The Department of Veterans Affairs awarded a record $106.5 million in cemetery grants in fiscal year 2026, the federal year that ended Sept. 30, VA said Oct. 27. The money went to 21 veterans cemeteries run by states, territories and tribal organizations, and it is the most the program has handed out in a single year since it began in 1980.
The total is a payment to cemeteries, not to veterans or their families. It matters to families because it decides where a local veterans cemetery can open, grow or stay maintained, and that shapes how far a funeral procession has to travel and what a burial costs out of pocket.
What a veteran’s family can still be asked to pay
A grant-built cemetery does not mean every cost disappears for a family. The burial itself in a VA-run national cemetery is a benefit for eligible veterans, but funeral home charges, transportation and a plot in a private cemetery are separate bills. That is where VA’s burial allowance comes in.
For a death on or after Oct. 1, 2026, VA lists a burial allowance of $1,032 and a plot allowance of $1,032 for the standard rate. The page lists $2,000 for a service-connected death on or after Sept. 11, 2001, and $1,500 for one before that date. For a death on or after Oct. 1, 2025, a headstone or marker allowance of $441 is listed.
Which family members and veterans are covered, and who is asked to prove what, differs by case. A surviving spouse, child, parent or executor who paid the costs and will not be reimbursed elsewhere can apply, provided the veteran was not dishonorably discharged and meets one of VA’s listed conditions, such as receiving VA pension or compensation at death or dying in VA care.
Families that have not yet filed should check whether the veteran was getting VA pension or compensation at death, since that is one of the paths to the allowance. A family member weighing a burial decision can then check the veteran’s eligibility before paying a funeral bill, rather than after.
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What the $106.5 million paid for
Under the VA release, the grants typically cover building new veterans cemeteries, expanding existing ones, making improvements needed to keep interments going, and operations and maintenance projects. Some awards also reimburse the cost of making and delivering pre-placed crypts, up to a stated amount.
The largest single award went to the Alabama Veterans Memorial Cemetery-North in Huntsville, which received $18,094,445 to establish the cemetery, plus crypt costs of up to $875,706. In New Mexico, the Carlsbad State Veterans Cemetery received $16,711,624 to establish it, and the Northern Utah Veterans Cemetery in Washington Terrace received $14,740,955 for the same purpose. Georgia’s Memorial Veterans Cemetery at Augusta received $13,610,908.
Not every award was for new ground. The East Hawaii Veterans Cemetery-2 in Hilo received $6,132,225 for operations and maintenance, and the Washington State Veterans Cemetery in Medical Lake received $1,504,104 for the same kind of work. Connecticut’s veterans cemetery in Middletown received $584,250 for an expansion, and Virginia’s Southwest Virginia Veterans Cemetery in Dublin received $243,467.
Which states and territories received awards
The release lists cemeteries in 15 states: Alabama, Arizona, Connecticut, Georgia, Hawaii, Iowa, Missouri, North Carolina, New Mexico, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin. Two grants went to the Northern Mariana Islands, for the Rota and Tinian veterans cemeteries, which received $3,506,037 and $3,110,550 to be established.
North Carolina had three awards, including $3,739,379 for the Burgess-Oocumma Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Cherokee. Utah had two, and Alabama had two. Tennessee’s Upper Cumberland State Veterans Cemetery received $7,073,800 to be established.
Sam Brown, VA’s Under Secretary for Memorial Affairs, said in the release: “Every VA cemetery grant reflects our commitment to honor the lives of those who served our nation.” He said VA is strengthening partnerships with states, territories and tribal nations so veterans and their families have local access to burial benefits.
Since 1980, VA says it has awarded more than $1.2 billion in grants to more than 120 cemeteries in 47 states, 14 tribal nations and three territories. VA says the program helps ensure more than 94 percent of veterans in the country live within 75 miles of a veterans cemetery.
How long families have to ask for the allowance
Timing depends on how the veteran died. For a service-connected death there is no time limit on the burial allowance. For a death not connected to service, the claim generally has to be filed within two years after the burial, with no limit when the veteran died under VA care or when the claim is for the plot, interment or transportation allowance.
Eligibility for burial in a national cemetery, headstones, markers, medallions and Presidential Memorial Certificates are all handled through VA’s burials and memorials page, where families can request a burial eligibility determination online or apply in advance for a pre-need decision letter. The National Cemetery Scheduling Office takes calls at 800-535-1117, and the VA benefits line is 800-827-1000.
No deadline applies to the grant program itself. It is a yearly federal award cycle, and the next round of awards will be counted in fiscal year 2027, which began Oct. 1. VA’s press room carries the announcements.
For families, the practical point of a bigger grant year is access. More cemeteries within reach of where veterans live can mean shorter travel and lower transport costs on the day, though the allowance amounts above are what VA pays toward those bills, and they are set separately from the grant program.
Does the family know which VA benefits apply?
Burial allowances are one of several VA payments that survivors often learn about only after a funeral bill is paid. A wartime veteran’s widow can also miss a pension level she is entitled to, and paid helpers sometimes charge for forms that VA accepts for free.
The Veterans Benefits Action Kit lays out “the three VA pension levels including Aid & Attendance” and “how to file for free (VA Form 21P-527EZ)”. It also includes a claim tracker and the pension-poacher warning signs, so a family can see what applies before anyone is paid to file.
Get the Veterans Benefits Action Kit for the family’s pension and filing steps →
This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.
David M. Keller is a finance writer based in Columbus, Ohio, covering personal finance and consumer-focused economic topics. He earned his degree in journalism from Ohio University and began his career reporting on local business and economic trends for a regional media outlet. Since then, he has contributed to a variety of online publications, focusing on clear, practical coverage of topics such as cost of living, debt, and everyday financial decision-making.
