💰 Kicker Payment Calculator

VASCO Standalone Tool #46 - Calculate MGIB "Kicker" payments

What is a Kicker?
A "kicker" is additional money (the amount is set by the enlistment contract) that some service members receive on top of their regular GI Bill payment, based on their enlistment contract.

Benefit Chapter:

Monthly Kicker Amount (from DD-214 or contract):

Training Time:

Number of Months Enrolled:

Kicker Payment Breakdown

Base Monthly Kicker:

Adjusted for Training Time:

Total Kicker Over Enrollment Period

Payment Schedule:

Important Notes:

Kicker payments are IN ADDITION to regular MGIB monthly payments
Kicker amounts are prorated based on training time (38 CFR 21.7136 for Chapter 30; the Chapter 1606 rate table for Chapter 1606)
Below half-time, the total monthly payment (basic rate plus kicker) cannot exceed the cost of tuition and fees, so the actual amount may be lower
Verify kicker eligibility on student's DD-214 or enlistment contract
Payments go directly to the student, not to the school

About this tool

This calculator figures Montgomery GI Bill kicker payments, the additional monthly amount some service members earned through their enlistment contract on top of the regular MGIB benefit. Select Chapter 30 (MGIB-AD) or Chapter 1606 (MGIB-SR), enter the monthly kicker amount from the student's contract or DD-214, the training time, and the months enrolled. It prorates the kicker by training time (for Chapter 30, less than half-time but more than quarter-time pays 50 percent and quarter-time or less pays 25 percent; for Chapter 1606, anything below half-time pays 25 percent), totals it across the enrollment period, and lays out a month-by-month payment schedule with any partial month prorated.

School Certifying Officials use it when counseling MGIB students about expected income for a term, since the kicker is easy to overlook in budget conversations. The kicker is paid in addition to the regular monthly MGIB payment, is prorated the same way by training time, and goes directly to the student, not to the school.

Tips: verify the kicker on the enlistment contract or DD-214 before quoting a number, since students sometimes misremember the amount; recalculate when training time changes mid-term; and remind students the kicker ends when their MGIB entitlement is exhausted.