Burial Expenses Allowance for Veterans

$8.9 Billion committed in FY2018–FY2026

Agency: Veterans Benefits Administration, Veterans Affairs, Department of
Assistance: Direct Payments for Specified Use
CFDA number: 64.101
What it does: If the Veteran died on or after October 1, 2024, VA will provide a monetary allowance not to exceed $978, or that amount authorized under 38 U.S.C. 2303, whichever is greater, toward the plot or interment expense for certain Veterans not buried in a national cemetery with a non-service-connected death. Up to $978 as a burial allowance is payable toward the burial expense of certain Veterans. If death is the result of a service-connected disability, payments can be made to reimburse burial and funeral expenses not to exceed $2,000 or that amount authorized under 5 U.S.C. 8134(a), whichever is greater. In addition to the statutory burial allowance, the cost of transporting the Veterans' remains from place of death to site of burial is paid by VA if death occurs in a VA facility. The transportation benefit may also be paid when a Veteranâ€™s death occurs within a State on or after January 5, 2023, the place of burial is in any State, and at the time of death the Veteranâ€™s remains are unclaimed OR the Veteran was in receipt of disability compensation, military retired pay in lieu of disability compensation, or VA pension. When a Veteran is buried in a national or covered Veteransâ€™ cemetery, the cost to transport a Veteranâ€™s remains may be paid if death was due to service-connected disability, at the time of death the Veteran was in receipt of or was entitled to receive disability compensation but for the receipt of military retired pay or non-service-connected disability pension, or the Veteranâ€™s remains are unclaimed. The cost of transporting the remains from place of death for burial in a national cemetery or a covered Veteransâ€™ cemetery shall not exceed the cost of transportation to the national cemetery in which space is available nearest the Veteran's last place of residence. A headstone or marker may be authorized. If the Veteran died on or after October 1, 2021, the maximum headstone or marker allowance is $231. Also, an American flag to drape the casket of a Veteran may be provided.
Who benefits: The Veteranâ€™s surviving spouse, the survivor of a legal union between the deceased Veteran and the survivor, the Veteranâ€™s children, regardless of age, the Veteranâ€™s parents or surviving parent, or the executor or administrator of the estate of the deceased Veteran who paid the Veteranâ€™s burial expenses. If no one has been appointed as executor or administrator of the estate, then VA may pay someone acting in such a capacity for the estate. A funeral director may be eligible if the Veteranâ€™s remains are unclaimed.

Committed by fiscal year

* FY2026 is year-to-date — the fiscal year is still in progress, so its total is still filling in. The striped band and dashed line mark that provisional stretch.

Recipients

This program's money is paid out as non-itemized direct payments — USAspending records it under a single aggregate, so individual recipients aren't listed. The dollars and agencies above are complete; the recipient roster isn't part of the public record for programs like this.

How to read these numbers

Committed through this program: Money committed under this assistance listing (its CFDA program), counted in the year each action happened.
How it's paid: Most programs pay out one way — a grant, or a direct payment to individuals; the flow bar only appears when a program genuinely mixes types.
Some recipients aren't itemized: For entitlement programs like Social Security and Medicare, the government reports one aggregate instead of naming tens of millions of people, so the recipient roster isn't part of the public record.
Awards, counted once: An award count is the number of distinct awards with at least one action that year — each counted once, however many times it was amended.
The colored bars: Every bar on this page splits by how the money moves:
Direct payments

Source

USAspending.gov ↗

Burial Expenses Allowance for Veterans

$8.9 Billion committed in FY2018–FY2026

Agency: Veterans Benefits Administration, Veterans Affairs, Department of
Assistance: Direct Payments for Specified Use
CFDA number: 64.101
What it does: If the Veteran died on or after October 1, 2024, VA will provide a monetary allowance not to exceed $978, or that amount authorized under 38 U.S.C. 2303, whichever is greater, toward the plot or interment expense for certain Veterans not buried in a national cemetery with a non-service-connected death. Up to $978 as a burial allowance is payable toward the burial expense of certain Veterans. If death is the result of a service-connected disability, payments can be made to reimburse burial and funeral expenses not to exceed $2,000 or that amount authorized under 5 U.S.C. 8134(a), whichever is greater. In addition to the statutory burial allowance, the cost of transporting the Veterans' remains from place of death to site of burial is paid by VA if death occurs in a VA facility. The transportation benefit may also be paid when a Veteranâ€™s death occurs within a State on or after January 5, 2023, the place of burial is in any State, and at the time of death the Veteranâ€™s remains are unclaimed OR the Veteran was in receipt of disability compensation, military retired pay in lieu of disability compensation, or VA pension. When a Veteran is buried in a national or covered Veteransâ€™ cemetery, the cost to transport a Veteranâ€™s remains may be paid if death was due to service-connected disability, at the time of death the Veteran was in receipt of or was entitled to receive disability compensation but for the receipt of military retired pay or non-service-connected disability pension, or the Veteranâ€™s remains are unclaimed. The cost of transporting the remains from place of death for burial in a national cemetery or a covered Veteransâ€™ cemetery shall not exceed the cost of transportation to the national cemetery in which space is available nearest the Veteran's last place of residence. A headstone or marker may be authorized. If the Veteran died on or after October 1, 2021, the maximum headstone or marker allowance is $231. Also, an American flag to drape the casket of a Veteran may be provided.
Who benefits: The Veteranâ€™s surviving spouse, the survivor of a legal union between the deceased Veteran and the survivor, the Veteranâ€™s children, regardless of age, the Veteranâ€™s parents or surviving parent, or the executor or administrator of the estate of the deceased Veteran who paid the Veteranâ€™s burial expenses. If no one has been appointed as executor or administrator of the estate, then VA may pay someone acting in such a capacity for the estate. A funeral director may be eligible if the Veteranâ€™s remains are unclaimed.