Well, that was easy — you found a sweet house with a pool and view near your new installation, even before the ink dried on your orders. There must be a catch, right?
Don't start planning your housewarming party just yet. You need to find out your actual military housing allowance for your new area — a precise dollar amount, not a ballpark figure — so you can make a smart housing choice. After all, you're going to want a little extra cash on hand for little things like electricity and groceries.
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Allowances aren't just for kids — in the military, housing allowances help you cover the cost of housing off the installation. Military housing allowances:
- Vary by duty station
- Change annually
- Can be a flat rate or vary by rank and dependents (and depending on the type of allowance)
- Can be a single or recurring payment (again, depending on the type of allowance)
Fair enough, but you want to make sense of those dollars and figure out exactly how much will be dropping into your bank account. For help refreshing your budget to reflect your new housing allowance, make a trip to your Military and Family Support Center for a Personal Financial Management session.
Basic allowance for housing, or BAH:
- Is available to service members stationed in the U.S. who don't live in government-owned housing (not all installation housing is government owned. Some is privatized, so you'll still earn BAH and pay some or all of it to the housing community.)
- Is intended to cover the cost of housing
- Is based on average housing costs, your rank, and whether or not you have dependents
- Varies by area
Overseas housing allowance, or OHA:
- Offsets the cost of off-base housing outside the continental United States
- Is based on rank and dependents
- Is available to unaccompanied service members only if government housing is unavailable
- Covers move-in costs, utilities and maintenance
Connect with your overseas duty station for the housing details in your new area and to get help applying for OHA.
Family separation allowance, or FSA:
- Is paid when your family members can't live with you at your permanent duty station — most commonly when transportation isn't authorized, housing is unavailable, you're aboard a ship, or your family can't move because of a medical condition
- Is paid as a flat, monthly rate
Check with your installation housing office, the Relocation Assistance Program office or the Defense Finance and Accounting Service for more FSA details.
Dislocation allowance:
- Helps with miscellaneous moving costs
- Is paid generally once per permanent change of station, or PCS move
- Doesn't usually pay for local moves
- Isn't paid if you're reassigned to government quarters or are unaccompanied
Move-in housing allowance:
- Is available only outside the continental United States
- Helps cover the cost of miscellaneous expenses, like appliances, lease taxes, one-time rent-related expenses or security expenses
- Varies by currency rate and location
To pin down the exact dollar amounts you're working with for each allowance, contact your housing office, Relocation Assistance Program office or visit the Defense Travel Management Office for current allowance tables, per diem rates and planning tools.
Getting there and funding the trip
Now that you know how much house you can afford, you can turn your attention to funding your trip. Just like that safety-net birthday check from grandma, the Department of Defense has travel and relocation allowances to help you out.
Per diem:
- Reimburses you for meals and lodging while en route to your new duty station
- Is based on a 350-mile per day travel distance
Monetary allowance in lieu of transportation, or mileage:
- Is paid when you or your family drive to your new duty station
Temporary lodging allowance, or TLA:
- Is meant to partially offset the costs of temporary lodging and meals while you wait for housing outside the continental U.S.
- Is offered for a maximum of 60 days upon arrival and 10 days when leaving
Temporary lodging expense, or TLE:
- Is meant to partially offset the costs of temporary lodging and meals during moves
- Is available for moves within the continental U.S. or for the U.S. portion of a move outside the continental U.S.
- Is payable for up to five days
Advances
If your finances get stretched to the max, you can apply for an advance of basic pay to help cover your basic allowance for housing, overseas housing allowance or moving-related expenses. Your service branch might also advance some travel allowances.
Remember that repaying an advance can make a tight budget even tighter, so do your research and contact the experts at your Personal Financial Management Program office to help with budget planning.