The Post-9/11 GI Bill Housing Allowance payments are based on the military's Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) rates for an E-5 with dependents for the ZIP code of the school you are attending. The Department of Defense adjusts the military BAH rate every calendar year (January 1) based on changes to housing costs across the country. Rates can either go up or down.
However, the GI Bill Housing allowance (also known as the Monthly Housing Allowance or MHA) doesn't change on Jan. 1 it changes on Aug. 1, the beginning of the school year.
Like the military BAH, there are rate protections built into the MHA payments.
If the MHA increases for your area, you will see an increase in your Post-9/11 GI Bill Housing Allowance in your Sept. 1 payment for an Aug. enrollment. If the MHA decreases for your area, your Post-9/11 GI Bill Housing Allowance will not decrease unless you change schools or have more than a six-month break in training.
If you are attending online training only, no classroom training, your Post-9/11 GI Bill Housing Allowance is 1/2 the national average BAH rate. If you are attending a foreign school your Post-9/11 GI Bill Housing Allowance is the national average BAH.
See our Post-9/11 GI Bill Rates page for more details.
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