The Give and Take
The Give and Take: One Veteran Benefit Changed August 1. A VA Loan Fee Increase Did Not.
Published August 8, 2026
There is a lot being said about veterans’ benefits in Washington right now. This week is a good example of why it is important to separate something that has actually changed from something Congress is still debating.
Here is the short version:
The new Post-9/11 GI Bill benefit year took effect August 1.
At the same time, a controversial proposal that could significantly increase the cost of certain VA home loan transactions remains unresolved in Congress.
For veteran homeowners, buyers and military families, those are two very different things.
THE GIVE: New GI Bill Rates Are Now in Effect
The Department of Veterans Affairs began its new Post-9/11 GI Bill benefit year on August 1, 2026, with rates running through July 31, 2027.
For veterans attending public colleges and universities, VA generally continues to cover net in-state tuition and mandatory fees for those eligible for the full benefit.
For eligible veterans attending private or foreign schools, the maximum tuition-and-fee benefit is now $30,908.34 for the academic year.
The change can also affect the Monthly Housing Allowance, or MHA, paid to many veterans using the Post-9/11 GI Bill.
VA bases that housing allowance on the military Basic Allowance for Housing rate for an E-5 with dependents. For the benefit year that began August 1, VA is using the 2026 BAH rates. The amount a veteran actually receives depends on factors including the location of the school, rate of pursuit and percentage of GI Bill eligibility.
That is a confirmed change.
Veterans using the GI Bill this fall should check their new benefit amount rather than assuming it will be identical to last year.
THE TAKE WE’RE WATCHING: A Proposed Increase in VA Loan Fees
Now to the part that has created considerable confusion.
Congress has been considering the Take Care of America’s Veterans Act, H.R. 9237 in the House, with a Senate companion, S. 4744.
It is a massive veterans package containing dozens of provisions affecting disability compensation, survivors, health care, education and other benefits.
Some provisions have broad support. Others have generated significant disagreement among lawmakers and veterans organizations.
For veteran homeowners, one provision deserves particular attention.
The House bill would change the VA funding fee charged on an Interest Rate Reduction Refinance Loan, commonly called an IRRRL or VA streamline refinance.
The legislation currently proposes changing that fee from 0.50% to 1.42%. It also proposes increasing the VA loan-assumption fee from 0.50% to 1.00%. The actual bill text contains those changes.
That would be a meaningful increase for veterans who are not exempt from the VA funding fee.
But this next sentence is the most important sentence in this article:
Those higher fees are not currently in effect.
What Veterans Pay Today
According to the Department of Veterans Affairs, the current funding fee for an IRRRL remains 0.50%.
The current VA loan-assumption funding fee is also 0.50%.
Many veterans are exempt from the funding fee altogether, including qualifying veterans receiving compensation for a service-connected disability and certain surviving spouses.
So if someone tells you this week that the VA has already increased the IRRRL fee to 1.42%, that is incorrect.
Congress is considering it.
VA has not implemented it.
Why the Difference Could Matter
Consider a veteran refinancing a $400,000 VA mortgage.
At the current 0.50% funding-fee rate, the fee would be approximately $2,000 before considering any exemption.
At a 1.42% rate, that same calculation would be approximately $5,680.
That is a difference of about $3,680.
Because an IRRRL is specifically designed to help an existing VA borrower obtain a lower interest rate or a more stable mortgage payment, increasing the cost of accessing that refinance benefit deserves attention.
VA itself describes the IRRRL as a refinance designed to potentially lower a veteran’s monthly payment or make the payment more stable.
So Where Does Congress Stand?
The Take Care of America’s Veterans Act has not become law.
The House considered the legislation in July. On July 16, a motion to recommit failed by an extremely narrow 210–211 vote, but final proceedings on the legislation were subsequently postponed and the bill was pulled from consideration.
The debate did not disappear.
On July 29, another effort surfaced in the Senate involving an alternative version of the veterans package and a different approach to paying for its benefits. That effort also failed to resolve the dispute.
As of this week, the important point for veterans is simple:
Congress has not enacted the proposed VA home-loan fee increases.
The issue remains something to watch when lawmakers return to the broader veterans package.
Why This Bill Is a Focus of “The Give and Take”
This legislation is almost a textbook example of why I started The Give and Take.
Congress is considering giving veterans several significant new or expanded benefits.
Among them are provisions aimed at helping certain combat-injured military retirees, surviving spouses, catastrophically disabled veterans and military families.
But Congress also has to determine how those benefits are paid for.
That has led to proposed changes involving disability compensation rules and VA loan fees, and those offsets have become some of the most controversial parts of the legislation. Veterans organizations themselves have taken differing positions on various portions of the package.
You can support helping veterans and still ask an important question:
Who is paying for the help?
That question is not Republican or Democratic.
It is financial.
And veterans deserve to know the answer.
What Veteran Homeowners Should Do Now
Do not refinance because you are afraid Congress might increase a fee.
And do not delay a refinance that makes financial sense today simply because Washington is debating what may happen tomorrow.
Instead, compare the actual numbers.
Look at your current interest rate, proposed new rate, closing costs, funding-fee status, monthly savings and the amount of time it takes those savings to recover the cost of refinancing.
For veterans who qualify for a funding-fee exemption, this particular proposed increase may not affect the transaction at all.
For veterans who are not exempt, it could matter considerably if Congress eventually adopts the increase.
But that is a decision for another day.
Today, the VA IRRRL funding fee remains 0.50%.
Bottom Line
This week brought us a good example of how veterans should read Washington.
Confirmed: New Post-9/11 GI Bill rates became effective August 1, including updated housing-allowance calculations based on 2026 BAH rates.
Not confirmed: Congress has not increased the VA IRRRL funding fee.
Proposed: H.R. 9237 would increase the IRRRL funding fee from 0.50% to 1.42% and the VA loan-assumption fee from 0.50% to 1.00%.
What happens next: Congress still has to determine whether the broader veterans package returns, changes, gets broken into smaller pieces, or receives a different funding structure.
Until then, veterans should make financial decisions using the benefits and rules that actually exist today—not the ones Washington may or may not adopt tomorrow.
That is exactly what The Give and Take will continue watching.
About the Author
Clay Edmonds is a Complete Mortgage Advisor and Corporate Educator with Complete Mortgage LLC and the creator of MortgageSimplified.net. With more than four decades of experience in real estate finance, Clay focuses on simplifying mortgage financing and helping veterans, homebuyers, homeowners, real estate investors, and real estate professionals make better-informed financial decisions.
