What is veterans burial benefits?

For an eligible veteran, the VA may provide a gravesite in a national cemetery with opening and closing, a grave liner, and perpetual care at no cost, plus a government headstone or marker, a burial flag, a Presidential Memorial Certificate, and military funeral honors such as a flag fold and the playing of Taps. Eligible spouses and certain dependents can often be buried alongside the veteran.

Several of these benefits travel to a private cemetery as well: a government headstone, marker, or medallion and a burial flag can apply when a veteran is buried outside a national cemetery, though the plot and most cemetery costs are not covered there. In certain cases — for example, a service-connected death or a death in a VA facility — the VA also pays a monetary burial allowance toward funeral, burial, and transportation costs.

VA burial benefits do not cover the funeral home's charges for preparing and transporting the body, so families typically combine them with a funeral provider's services. Funeral directors often help families apply, and having the veteran's discharge papers (such as the DD-214) on hand makes establishing eligibility easier. Because eligibility rules and current allowance amounts change over time, confirm them directly with the VA.