Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH)
Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) is provided to soldiers residing in civilian quarters. Entry-level enlisted personnel (paygrades E-1 to E-4) are likely to be assigned government housing. For single soldiers, this means living in the barracks on post. For military families, government housing is usually provided on the installation or nearby military housing communities. Due to the lack of available government housing on many installations however, many single E-5s and above are able to live off-post in civilian quarters drawing BAH pay. Some installations and special duty assignments have no government housing which allows even entry-level soldiers to live off-post and receive Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH).
BAH rates 2013
The BAH rate received depends on your pay-grade, location of duty assignment, and if you have dependents. Location is very important as each geographical area is surveyed to determine the cost of rental housing in the area. To find the BAH rate for 2013, get the zip code of your duty station handy (should be on your orders) and visit the DOD Defense Travel System's BAH Calculator to find the current BAH rates.
Article Last Modified: December 27, 2012
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