--- title: "A guide to military Basic Allowance for Housing" description: "Basic allowance for housing -- commonly known as BAH -- is a tax-exempt addition to the service member’s paycheck." date: "2022-09-28" modified: "2023-09-25" authors: - name: "Bethaney Phillips" job_title: "Contributor, Veteran Spouse" link: "https://www.wearethemighty.com/authors/bethaneyphillips/" url: "https://www.wearethemighty.com/mighty-milspouse/the-basic-guide-to-bah-allowances/" categories: - "Family" - "Finance" - "Join the Military" - "Mighty MilSpouse" - "Military Life" - "Veterans" tags: - "Benefits" - "Join the Military" - "Milspouse" --- # A guide to military Basic Allowance for Housing ![guide to bah basic allowance for housing air force]() *(U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Janelle Patiño)* Basic allowance for housing—commonly known as BAH—is a tax-exempt addition to the service member’s paycheck. Available for active-duty soldiers of a certain rank or reservists and/or National Guardsmen while on a full-time assignment, these bi-weekly payments are meant to offset the cost of living. **Also Read: [Everything there is to know about military pay and veteran benefits for 2026]()** Monthly BAH payments are split in half and sent out equally with the service member’s bi-weekly paychecks. The amount a service member receives is based on rank and location, as well as their dependent status. Often, lower-ranking service members do not receive BAH unless they are married, as they would otherwise be housed in barracks. Higher ranking service members may receive a lesser amount if they are unmarried and without children. ![military Basic Allowance for Housing]() *(Department of Defense)* Geographical areas that are more expensive receive more in BAH, and service members moving overseas can also receive Overseas Housing Allowance or OHA. In addition, for more expensive regions, service members could receive [cost of living adjustments](), or COLA. These funds are to help offset high prices of everyday items, like groceries, supplies and more. ### How much is your BAH? To determine how much you’ll receive in BAH, the DOD offers a calculator. Input your rank and zip code to determine how much you’ll receive per month. The numbers are adjusting annually, accounting for any increases (or decreases) in average rent and real estate prices. Average utility fees are also built into the overall BAH total. To check out your current BAH, or to look at allowances for a new area, head to this [chart](). ### How to budget rent When living on post, when available, many service members will have their BAH withheld. Instead, the fees go directly to the housing management company. There are some options where housing choices take “full BAH” or all of your monthly housing funds, or a lesser amount. Usually, the latter is reserved for housing options that are smaller or dated. When living off post, it’s a good idea to calculate rent and average utility bills. In order to avoid coming out of pocket for additional bills, you should ensure these totals fall at or your total monthly BAH allotment. ### Supplemental increases to account for the housing market ![Basic Allowance for Housing blueprints]() *(Department of Defense)* [Check this list]() to see if you’re stationed in an area eligible for BAH increases. The DoD further clarified that soldiers can receive access to additional BAH funds by filing with their S1 office; the increases are planned to kick in within a few weeks of filing. New BAH rates are released for the start of the calendar year. Stay tuned for updates on new rates released by the DoD. ## Author Bethaney Phillips has contributed to We Are the Mighty and MilSpouseFest since 2015, covering history and military family topics. She also served as the Interim Content and Digital Manager at MilSpouseFest in 2021. Now a veteran spouse, she spent six years in an active duty family and served as an SFRG leader. With a bachelor’s degree in English and Creative Writing, she has more than 15 years of experience in digital and print writing, focusing on researched pieces and human interest stories. She is also a regular contributor to Business Insider, covering family and parenting topics. Her work has been included on Business Insider, Yahoo, Military.com, and Manhattan Magazine. While continuing to freelance, she works as the founding editor of the Clay County Regional, a print and digital newspaper delivered to more than 5,500 recipients. She also serves as the Digital Director/News Director for Taylor Communications out of north-central Kansas. Bethaney spends her free time chasing her two elementary-aged boys, raising chickens, and reading fiction. ### Author social links [Twitter]() [WWW]()