Pay: Basic Allowance For Housing - Marine Corps Pay & Allowances | pay raises, pay allowances, pay charts - Marine Corps Times

Pay: Basic Allowance For Housing

Basic Allowance for Housing is the modern version of a military program dating from 1878 under which service members are provided government quarters or a cash substitute when quarters are unavailable. As with most other forms of military pay, BAH, which is not taxable, increases with rank and varies according to location and whether a person has dependents.

On Jan. 1, 2010, BAH rates rose an average of 2.5 percent, although rate changes can increase or decrease by specific paygrade and location, depending on local rental costs.

However, under a policy called “individual rate protection,” service members who arrive at a duty station and begin receiving BAH at the current rate will continue to get at least that much for as long as they remain at that location, even if rental housing costs — and BAH rates — decline in subsequent years of their tours. Only service members arriving in that location after the Jan. 1 rate adjustment would get the lower BAH rates, on the assumption that they could find suitable housing at less cost.

On the other hand, if BAH rates rise in a given location from one year to the next, everyone at that location gets the higher rates. In other words, once a member arrives at a particular location and begins receiving BAH, his allowance rate can never go down — it can only go up, as long as he remains assigned to that location.

BAH rates theoretically cover 100 percent of average rental costs in every location. The operative word is average. Service members still may pay some costs out of pocket if they want more housing than the Defense Department deems adequate for someone of their rank and family status.

Under these standards, BAH rates for most enlisted personnel are based on surveys of rental costs for various configurations of apartments, duplexes and townhouses. Only E-9s, the highest enlisted paygrade, receive BAH based on the cost of renting detached single-family houses.

Junior officers also are assumed to be living in townhouses or apartments, and their BAH rates are set accordingly.

This means that junior officers or enlisted members in grades E-8 and below who want a single-family house likely will have to pay part of the costs out of pocket.

The housing standards that the Defense Department assigns to each paygrade as the basis for calculating BAH rates have come under criticism in recent years for being out of step with the expectations of today’s force. In response, Congress has ordered defense officials to submit a report that assesses whether the current standards “are suitable in terms of recognizing the societal needs and expectations of families; providing for an appropriate quality of life for members of the Armed Forces in all grades; recognizing the appropriate rewards and prestige associated with promotion to higher military grades throughout the rank structure; and reflecting the most current housing cost data available.” The report is due by July 1, 2010.

BAH rates are set for more than 370 locations, based on surveys of rental costs conducted by Runzheimer International under a Defense Department contract.

Two BAH rates are set for each location:

With-dependents rate

This is paid to personnel with at least one family member who meets the official definition of a dependent. The allowance does not increase for additional family members.

Without-dependents rate

This rate is for single people who have no family members living with them.

If a husband and wife are both on active duty and have a child, the higher-ranking spouse gets BAH at the “with-dependents” rate and the other gets the “without-dependents” rate. In dual-military couples without children, the husband and wife both get the without-dependents rate.

BAH Reserve Component/Transient

BAH RC/T is a new name for the former BAH Type II. It is essentially what used to be the Basic Allowance for Quarters, the forerunner of BAH.

BAH RC/T does not vary by location like regular BAH, but it does vary by paygrade and family status. It is paid to members in particular circumstances, such as troops in transit from overseas locations and reservists on active duty for less than 30 days — for their annual two-week training stint, for example.

Reservists qualify for full BAH when they are mobilized for more than 30 days.

Reservists mobilized for no more than 30 days in support of a specific contingency operation also get full BAH. They receive 1/30th of their normal full BAH rate for each day on active duty.

BAH differential

Some single personnel living on base may qualify for this allowance, which varies by paygrade and goes to those who pay child support. The monthly range is $104.70 to $315.30. To qualify for this payment, the amount of child support paid must be equal to or greater than the BAH differential rate for a member’s paygrade.

Partial BAH

This is paid to personnel who live in barracks or bachelor quarters. Rates are based on rank and range from $6.90 a month for an E-1 to $50.70 for flag officers.

For current BAH rates, visit www.militarytimes.com/money and click on “Pay Charts.”