VA Burial Benefits Calculator

Who qualifies for VA burial benefits

Two things decide what you can get: the veteran's discharge and the circumstances of the death. The veteran must not have received a dishonorable discharge. The burial allowance isn't paid for a death on active duty, while serving in Congress or while serving a federal prison sentence.

For the burial allowance, at least one of these must also apply. The veteran:

• died of a service-connected disability,
• died while receiving VA care, in a VA facility or a VA-contracted nursing home, or while traveling with VA approval to an exam or treatment,
• was receiving VA pension or disability compensation when they died,
• was eligible for compensation but was receiving military retired pay instead, or
• had a claim for pension or compensation pending that VA later decides could have been granted.

The person who pays can claim it: a surviving spouse, a child, a parent, the executor or administrator, another family member or friend, or a representative of the funeral home or cemetery. VA pays for all legal burial types, including cremation and burial at sea.

Burial in a VA national cemetery has its own test. Veterans who completed the minimum service requirement and weren't dishonorably discharged qualify, along with a spouse and minor dependent children, and in some cases an unmarried adult child with a disability. Some National Guard and Reserve members qualify too.

How much the VA pays toward a funeral

There are three cash benefits. The burial allowance helps with the funeral home and burial costs. The plot or interment allowance helps with the gravesite. Transportation reimbursement repays the cost of moving the remains in some cases. The allowances are maximums. VA repays what you paid, up to the amount in the table, so a bill smaller than the maximum gets you the smaller amount.

The plot or interment allowance isn't paid for burial in a national cemetery or another U.S.-run cemetery, because the gravesite is already free. In a state or tribal veterans cemetery, VA pays the allowance to the state or tribe when the cemetery provides the plot at no charge. You can still claim the burial allowance for the funeral costs you paid with a national cemetery burial.

Transportation. VA may repay the reasonable cost of moving the remains when the death was service connected, when the veteran died while hospitalized by VA or traveling for VA care, or when the burial is in a national cemetery. There's no fixed dollar amount. You need an itemized receipt in your name. For a national cemetery, VA won't repay more than the cost of moving the remains to the closest national cemetery with space that serves where the veteran lived.

For scale, the NFDA's 2023 survey put the median funeral with viewing and burial at $8,300 and the median funeral with viewing and cremation at $6,280, before cemetery costs. The allowance covers a part of that. For earlier death dates, see the full table on VA's burial allowance page. Amounts for deaths on or after Oct 1, 2027 will appear there when VA publishes them.

How to apply, step by step

1. Gather the papers. You need the veteran's death certificate showing the cause of death, receipts or bills for what you paid, and, for transportation, an itemized receipt in your name. A copy of the DD214 or other separation papers is recommended.
2. Schedule the burial first if you want a national cemetery. Call the National Cemetery Scheduling Office at 800-535-1117 (Mon to Fri, 8:00 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. ET). The family or the funeral director can call. This arranges the gravesite, headstone or marker, flag and honors together.
3. File VA Form 21P-530EZ, Application for Burial Benefits. Apply online at VA.gov, or mail the form to the Department of Veterans Affairs, Pension Intake Center, PO Box 5365, Janesville, WI 53547-5365.
4. Mind the deadline. No time limit if the death was service connected, if the veteran died under VA care, or when you're claiming only the plot/interment or transportation allowance. If VA changes a dishonorable discharge after death, file within 2 years of the change. For other non-service-connected deaths, file within 2 years after the burial.
5. Check whether the claim is automatic. When VA learns a veteran has died, it automatically pays a set amount to an eligible surviving spouse listed on the veteran's VA profile toward the plot, interment or transportation. Check your VA account before you file, or call 800-827-1000.
6. Order the free memorial items. Use VA Form 40-1330 for a headstone or marker, VA Form 40-1330M for a medallion, VA Form 27-2008 for the flag and VA Form 40-0247 for each Presidential Memorial Certificate.

Our after-death checklist puts these steps alongside the other tasks in the first weeks, and the VA Burial Benefits Claim Kit has the forms and a tracker.

Other free VA benefits for a veteran's funeral

These don't depend on the burial allowance, and VA provides them at no cost to the family:

• A gravesite in a VA national cemetery, with opening and closing of the grave and perpetual care. A spouse and minor dependent children may be buried in the same grave space.
• A government headstone, marker or medallion. VA furnishes a headstone or marker for an unmarked grave, or for a death on or after Nov 1, 1990 when a private one is already in place. If you bought a private headstone, a medallion can be attached to it. You pay any fee the cemetery charges to set it.
• A burial flag, requested with VA Form 27-2008 from a funeral director, a VA regional office or a post office.
• A Presidential Memorial Certificate, for veterans eligible for national cemetery burial. VA accepts multiple requests.
• Military funeral honors, with at least two uniformed service members who play Taps and fold and present the flag. The funeral director usually requests them, and VA suggests asking 48 to 72 hours before the service.

Spouses and dependent children buried in a private cemetery aren't eligible for a government headstone or marker, but may be able to have an inscription added to the veteran's.