How much bah do i need

What housing costs are used to set BAH rates? BAH rates are computed using current median market rents and average local expenditures on utilities electricity, water, sewer, and heating fuel in each local market area, and will fluctuate as those costs change.

How often do you collect housing data? The data is collected annually, in the spring and summer when housing markets are most active.

What types of residences do you include in your data collection? Does family size make a difference? Although BAH distinguishes between with-dependent and without-dependent, the with-dependent compensation is based on comparable civilians using average family size. In determining the income of comparable civilians do you consider military family income which includes the income of the working spouse if any? A military member should not be put into a situation in which a spouse is required to work, so in considering the military, the Regular Military Compensation RMC is used.

BAH is based on civilian standards, considering the housing choices made by civilians of comparable income. Gov't quarters are assigned based on grade and family size.

What are the civilian housing standards you use? These are income-based, minimum housing standards used to establish the link between housing cost and pay grade. Of course, members are not limited to the standard, and are free to choose where and how they will live.

Actual member choices, however, do not influence the rate calculation. Why do you base BAH on my duty location? Why not use my residence location? The policy decision to use duty location as a basis for BAH is based on the desire to compensate members for the typical housing cost near the member's duty location. Once the duty station is known, the BAH compensation is fixed, regardless of where the member lives. Were the member's residence location to be used as a basis for the allowance, there is the concern that this would cause a member to choose the residence location based on BAH.

In some cases, this may lead to a member choosing to live further from the duty station, simply to receive higher BAH. The Services decided to base the allowance on the duty location with the full knowledge that members would still be free to live where they choose, but that this decision would not affect the BAH amount.

If people choose to live further away to reduce their housing expense, does that lower BAH for everyone else? Why does someone living in another city get more BAH than I do, when it seems to me that housing is more expensive here?

Accurately determining if one location has more expensive rental markets than another is a scientific and statistical exercise. Sometimes, individuals rely on limited personal experience or newspaper and magazine articles to make that judgment. BAH is designed to address the cost of housing in each area.

CONUS COLA is based on grade and dependency status with or without , and specifically considers the availability of commissary, exchange, and hospital facilities, because a member without this infrastructure tends to have a higher cost of living. How do you geographically define a locality? For the purpose of defining the term, "locality," used as the basis for calculating local housing costs, the uniformed services have concurred in aggregating individual zip codes into groups called Military Housing Areas MHAs.

A MHA includes rental markets surrounding a duty station or a metropolitan area. The principal goal of defining an MHA around a duty station is that members ought to receive a BAH sufficient to permit the typical member to live a reasonable distance from his or her duty station. Of course, each member is free to choose a neighborhood that suits the individual's needs, e. Operationally, an MHA is defined as a collection of zip codes, and its boundaries generally follow county lines.

There are about geographic MHAs in the United States, named for the installation or the nearest city e. Who actually collects your data for you? Robert D. Niehaus, Inc. Established in , RDN is a professional economic and public policy consulting firm located in Santa Barbara, California. The firm specializes in applied analysis of military housing, water resources, environmental resources, industry economics, and community socioeconomic issues.

RDN possesses many years of experience with DoD military housing projects and housing market research. All inquiries should be directed, via your chain of command, to the Compensation Director of your Service. What method do you use to calculate BAH in places without directly-collected cost data? BAH is defined for every location in the United States, even though some locations may have no military population.

This is because BAH rates must be available should a member ever establish eligibility in that location. It is not cost effective to collect rental data for all such locations. Soldiers who will attend a military school or training course for a period not to exceed 12 months. Only Soldiers assigned in the United States may apply. Soldiers who are assigned to a unit that will deploy within 12 months of their arrival and will deploy with that unit.

Dependent education. A dependent who is enrolled in an academic program and want to complete the current school year or current semester. Submit a letter from the academic institution verifying enrollment and the anticipated end of the school year date. Spouse employment. A dependent Spouse who is gainfully employed and desires a delay to complete employment obligations.

Submit a letter or contract from the employer verifying employment for early termination. A dependent under a medical treatment program who require a short delay to complete medical treatment or to continue to care for an immediate Family member. Must be enrolled in the EFMP, if applicable. Advance travel of dependent. A dependent that travels ahead of the Soldier to the new duty station and establishes a residence with a lease or mortgage agreement.

RC Soldiers with dependents called to active duty. RC Soldiers with dependents ordered to active duty for days or less and desire to receive BAH based on the primary residence at the time the order was issued. RC Soldiers without dependents called to active duty. RC Soldiers without dependents ordered to active duty for days or less for an OCONUS assignment, government quarters are not available, and desire to receive an overseas housing allowance based on the permanent duty station.

How do Soldiers apply? Soldiers are required to submit the following documents for consideration:. Memorandum or DA Form signed by the Soldier and commander, if applicable, requesting consideration of a waiver. What if Soldiers have questions on the housing allowance waiver program? What will that do to your paycheck? Read more. The military retirement system is arguably the best one around, but proper planning is needed to ensure you can retire Disability compensation is paid to veterans disabled by an injury or illness that was incurred or aggravated during active Each year the BAH tables are released in mid-December.

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