Do Married Military to Civ living on base get BAH and at what rate?

SSgt Paul Esquibel — Mon, 25 Mar 2024 19:08:06 -0400

Been out for 8 year and was never married to a civilian so unsure how this works. My daughter got out in Dec her husband is still in, they live on base at Seamore Johnson, I some bases changed where you pay rent/utilities vs it being all free. He's an E4 with more than 4 years with a line for Staff, does he still get BAS and since there are 2 of them and she's not working? Are their other program he would qualify for due to a single income?

Response by COL Randall C. made Mar 25 at 2024 7:22 PM

COL Randall C. — Mon, 25 Mar 2024 19:22:25 -0400

Eligibility for BAH is primarily determined if housing is provided to the servicemember by the government and possibly certain situations of the have dependents that don't live with them (even if housing is provided).

The rate is determined by the location (zip code) and if the service member has dependents*.

There are different rules that are used to determine who gets certain BAH rates if there are two military members are married to each other, but the eligibility criteria remains.

The employment status of the spouse has no effect on BAH but if he meets the eligibility, then he could qualify for Basic Needs Allowance*.
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* DoD 7000.14-R (Financial Management Regulation), Volume 7A, Chapter 26 (Housing Allowances) - https://comptroller.defense.gov/Portals/45/documents/fmr/current/07a/07a_26.pdf
* BAH lookup - https://www.travel.dod.mil/Allowances/Basic-Allowance-for-Housing/BAH-Rate-Lookup/
* https://www.militarytimes.com/news/your-military/2022/12/30/new-in-2023-allowance-will-help-low-income-military-families/

07a_26.pdf

Response by SSgt Paul Esquibel made Mar 25 at 2024 7:59 PM

SSgt Paul Esquibel — Mon, 25 Mar 2024 19:59:08 -0400

Sorry I meant BAS, does he still get BAS?

Response by SFC Kelly Fuerhoff made Mar 26 at 2024 4:36 PM

SFC Kelly Fuerhoff — Tue, 26 Mar 2024 16:36:57 -0400

The active duty servicemember is who gets BAH/BAS and they would get it with dependent rate based on where the SM is stationed. It doesn't matter how many dependents, it's one rate.

Her spouse should get BAH based on E4 pay grade at the with dependent rate for that base which is $1365.00 https://www.seymourjohnsonhousing.com/bah-rates.

If they live in on base housing, then whoever runs housing for that base will take the SM's BAH. An allottment is set up and he will never see his BAH. For utilities here: GAS AND ELECTRIC UTILITIES
At this location, homes in the base housing community are individually metered and customers are billed directly for electric and gas consumption. ConService manages and collects the utility usage and calculates the average consumption of occupied “like homes” on the installation and provides direct billing to the customers. The monthly average baseline is covered by the utility component of the BAH. For additional information about utilities, contact the Property Management Office at [login to see] or [login to see]
https://www.housing.af.mil/Home/Installations/Seymour-Johnson-AFB/#:~:text=Gas%20and%20Electric%20Utilities&text=The%20monthly%20average%20baseline%20is,or%20919%2D988%2D6920.

If they live off base and BAH doesn't cover all of the rent/utilities they have to come up with the rest.

He should get BAS being on BAH. But BAS is for the SM, not the family. From DFAS: "BAS is meant to offset costs for a member's meals. This allowance is based in the historic origins of the military in which the military provided room and board (or rations) as part of a member's pay. This allowance is not intended to offset the costs of meals for family members."

If they can't make it on his income alone she would need to get a job then. If they need income assistance there is this: https://www.myairforcebenefits.us.af.mil/Benefit-Library/Federal-Benefits/Air-Force-Aid-Society-(AFAS)?serv=26#:~:text=Standard%20Assistance%20is%20available%20to,Travel%20Emergencies

I'm sure there are local resources in the area they live in. Ultimately he should go to his leadership immediately if he's having financial issues to remedy them because if it gets out of hand and he gets into any debt or your daughter, it will negatively impact his career.

bah-rates.

Response by SSgt Christophe Murphy made Mar 27 at 2024 10:52 AM

SSgt Christophe Murphy — Wed, 27 Mar 2024 10:52:18 -0400

Hey Paul, BAH w dependents is the same rate for the location regardless if the spouse is in or out of uniform. But BAH is taken by the housing folks for on base housing. But BAS should still be in effect.