Military Money Guides

PCS & Moving

Should You Do a PPM in 2026? An Honest Profit Breakdown

A personally procured move can put thousands in your pocket, or it can cost you a weekend and a sore back for almost nothing. Here is how to tell which one your move is, before you sign for the truck.

PCS & Moving

DLA: The Move-In Money Nobody Explains

Dislocation Allowance is a flat payment that lands around your PCS to cover the random costs of setting up a new household. It is real money, it is tax-free, and a surprising number of people do not know how it works.

PCS & Moving

The PCS Timeline That Actually Works: An 8-Week Countdown

A PCS goes sideways when things get done in the wrong order. Here is the week-by-week countdown I follow, from the day orders drop to the day you sign in at the new base.

PCS & Moving

TLE vs. TLA: Which Lodging Money You're Owed on a PCS

Temporary lodging during a move has two different programs with similar names, and which one you rate depends entirely on whether your move is stateside or overseas. Here is the difference and how many days you get.

PCS & Moving

Getting Paid to Drive: MALT and Per Diem on a PCS

When you drive your own car to a new duty station, the military pays you per mile plus a daily allowance for the trip. Here is exactly how the 2026 numbers work so you can check that finance paid you right.

PCS & Moving

Your Weight Allowance: How Much You Can Ship and What Happens If You Go Over

Every rank has a cap on how many pounds of household goods the military will move for free. Here is how to find yours, how pro-gear adds to it, and what really happens if you go over.

PCS & Moving

Your PCS Mileage Rate Went Up Mid-Year

The MALT rate rose from $0.205 to $0.235 a mile on 1 July 2026. Here is what it adds to a real move, and which rate your voucher is actually paid at.

PCS & Moving

PCS Per Diem Went Up October 1: The FY2027 Standard Rate Is $113 Lodging Plus $68 M&IE

The fiscal year 2027 per diem rates took effect on October 1, 2026. The standard lodging rate rose from $110.00 to $113.00, M&IE stayed at $68.00, and the change reaches every PCS drive, every TLE claim and every TDY on or after that date. Here is what it is worth on our data, by distance, by rank and by duty station.

PCS & Moving

The PCS System Is Being Rebuilt: HomeSafe's Contract Is Gone, a Pentagon Activity Now Runs Household Goods, and the Services Were Ordered to Cut Discretionary Moves in Half by 2030

Four Pentagon memos between May 2025 and January 2026 changed how a military move works and how many there will be: the Global Household Goods Contract was terminated for cause, the Personal Property Activity at Scott AFB now owns the program, PPM reimbursement is back to 100% of the government cost, and the services must cut discretionary PCS budgets 10% in FY2027 and 50% by FY2030. What each one means for your orders and your money.

PCS & Moving

DFAS SmartVoucher: How to File a PCS Travel Voucher, and What DFAS Form 9098 Is For

SmartVoucher is the DFAS tool that asks you questions and builds the DD Form 1351-2 for you. DFAS Form 9098 is the claim for Temporary Lodging Expense that rides with it. Here is who can use SmartVoucher, the four steps, which form goes with which claim, how long DFAS says payment is taking this week, and what each part of the settlement is worth.

Deployment & Pay

Every Dollar You're Owed on a Deployment: The 2026 Combat-Zone Pay Stack

Deployment pay is not one entitlement. It is a stack of six that layer on top of each other, each with its own rules, tax treatment, and gotchas. Here is the whole stack in plain English, in the order it hits your LES.

Deployment & Pay

The Savings Deposit Program: A Guaranteed 10% You Have to Claim

There is exactly one place in American finance that pays a guaranteed 10%, and it only exists while you are deployed to a combat zone. Most people either set it up too late or miss it entirely. Here is how to not be one of them.

Deployment & Pay

The Combat Zone Tax Exclusion: Why a Deployment Can Make Your Pay Tax-Free

Serve even one day in a designated combat zone in a month and that whole month of pay can come out federal-tax-free. Here is how the exclusion works, the cap that applies to officers, and what it means at filing time.

Deployment & Pay

Family Separation Allowance: The $300 a Month for Being Apart

When military orders force you apart from your dependents, the military pays you a separate allowance for it. Here is who qualifies, the three types, and the 2026 amount.

Deployment & Pay

Danger Pay Rises October 1 for Every Service: Hostile Fire Pay Doubles to $450, Imminent Danger Pay Goes to $275

A Department of War memorandum released October 1, 2026 raises Hostile Fire Pay from $225.00 to $450.00 a month and Imminent Danger Pay from $225.00 to $275.00, or $9.16 a day, for every service, effective October 1, 2026. It is the first increase since 2002, both amounts sit exactly on the ceilings in 37 U.S.C. 351, and the same memo cuts the Hardship Duty Pay-Location rate from $150.00 to $100.00. Here is what changed, what it is worth by rank, and the tax side.

Deployment & Pay

The State of the Force Address: Six New Initiatives, and What Changes for Your Pay, Your Next Move and Your Career

On September 30, 2026 the Secretary of War spoke at Quantico to 600 O-3 officers and E-6 enlisted members and announced six initiatives: a new four-star command for autonomous warfare, a study of future war, a basing program, a new installation, more commissioning programs and an Office of Religious Affairs. None of them changes a pay table today. Three of them could change where you are stationed and what job you hold. Here is what was said, and what was not.

Deployment & Pay

Testosterone Screening at Your Annual Health Assessment: Who Is Screened, What the Screening Actually Is, and What It Does Not Change

A July 15, 2026 memorandum from the Secretary of War directed testosterone deficiency screening for service members age 30 and older during the annual periodic health assessment. On September 17 the Defense Health Agency published the clinical guideline that says how. The screening is a symptom and risk-factor assessment, treatment is an option and not an order, and nothing published ties it to pay, fitness scores or retention.

Deployment & Pay

Shaving Waivers and the One-Year Rule: What the Grooming Standard Says, and What a Separation Would Mean for Your Pay

A memorandum dated August 20, 2025 set the standard as clean-shaven and gave service members with medical shaving waivers one year of treatment before commanders start separation. That year has now run for the earliest cases. Here is what the Department said the rule is, what it said the rule is not, and the money questions to settle before any separation paperwork moves.

Retirement & Transition

BRS Lump Sum vs. Full Pension: The 2026 Math, Honestly

At retirement the Blended Retirement System offers you a lump sum in exchange for a smaller pension until age 67. It looks like free money. The discount rate is where they get you. Here is how to actually run the decision.

Retirement & Transition

The TSP Fund Choice, Demystified: G, F, C, S, and I

The Thrift Savings Plan gives you five core funds and a set of Lifecycle funds, and that is where most people freeze. Here is what each one actually is, in plain terms, and how to think about the choice without the jargon.

Retirement & Transition

High-3 vs. BRS: Which Retirement System Are You Even Under?

There are two military retirement systems, they pay very differently, and a surprising number of people do not know which one they are in. Here is how to tell, and what each one actually gives you.

Retirement & Transition

The Transition Timeline: What to Do at 18, 12, 6, and 3 Months Out

Leaving the military well is a project with a deadline, and the people who land softly start a year or more out. Here is the countdown, from the first paperwork to your final out-processing.

Retirement & Transition

The Survivor Benefit Plan: The Retirement Decision Nobody Prepares You For

Your military pension stops the day you die. The Survivor Benefit Plan is the one chance you get to keep part of it flowing to your spouse, and you decide at retirement, often without much warning.

Retirement & Transition

Your Last Paycheck: Leave Sell-Back, Final Pay, and the Money on the Way Out

Getting out comes with a last round of money: your final pay, the leave you can cash in, and a few entitlements that settle on the way out. Here is how to make sure you get all of it.

Retirement & Transition

Reserve and Guard Pay: Drill Points, Good Years, and the Age-60 Pension

Part-time service runs on a different system: you get paid by the drill and you retire on points. Here is how drill pay, the points system, and the age-60 pension actually work.

Retirement & Transition

The 2027 COLA Is 3.6%: September CPI-W Closes the Formula for Retired Pay, SBP and VA Compensation

BLS published the September Consumer Price Index on October 14, 2026, the last of the three months that set next year's cost of living adjustment for military retired pay, SBP annuities and VA compensation. The arithmetic is now closed: the 2027 COLA is 3.6%, and Social Security announced the same figure the same morning. Here is the calculation, what it is worth by retired grade, and the one piece still missing on the VA side.

Retirement & Transition

The Major Richard Star Act in October 2026: 340 House Cosponsors, 80 in the Senate, and Still No Vote

The Major Richard Star Act would let medically retired veterans with combat-related disabilities keep their full retired pay alongside VA compensation. It has more cosponsors than almost any bill in Congress. It has not had a vote in either chamber. Here is exactly where both bills stand as of October 3, 2026, who it would cover, and what those veterans can claim today.

Retirement & Transition

TSP Share Price History: Where the Official Numbers Are, and What Each Fund Has Returned Through October 2, 2026

The Thrift Savings Plan publishes the share price of every fund for every business day back to 2003. This page shows where that file lives, the closing prices on October 2, 2026, and what the five core funds returned this year, last year and over five and ten years, all computed from the official prices. Then the part that matters more than any price: what to do with it.

Retirement & Transition

TRICARE For Life at 65: You Must Take Medicare Part B to Keep TRICARE, What It Costs in 2026, and the Sign-Up Window TRICARE Sets

TRICARE For Life has no enrollment form and no enrollment fee, but it only exists once you hold Medicare Part A and Part B. Skip Part B at 65 and TRICARE ends, except for prescriptions at a military pharmacy. Here is the rule in the statute, the 2026 Part B premium by income, the penalty for signing up late, and the sign-up window TRICARE's own brochure gives.

Retirement & Transition

TSP Contribution Limits for 2027 Are Not Out Yet: the 2026 Limits, the Formula That Sets 2027, and the BRS Match by Rank

As of October 20, 2026 the IRS has not published the 2027 Thrift Savings Plan limits. The 2026 limits from IRS Notice 2025-67 are $24,500.00 in elective deferrals, $8,000.00 more at age 50, $11,250.00 more at ages 60 to 63 and $72,000.00 in total annual additions. The IRS posted the last three annual notices on November 1, 2023, November 1, 2024 and November 13, 2025. Here is what the statute does to those figures each year, what the BRS match is worth by rank from the 2026 pay table, and how combat zone pay changes the ceiling.

Retirement & Transition

Marschner v. Marschner: The Supreme Court Will Decide Whether a Divorce Deal Can Make a Veteran Repay a VA Waiver

On October 1, 2026 the Supreme Court agreed to hear No. 25-1349, a North Dakota divorce in which the veteran promised to make up any retired pay his former spouse lost to a VA waiver. The question is whether Howell v. Howell (2017) voids that promise. Here is what is decided, what is not, and what a waiver costs a former spouse at each grade.

Pay & Allowances

How to Read Your LES: The Four Things I Always Check

Your Leave and Earnings Statement is the receipt for everything the military pays you and takes from you. Most people glance at the net and move on. Here is the five-minute check that catches the errors that actually cost you money.

Pay & Allowances

BAH 101: How It Is Set, Rate Protection, and the Moves That Cost You

Basic Allowance for Housing is one of your biggest entitlements and one of the least understood. Here is how the rate is actually set, the rate-protection rule that quietly protects you, and the decisions that leave money on the table.

Pay & Allowances

Roth or Traditional TSP: The Choice That Quietly Decides Your Taxes

Every dollar you put in the TSP goes into one of two buckets, and the difference is just when you pay taxes on it. For most service members, and especially anyone deploying, one side has a clear edge.

Pay & Allowances

Your First Military Paycheck: What You Actually Take Home

A military paycheck is not one number, it is a stack of base pay and allowances, and a big chunk of it is tax-free. Here is how the pieces fit together so you understand what really lands in your account.

Pay & Allowances

The Reenlistment Bonus: How the SRB Is Actually Calculated

A reenlistment bonus can be a serious chunk of money, but the number is not random. It comes from a simple formula tied to your pay, your years, and a multiplier your career field sets. Here is how it works.

Pay & Allowances

BAS: The Food Allowance That Confuses Everyone

BAS is the tax-free allowance for your meals, and the rules around it trip people up, especially the difference between getting BAS and being on a meal card. Here is the 2026 picture in plain terms.

Pay & Allowances

COLA: The Two Different Cost-of-Living Allowances People Mix Up

There are two military allowances both called COLA, one stateside and one overseas, and they work differently down to whether they are taxed. Here is how to tell them apart.

Pay & Allowances

The 2027 Military Pay Raise: 7-6-5 Is Set, 3.6% Is Still on the Table

On August 26, 2026 the President set the January 2027 raise at 7% for E-5 and below, 6% for E-6 to O-3 and 5% for O-4 and above. The Senate committee's defense bill would make it a flat 3.6% instead. The gap is worth $1,200.00 to $2,200.00 a year depending on your rank. Here is the real math on your paycheck.

Pay & Allowances

The Army Replaced the Tape Test With One Number — and a Flag K Now Costs Real Money

Army Directive 2026-13 made waist ÷ height under 0.55 the only body composition standard, and every Soldier is measured by September 29. Here is the rule as written, what happens at 0.55, and what an ABCP Flag blocks — priced from the 2026 pay table.

Pay & Allowances

SCRA and MLA Credit Card Benefits: What the Law Guarantees, What Issuers Add, and the Timing Rule That Decides Both

Two federal laws govern your credit cards on active duty, and they do not overlap: the SCRA caps everything on accounts you opened before service at 6%, fees included; the MLA caps credit you open during service at 36% and says nothing about annual fees. Here is the statute text, what Amex, Capital One and Chase publish, and how to file.

Pay & Allowances

The Stopgap Is Law Through 11 December. Here Is What a Lapse Would Do to Military Pay.

Updated 8 September 2026: H.R. 6500 became Public Law 119-103 on 2 September, funding the government through 11 December. The 1 October cliff is gone and the next one is 11 December. Here is what a funding lapse legally does to your paycheck, what one missed payday is worth by rank once BAS and BAH are counted, and what history says actually protects military pay.

Pay & Allowances

TRICARE Published Half of Its 2027 Price List: Drug Copays Are Frozen by Law, the Rest Waits on the COLA

The Defense Health Agency published the CY2027 TRICARE program changes on September 18, 2026. Pharmacy copayments do not move on January 1, because a statute fixes them through 2027. Enrollment fees, deductibles and catastrophic caps are missing from the notice entirely, because they ride on a cost of living adjustment nobody can compute until October 14. Here is what is settled, what is not, and what the published 2026 figures are worth by rank.

Pay & Allowances

Marine Corps FY2027 Reenlistment Bonuses: Every Kicker, the Biggest MOS Payouts, and Why the Money Now Arrives in the Fiscal Year of Your ECC

MARADMIN 023/26 sets the Selective Retention Bonus program for Marines whose contracts end between October 1, 2026 and September 30, 2027: seven kickers up to $50,000.00, PMOS bonuses up to $67,500.00 in a single zone, a $360,000.00 career cap, and a change in when the money is paid. Here is the whole plan, priced against 2026 basic pay.

Pay & Allowances

Marines Who Extend Overseas Can Take $2,000, 30 Days of Leave or a Flight Home: What MARADMIN 450/26 Changes on November 1

The "$166.66 a month to stay another year" graphic is accurate. MARADMIN 450/26 lets Marines who extend an overseas tour by at least 12 months take $2,000.00, up to 30 days of nonchargeable leave, or up to 15 days of leave plus a paid round trip to the States. From November 1, 2026, every overseas location except Hawaii and the Marine Corps Forces Europe area qualifies. The money is not new; who can get it is. Here is the fine print, and what the leave is worth by rank.

Pay & Allowances

The Pentagon Is Cutting 20% of General and Admiral Positions by January 1, 2027: What It Changes for Military Pay, and What It Does Not

Hegseth is doubling last year's 10 percent cut to general and flag officer positions to 20 percent, due January 1, 2027. There were 851 active-duty generals and admirals on July 31, 2026, against a legal ceiling of 857, so the order removes about 170 positions. Some will be downgraded to colonel or Navy captain, some eliminated. Here is what the order says, what Congress controls, what a one-star costs next to a colonel on the 2026 tables, and why your own pay does not move.

Pay & Allowances

Military Pay Dates 2027: Every Mid-Month and End-of-Month Payday

All 24 active duty paydays for 2027, the six that land early because of a weekend or a federal holiday, the first payday at the 2027 rates, and what each payday is worth by rank. The dates come from the rule in federal law and the 2027 federal holiday calendar, checked against every payday on the DFAS 2026 schedule.

Pay & Allowances

2027 BAH Rates: When They Come Out, What Moves Them, and What You Can Already Count On

The 2027 Basic Allowance for Housing rates are not published. Last year the Department released the new rates on December 11 for a January 1 start. Until then, three things are already certain: the pay raise does not set your BAH, rental data does, and rate protection means a lower 2027 rate cannot cut what you receive now. Here is what is settled, and what a typical year-to-year change is worth in dollars.

Pay & Allowances

Reservist Differential Pay: Federal Employees on Active Duty Orders May Be Owed the Gap, and What It Is Worth by Rank

If you are a federal civilian employee serving on active duty orders and your military pay is lower than your civilian salary, federal law requires your agency to make up the difference. The Supreme Court ruled in 2025 that the law covers more orders than OPM's guidance does, a 2026 MSPB decision applied that ruling to voluntary orders, and five reservists filed a class appeal in September 2026. Here is what is settled, what is pending, and what the gap is worth at seven ranks.

Pay & Allowances

Is the Navy Stopping SRBs? No Message Says So, but the Law Behind Every Reenlistment Bonus Expires December 31

No NAVADMIN pauses the Selective Reenlistment Bonus, and the FY27 chart cuts that took effect October 8 were announced in September. The real date is December 31, 2026: 37 U.S.C. 331, the authority the Navy signs every SRB under, says no agreement may be entered after it, and the FY2027 NDAA that would extend it is stalled in the Senate. In 2008 the same miss stopped new bonus contracts for four weeks. Here is the law, the 35-day arithmetic, and what a four-year SRB is worth by rating.

Pay & Allowances

Pentagon ZIP Code for BAH: 20301, Military Housing Area DC053, and the 2026 Washington, DC Metro Rate by Grade

20301 is the Washington, DC ZIP on Defense Pentagon mail, even though the building stands in Arlington, Virginia, and the services' Pentagon offices use four more DC ZIPs. For housing allowance purposes all five sit in Military Housing Area DC053. Here is what that area pays in 2026 by grade, how it compares with Quantico and Fort Meade, and what the ZIP does and does not change.

Pay & Allowances

OPM Pay Scale for 2026: The GS Table, the 2027 Civilian Pay Freeze, and What Seven Military Grades Earn Against It

The OPM pay scale in force today is Salary Table 2026-GS, a 1 percent increase effective January 2026, running from $22,584.00 at GS-1 step 1 to $164,301.00 at GS-15 step 10 before locality pay. On August 26, 2026 the President told Congress that 2027 civilian base and locality pay "will not change from the 2026 rates" while military basic pay rises 7, 6 or 5 percent. Here is the table, the locality math, and seven military grades priced against it.

Pay & Allowances

Military Health Care FSA Open Season: November 9 to December 14, the $3,400 Limit, and the Tax Break by Rank

The Federal Benefits Open Season is the one scheduled window each year for an active-duty family to open a Health Care Flexible Spending Account, and the account does not renew on its own. Here are the dates OPM set, the new FSAFEDS Visa card, the 2026 limits the IRS published and the 2027 one it has not, and what a full election saves in federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare at eight pay grades.

Pay & Allowances

Navy Medicine's FY27 Special Pay Changes: RAM Bonuses Rise to $70,000 on a New 6-Year Contract, and Three Corps Get Bonuses They Did Not Have

BUMED's FY27 Summary of Changes raises the Aerospace Medicine retention bonus at every contract length and adds a six-year agreement at $70,000.00 a year, lifts the Preventive/Occupational Medicine three-year bonus from $23,000.00 to $30,000.00, and creates retention bonuses for NICU nurses, Medical Laboratory officers and nurses entering CRNA, FNP or MHNP training. Requests back to October 1, 2026 are open until November 20, 2026. The statute behind every agreement expires December 31, 2026 unless Congress extends it.

Pay & Allowances

NAVADMIN 255/26: Navy COVID-19 Reinstatement Applications Close April 1, 2027. Here Is How DFAS Prices the Back Pay

The Navy's October 23, 2026 message sets a hard date for Rapid Reinstatement Program applications, adds leave restoration under a September 3 SECNAV memo, and fixes Reserve constructive service credit at 77 points a year. What it does not do is promise a dollar figure: back pay is pay and allowances for the separation period minus civilian wages, VA payments and other offsets, and the Board for Correction of Naval Records decides each case.

Pay & Allowances

BRS Continuation Pay by Service: Each Branch's Multiplier and What It Pays by Grade

Continuation pay is one law and six different checks. The Navy has published 2.5 times for 2027, the Marine Corps pays 5.0 times in 2026, and the Coast Guard pays 9 times at eight years. Here is every branch's published multiplier, what has not been announced, and the dollar amount by grade from the 2026 pay table.

Family & Spouse

Where a Military Spouse Pays Taxes: MSRRA in Plain English

Every PCS drops a military family into a new state with its own tax rules. A federal law lets a military spouse keep one home state for taxes and voting instead of changing it every move. Here is how it works.

Family & Spouse

SGLI and the $500,000 Decision You Make When You Get Out

While you serve, you have up to half a million dollars of life insurance you barely think about. When you separate, you get one short window to keep it, and missing it can cost your family the coverage entirely.

Family & Spouse

MyCAA: The $4,000 Education Benefit Many Military Spouses Never Use

There is a federal scholarship worth up to $4,000.00 for eligible military spouses pursuing a license or certification, and a surprising number of families never use it. Here is what it covers and how to know if you qualify.

Family & Spouse

Veterans Day 2026: Which Offers Are Confirmed, and Which Lists Are Still Showing Last Year

Veterans Day is Wednesday, November 11, 2026. Lists of free meals are already circulating, and many of them repeat last year's offers as if they were announced. We opened each company's own page on October 3, October 14 and October 27, and read VA's own list. Three national chains have posted 2026 details. Others still show 2025. Here is what is confirmed, what is not, and the answers to the holiday questions people are asking.

Family & Spouse

The President's Military Spouse Commission: What It Is, What It Can Change, and How to Send It Your Experience

Executive Order 14417, signed August 3, 2026, created the President's Military Spouse Commission. It is an advisory body: it changes no pay rate and creates no benefit by itself. What it does have is a direct line to the President, a two-year clock, and a public form where spouses can submit their experience. Here is what the order says, and what already exists for spouses today.

Family & Spouse

Texas Is Investigating TriWest Over TRICARE Claim Denials. If "Other Health Insurance" Is on Your Denial, Here Is What to Check

On September 1, 2026 the Texas Attorney General opened an investigation into TriWest, the TRICARE West Region contractor, over claims denied on the ground that the patient had other health insurance. An investigation is not a finding. But the rule behind those denials is real, it is written on TRICARE's own site, and one wrong entry in your record is enough to trigger it.

Family & Spouse

Military TRICARE Data Compromise: The Three 2026 Breaches, Who Got a Letter, and the Deadlines (October 2026)

Searches for a "military TRICARE data compromise" are rising, and three separate 2026 incidents are being read as one: TriWest in the West Region, the Express Scripts pharmacy contractor, and the Defense Manpower Data Center. Here is each one from its own notice, with the deadline, the phone number and what the stolen fields can reach.

Family & Spouse

NFL Sunday Ticket Military Discount 2026: $198 Through ID.me, and What It Saves Over the $240, $378 and $480 Prices

Searches for an "NFL Sunday Ticket military discount" are climbing fast. The offer is real: YouTube sells the 2026 season to members and veterans verified through ID.me for $198.00. Whether that saves you $42.00 or $282.00 depends on whether you have bought Sunday Ticket before, and two official pages give two different last days to buy.

Family & Spouse

Military Child Care in 2026: What a CDC Costs by Rank, Who Gets a Spot First, and the $2,000 Fee Assistance Cap

A military child development center charges by total family income, not by rank or base: $54.00 to $236.00 a week per child on the DoD chart now posted. Here is how DoD counts your income, which of its 12 categories each grade lands in, and how the waitlist decides who is offered a spot.

Family & Spouse

MARADMIN 501/26: Marines Now File the $2,000 Adoption Reimbursement Through the PAO, Not DFAS

The Marine Corps message of October 15, 2026 keeps the $2,000.00 per child and $5,000.00 per year limits but moves the claim from DFAS Cleveland to your Personnel Administrative Office and the Disbursing Officer. Here is what changed, what did not, and what the money is worth by grade.

Family & Spouse

SGLI Family and Spouse Coverage (FSGLI): What $100,000 Costs at Each Spouse Age, and Who Is Not Covered Automatically

Family SGLI insures a service member's spouse for up to $100,000.00 and each dependent child for $10,000.00. The child coverage is free. The spouse premium is set by the spouse's age, runs from $4.00 to $40.00 a month for the full amount, and comes out of the member's pay. Here is the VA table, priced against 2026 basic pay by grade.

Family & Spouse

TRICARE Young Adult Premiums for 2027: $394 a Month for Select, $893 for Prime, Priced Against Your Basic Pay

The TRICARE Operations Manual now prints the 2027 TRICARE Young Adult premiums: $394.00 a month for Select and $893.00 for Prime, starting January 1, 2027. That is $4,728.00 and $10,716.00 a year for each adult child, with no family rate. Here is what that means against a sponsor's basic pay, and the rules that cost families money when they miss them.

Veterans Benefits

The VA Disability Claim: How the Process Actually Works

A VA disability claim is one of the most valuable things you can do before and after you separate, and one of the most misunderstood. Here is how the process really works, from filing to a rating.

Veterans Benefits

The Post-9/11 GI Bill: Three Benefits in One, and How to Use Them

The GI Bill is not just tuition. It is three separate benefits bundled together, and understanding all three (plus the option to give it to your kids) is how you get the full value out of what you earned.

Veterans Benefits

The VA Home Loan: No Down Payment, No PMI, and the Fee Nobody Explains

The VA loan is one of the most valuable benefits of service, and one of the least understood. Here is what makes it different from a regular mortgage, and the one-time fee you should plan for.

Veterans Benefits

Post-9/11 GI Bill Rates for 2026-27: The $30,908 Private-School Cap, the $1,198 Online Housing Rate, and What the Housing Allowance Is Worth by Campus

VA's Post-9/11 GI Bill rates for August 1, 2026 through July 31, 2027 are posted: the private and foreign school tuition cap is $30,908.34 (up 3.3% from $29,920.95), the online-only housing rate is $1,198.00 a month, and the books stipend stays at $1,000.00. The housing allowance is the biggest number and it depends on the campus, so here is what it pays near nine installations.

Veterans Benefits

2027 VA Disability Rates: The Increase Is 3.6%, and One Thing Is Still Missing

The percentage behind the 2027 VA disability rates is now fixed: the September CPI-W, published October 14, 2026, puts the cost of living adjustment at 3.6%, the same figure Social Security announced that morning. What is still missing is the law: the bill that carries the increase to disability compensation has not passed. Here is every rating at 3.6%, alone and with a spouse, and what has to happen before it is paid.

Veterans Benefits

Can VA Disability Be Garnished for Child Support? What Federal Law Allows, and What State Courts Still Do

Federal law shields VA disability compensation from creditors, and in most cases from garnishment. There is one exception written into the statute, a Supreme Court decision that lets state courts count the money anyway, and a VA rule that changed on February 9, 2026. Here is each piece, with the text it comes from.

Veterans Benefits

Trajector Filed for Bankruptcy With Veterans' Lawsuits Pending. The Claim Deadline Is Now October 31, and the Law on Paying for VA Claim Help

Trajector, a company that charges veterans in connection with VA disability claims, filed for Chapter 11 on July 23, 2026 while proposed class actions against it were pending. The deadline printed on the bankruptcy notice for filing a claim was October 1; an agreed order signed October 5 moved it to October 31, 2026. The veterans' motions to file as a class and to pause the deadline were heard on October 15, and no ruling on them was on the docket as of October 19. Here is what the court record shows, and what federal law says about paying anyone for help with a VA claim.

Veterans Benefits

The Trump VA Benefits Update, Sorted: What Is Signed, What Pays Out, and What Is Still a Bill (October 2026)

Searches for a "Trump VA benefits update" are rising, and most of the coverage mixes a signed executive order, a VGLI premium holiday, a claims report and two unpassed bills into one story. Here is each item with its document, its status and its dollar value.

Veterans Benefits

GI Bill Schools Overbilling VA: What the $300 Million Investigation Found, Who Repays, and Whether Your Months Come Back (October 2026)

Veterans Benefits

Does the GI Bill Expire? The Deadline for Chapter 33, 30, 1606 and 35, and the $1,200 You Can Still Lose (October 2026)

Veterans Benefits

Chapter 33 VA Benefits for 2026-2027: The Six Tiers, the $30,908.34 Private School Cap, and What Housing Pays Near Five Bases

Chapter 33 is the Post-9/11 GI Bill. VA's rates for August 1, 2026 to July 31, 2027 are set; here is what each tier pays, and how the housing compares with the BAH you drew on active duty.