Uniformed service members who are unable to reside in government quarters, such as married service members who cannot live in the barracks, receive a housing allowance called the basic allowance for housing (BAH). The Department of Defense determines the BAH using rental rates for civilian housing nearby to the service member's duty station. Dependency status and pay grade also affect the total BAH that eligible service members receive. Learning to figure your military housing allowance or BAH allows you to look for affordable housing before a transfer.
Instructions
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1
Open the Web browser of your choice.
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2
Navigate to the Department of Defense's BAH calculator.
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3
Select the year during which you want to figure the military housing allowance using the drop-down menu.
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Enter the ZIP code for your duty station, not the nearby community in which you intend to reside, in the "Duty Zip Code" field.
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5
Click on the drop down "Pay Grade" menu to select your pay grade for the time you want to calculate the BAH.
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6
Click "Calculate."
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7
Record the amount listed under your dependency status as your monthly military housing allowance.