office so they can submit your enrollment to VA. After that it took about 25 days for me to receive payment by direct deposit as Ron has mentioned.
If you are inactive and receiving housing benefits under the Post 9/11 GI Bill and go active duty for a short period. Does the living stipend stop the first day of ordered active duty or is there a lag time?
Technically, it would end the day you went on orders, however there wil be a time lag when the VA stops your housing allowance payments. On that note, be prepared to pay back any funds they have sent to you after your orders started.
I will be attending a nursing program here in Florida that work on a one class per month curriculum. Its still full time because credits equal 9-12 per semester depending on class. How would this work with my housing allowance under the post 9/11. this program is almost 2yrs, classes are Monday thru Thursday 0800-1400. It would be terrible if my HA is prorated the whole time. Thank you for your help.
Don’t worry Petrona, if your school documents that one class is considered full-time, then you will get the full housing allowance. There isn’t a set number of credits you must take to get the full housing allowance. It is determined by each school as far as what they consider to be a full-time load.
I switched over from the chap 30 to the 9-11 and every month my deposit is different. Some months I get 2 separate deposits, and some months its only 1 deposit. I assume 2 is the bah and the book stip. However, I never get paid what the bah calculator says its supposed to be. I can’t figure out the method behind it. I go to school M-F full time, haven’t had any leave yet, does anyone know why its different every month?? This month was 500 dollars less than last month???
There can be several variables that can change the amount of housing allowance you receive. Because the housing allowance is calculated by the day, what you get in the the first and last month of a semester could be less than the amount you get in the middle two months if the semester started after the first of the month or it ended before the last of the month.
Your housing allowance is also calculated based on the number of credits you are taking. For example, let’s say you are taking 12 credits. If you have one-credit class that ends earlier than the rest of your classes, your housing allowance for the remainder of that semester will be based on 9 credits instead of 12.
Finally the BAH Rates for the zip code of your school are adjusted each October 1st. So if that rate changes, it can change the amount you get in housing allowance.
Because you mentioned that you were short $500, it sounds like you did not get your book stipend. The book stipend does have a cap at $1,000 per year, which means you have enough to take 12 credits for two semesters. If you take a third semester, you would not get the book stipend.
It can take at least a month or more to get your first deposit once you are approved. After that, it should come monthly on a routine basis.
My ex-husband transferred his 9-11 gibill to myself to finish school as he didn’t want it. He asked me today if I’ve been receiving the housing allowance and u told him no as if I’m not mistaken I don’t qualify for it right? He thinks because he’s remarried and I’m no longer a dependent I should be to help out my living situation. Does anyone have information regarding this
Yes you should be eligible for the monthly housing allowance provided you are taking enough credits per semester to establish eligibility. My first suggestion would be for him to ensure you are no longer listed in DEERS as one of his dependents. That would make you ineligible if he never changed that setting.
Second, you have to be classified as a greater-than-half-time student to get the housing allowance. So depending on the number of credits your school considers to be full-time, you might not be taking enough credits to meet that 51% requirement. For example, if your school uses 12 credits as full-time, you would have to take 7 credits to be over half-time. So one of these two issues is preventing you from receiving the housing allowance.