Basic Allowance for Housing

United States military entitlement
Basic allowance for housing (BAH) is a United States military entitlement given to many military members. It was previously called Basic allowance for quarters (BAQ) and is administered by the Defense Travel Management Office (DTMO).

Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) is calculated based on several factors, primarily the location of the military member's duty station, their pay grade, and whether they have dependents. BAH rates are determined annually by the Department of Defense and are intended to cover a portion of the housing costs for military personnel. The rates can vary significantly from one location to another, reflecting the cost of living in that area. If the military member has dependents, they typically receive a higher BAH rate to account for their larger housing needs. BAH is not taxable as income.

Robert D. Niehaus, Inc. (RDN), a private firm based in California is contracted to provide the data used to calculate BAH allowances.

Every location in the U. S. has a BAH, including those without a significant military population. Non military areas are combined with similar priced rental markets based on U. S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD)'s Fair Market Rent (FMR) data, and then use same RDN BAH source data available for similar areas. These comparably priced groups are called "County Cost Groups" (CCGs). There are 39 CCGs in the U. S, consisting of half of all counties (about 1,500) containing less than two percent of the uniformed services' population eligible to receive BAH.

BAH changes every year, based on data gather during the Summer / Spring active rental seasons. Generally BAH changes 2–5% annually and 5–10% in "hot" markets.

Overseas Housing Allowance, or OHA, may be given instead of BAH when a member is stationed outside the United States. BAH and OHA are similar, but have some significant differences. In OHA, each country, and each region in a country have a cap on a per month basis as to what the military will pay for housing. OHA is the exact amount of monthly rent in the local currency (so the exchange rate is taken into consideration each month as the member is paid in US dollars) up to the cap. OHA may also be paid in certain circumstances if the dependents are living overseas, for example if a member is deployed, and the dependents stay in a country outside of the US. Frequently a "utility allowance" also accompanies OHA. This is usually a flat rate given to the member to cover the cost of utilities, regardless of the actual amount.

Basic Housing Allowance (BAH) – The housing subsidy paid to military members. Military Housing Areas (MHAs) – Zip codes combine to make rental markets surrounding a duty area of metropolitan region. There are 350 MHAs in the U. S. named for installation of nearest city. Military Housing Offices (MHOs) – Local base department involved in BAH. County Cost Groups (CCGs) – Comparably priced U. S. rental markets. There are 39 in the U. S.