These are the 2021-2022 veteran readiness and employment subsistence rates. Veterans participating in the program may receive a monthly subsistence allowance while pursuing an educational or training program in preparation for a future career. The VR&E subsistence allowance rate is based on the rate of attendance, number of dependents and type of training. (The rate of attendance may be full-time, ¾-time or ½-time.)
Since the Department of Veterans Affairs pays a subsistence allowance for training that has been completed in the previous month, the first payment at these rates is reflected in the Nov. 1, 2021 disbursement.
In 2021, the VA modified the 48-month rule that previously required VR&E benefits to be deducted from the total 48 months of GI Bill benefits available to the veteran. Now, veterans who choose to use VR&E benefits first, ahead of any GI Bill use, will not have VR&E deducted from those 48 months. Learn more about these changes before you apply for either benefit.
| Post-9/11 Chapter 31 Subsistence Allowance Rates – Effective Oct. 1, 2021 (based upon 2.57% Consumer Price Index (CPI) increase) |
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| Type Training | Training Time | No Dependents | One Dep. | Two Dep. | Each Additional Dependent |
| Institutional; nonpay or nominal pay work experience in a facility of a federal, state, local or tribal agency; improvement of rehabilitation potential: | Full-Time | $670.77 | $832.03 | $980.49 | $71.45 |
| ¾ Time | $504.01 | $624.93 | $733.06 | $54.97 | |
| ½ Time | $337.23 | $417.83 | $491.14 | $36.66 | |
| ¼ Time1 | $168.59 | $208.95 | $245.57 | $18.29 | |
| Nonpay or nominal pay on-job training in a facility of a federal, state, local or tribal agency; training in the home; vocational course in a rehabilitation facility or sheltered workshop; independent instructor: | Full-Time Only | $670.77 | $832.03 | $980.49 | $71.45 |
| Farm co-operative, apprenticeship or other on-job training: | Full-Time Only | $586.46 | $709.22 | $817.36 | $53.15 |
| Combination of institutional and on-job training (institutional greater than one half):
Non-farm co-operative institutional training and non-farm co-operative on-job training (FT non-farm co-op/institutional): |
Full-Time Only | $670.77 | $832.03 | $980.49 | $71.45 |
| Combination of institutional and on-job training (on-the-job greater than ½); non-farm co-operative institutional training and non-farm co-operative on-job training (FT non-farm co-op/on-the-job): | Full-Time Only | $586.46 | $709.22 | $817.36 | $53.15 |
- The quarter-time rate may be paid only during extended evaluation.
- For on-job training, the training wage plus the subsistence allowance cannot exceed the journeyman wage.
- This maximum rate was calculated based on full-time enrollment for a veteran with the following dependents: spouse, mother, father and 25 children.
Veterans who qualify for the Post-9/11 GI Bill or the Forever GI Bill may be eligible to receive the basic allowance for housing rate for subsistence.
Annual increases are based on the consumer price index.
VR&E subsistence allowance will automatically adjust with the new cost-of-living adjustment rate within VA’s electronic subsistence allowance system, effective Oct. 1, 2021. If you are pursuing an educational or training program, you will receive an increase in your subsistence allowance rate.
Since the VA pays subsistence allowance for training that has been completed in the previous month, the first payment at these rates will be reflected in the Nov. 1, 2021 subsistence allowance disbursement.
