There are several types of BAH to satisfy various housing situations that occuramong military members. In general, the amount of BAH you receive depends on yourlocation, pay grade, and whether you have dependents. Under most circ*mstances,you receive BAH for the location where you are assigned, not where you live. Additionally,you may be entitled to some BAH amounts if you are residing separately from yourdependents. This occurs in situations involving unaccompanied overseas tours orhaving a dependent child that resides with a former spouse. The rules regardingthese situations can become quite complex. Consult your Finance Office if you arein one of these situations. Each type of BAH is described below.
BAH With Dependents and BAH Without Dependents
A member with permanent duty within the 50 United States, who is not furnished governmenthousing, is eligible for Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH), based on the member'sdependency status at the permanent duty ZIP Code. A member stationed overseas, includingU.S. protectorates, who is not furnished government housing, is eligible for OverseasHousing Allowance (OHA) based on the member's dependency status. If a member isserving an UNACCOMPANIED overseas tour, the member is eligible for BAH at the "withdependents" rate, based on the dependent's US residence ZIP Code, plus OHA at the"without dependents" rate, if the member is not furnished government housing overseas.
Partial BAH
A member without dependents who is living in government quarters is entitled toa Partial BAH.
BAH Reserve Component/Transit (BAH RC/T)
BAH RC/T is a non-locality housing allowance for members inparticular circ*mstances, for example, reservists on active duty for 30or fewer days. It also applies when a member is in transit from selectedareas where no prior BAH rate exists (such as overseas). It does notvary by geographic location. BAH RC/T was set based on the old BasicAllowance for Quarters (BAQ), which was based on the national averagefor housing. BAH RC/T is published annually and is determined byincreasing the previous year's rates by the national average percentagegrowth of housing costs.
BAH-Differential (BAH-Diff)
BAH-Diff is the housing allowance amount for a member who isassigned to single-type quarters and who is authorized a basic allowancefor housing solely by reason of the member's payment of child support. Amember is not entitled to BAH-Diff if the monthly rate of that childsupport is less than the BAH-Diff. BAH-Diff is determined by the SECDEFand was equal to the difference between BAQ with dependents and BAQwithout dependents in 1997 for the member's grade. BAH-Diff is publishedannually and is determined by increasing the previous year's rates bythe percentage growth of military basic pay. For more informationcontact your finance office.
