2016 Basic Allowance for Housing Rates

Click a state to see complete Housing Allowance info

Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) is a reimbursement paid to active military personnel living with the U.S. but not living in government furnished housing such as barracks.

Your monthly BAH pay is based on your location, rank and dependency status. The country is divided into 381 Military Housing Areas (MHAs). MHAs are named after the closest military base or major city. These differing locality rates allow for granular calculation of average cost of renting in your area.

BAH rates are set by the Department of Defense. Rates are designed to cover the median cost of rental housing in the area surrounding your duty station.

The allowance is designed to cover the cost of rent, utilities, and renter's insurance. Because BAH is considered a reimbursement, rather than payment, your housing allowance is tax-free.

Military personnel with dependents are paid a slightly higher allowance than those without dependents. Allowance rates are based on the Military Housing Area where your duty station is, not where you live. If you choose to live farther away from your duty station and commute your housing allowance may not equal your expenses exactly. If you spend more on housing than your allowance you would have to pay the remainder out-of-pocket. If you spend less than your allowance on housing you can keep the extra.

Dual Allowance occurs when a uniformed memeber is married to a uniformed member. Dual military couples without dependents will each receive their regular BAH. For military couples with dependents the higher ranking member will receive their with-dependents rate while the lower ranking service member will receive their without-dependents allowance.

Use our Basic Housing Allowance (BAH) Calculator to calculate your housing allowance or click on a state below to browse BAH rates.

  1. Alabama BAH rates
  2. Alaska BAH rates
  3. Arizona BAH rates
  4. Arkansas BAH rates
  5. California BAH rates
  6. Colorado BAH rates
  7. Connecticut BAH rates
  8. Delaware BAH rates
  9. DC BAH rates
  10. Florida BAH rates
  11. Georgia BAH rates
  12. Hawaii BAH rates
  13. Idaho BAH rates
  14. Illinois BAH rates
  15. Indiana BAH rates
  16. Iowa BAH rates
  17. Kansas BAH rates
  1. Kentucky BAH rates
  2. Louisiana BAH rates
  3. Maine BAH rates
  4. Maryland BAH rates
  5. Massachusetts BAH rates
  6. Michigan BAH rates
  7. Minnesota BAH rates
  8. Mississippi BAH rates
  9. Missouri BAH rates
  10. Montana BAH rates
  11. Nebraska BAH rates
  12. Nevada BAH rates
  13. New Hampshire BAH rates
  14. New Jersey BAH rates
  15. New Mexico BAH rates
  16. New York BAH rates
  17. North Carolina BAH rates
  1. North Dakota BAH rates
  2. Ohio BAH rates
  3. Oklahoma BAH rates
  4. Oregon BAH rates
  5. Pennsylvania BAH rates
  6. Rhode Island BAH rates
  7. South Carolina BAH rates
  8. South Dakota BAH rates
  9. Tennessee BAH rates
  10. Texas BAH rates
  11. Utah BAH rates
  12. Vermont BAH rates
  13. Virginia BAH rates
  14. Washington BAH rates
  15. West Virginia BAH rates
  16. Wisconsin BAH rates
  17. Wyoming BAH rates

We also have historic BAH rates available here:

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