BASIC ALLOWANCE FOR HOUSING
2023 "BAH Calculator" shows your housing allowance based on your duty location, rank and family status.
Choose your rank and enter zip code to know your housing allowance.
"House for all" is the guiding force behind the "Basic Allowance for Housing" paid to US military personnel by their employer. The allowance is provided to compensate for the off base housing cost of an employee who has not been allotted a government quarter. The rate of allowance payable depends on the employee's pay grade/hierarchy, prevailing rentals at the place of posting and status of his dependents.
This rate is different for different housing areas within the US. It is arrived at annually on the basis of survey conducted for prevailing rental prices of military appropriate homes in respective housing areas. For the current calendar year beginning January 2017, this rate has been increased by an average 2.4% converting to an approximate increase of $41 per month. The allowance is tax exempt and is higher in case an employee has dependents. It is a cash payment not necessarily to be spent on housing alone.