The Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) provides uniformed service members with equitable housing compensation based on local costs and markets in the United States.
Determine your BAH rate with the Basic Allowance for Housing calculator. Plus, find the BAH tables, non-locality rates and Overseas Housing Allowance (OHA) calculator.
Find the BAH rate increase for 2021 or see the 2021 rates by state and Military Housing Area (MHA).
Note: On Sept. 24, the Department of Defense authorized a temporary increase to Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) stipends in 56 military housing areas through December 2021. Check the list here to see if you’re eligible to apply for the BAH increase.
The uniformed services include the Air Force, Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, Space Force, Public Health Service Commissioned Corps and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Officer Corps.
2021 BAH Calculator
* BAH rates are based on duty location ZIP codes, and not residence ZIP Code. ZIP codes are determined by the U.S. Postal Service.
** Click here for the OHA Calculator
Veterans, dependents and National Guard and Reserves members can use the Monthly Housing Allowance (MHA) Calculator to see estimated monthly housing payments for the GI Bill, which can differ from BAH.
Veterans Can Buy a Home with $0 Down
{Sponsored} The VA Home Loan offers $0 Down with no PMI. Find out if you’re eligible for this powerful home buying benefit. Prequalify today!
Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH)
The BAH program offsets the cost of housing when you do not receive government-provided housing.
A service member assigned to permanent duty in the United States — including Alaska, Hawaii and the District of Columbia —, not furnished with government housing, is eligible for BAH. The rate is based on the service member’s paygrade, dependency status and permanent duty station ZIP code.
How to Calculate BAH
The BAH allowance is based on geographic duty location, pay grade and dependent status. The process for using the BAH Calculator:
- Enter the Duty Station ZIP code.
- Enter the service member’s paygrade.
- Enter the year because, by default, the calculator is set to the previous year; however, previous years are available to see previous rates or look up the current MHA rate for an enlisted member (E-5) with dependents
Duty Station: The location where a service member is assigned for regular duty; also, the place where the member performs an assigned duty.
Pay Grade: Pay grade is an administrative classification determining certain rates of pay, such as E-2, W-3 and O-4. Pay grade and rank are not the same. Rank refers to the order of precedence among those in different grades and within the same grade. The three main categories of rank and pay grade are enlisted personnel, warrant officers and commissioned officers.
Service Years: Reflects all service credited toward longevity, including active or inactive service in any of the following components: active duty in the U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, U.S. Air Force, U.S. Marines Corps, U.S. Space Force and U.S. Coast Guard; and National Guard, Reserves, Nurse Corps, U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Officer Corps. Also reflects any service creditable under any federal statute.
GI Bill BAH aka Monthly Housing Allowance (MHA)
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs officially calls the GI Bill BAH the Monthly Housing Allowance (MHA). Veterans, National Guard and Reserve members, military spouses and children who are also GI Bill students are eligible for funds to help offset rental housing costs. Active duty military and their spouses and children who use GI Bill benefits are not eligible for MHA because they instead are eligible for BAH.
While MHA uses the same BAH rates, the calculations using the data differ.
The MHA rate is set at the E-5 rank for enlisted service members with dependents in the location where the majority of classes are taken, regardless of the number of dependents or rank. Students who are less than full-time students (there is no MHA for less than 50.1% attendance) and with less than 36 months of active duty service receive a prorated monthly amount.
A student with a Rate of Pursuit (RoP) greater than 50% can qualify for MHA. The RoP is a calculation used by VA to determine if a student is enrolled in more than 50% of classes as compared to a full-time student.
Students who only take online classes or attend a foreign school have separate rates.
New BAH rates are effective annually on Jan. 1 of each year, but MHA rates are effective Aug. 1 of each year. So, when looking up E-5 with dependent MHA rates, the previous year’s BAH rate table is used to determine MHA for the first seven months of the year.
The BAH’s rate increases affect all branches of the military where applicable.
The BAH rate increases are effective for all branches of the military; Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, Marines, Navy, Space Force and Reserve forces where applicable.
