ARNOLD AIR FORCE BASE, Tenn. -- In a memo on the subject “Taking Care of Our Service Members and Families,” Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III directed that basic allowance for housing be increased for active-duty service members assigned in the 28 military housing areas where the average rental housing costs have increased more than 20% over the current BAH rates.
This is an automatic increase for the approximately 114,200 service members affected, requiring no action on their part. The action increases the BAH for those service members from Oct. 1 through Dec. 31, with the first payment in their October mid-month paycheck.
The 28 military housing areas are: Vandenberg Air Force Base, California; Twentynine Palms Marine Corps Base, California; San Diego, California; Dover Air Force Base/Rehoboth, Delaware; Patrick Air Force Base, Florida; Miami/Fort Lauderdale, Florida; Orlando, Florida; West Palm Beach, Florida; Volusia County, Florida; Fort Myers Beach, Florida; Kings Bay/Brunswick, Georgia; Maui County, Hawaii; Chicago, Illinois; Boston, Massachusetts; Cape Cod – Plymouth, Massachusetts; Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts; Brunswick, Maine; Coastal Maine, Maine; Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri; Helena, Montana; Wilmington, North Carolina; Northern New Jersey, New Jersey; Newport, Rhode Island; Providence, Rhode Island; Beaufort/Parris Island, South Carolina; Knoxville, Tennessee; Houston, Texas; Quantico/ Woodbridge, Virginia.
The increase to an eligible service member’s BAH varies by military housing area, pay grade and if he or she has dependents. The new rates can be seen by using the BAH calculator at https://www.travel.dod.mil/Allowances/Basic-Allowance-for-Housing/BAH-Rate-Lookup/.
The increase is limited by law to areas where the average rental housing costs exceed current BAH rates by more than 20%. Members not eligible to receive the increase for the remainder of 2022 may receive an increase in their BAH when the new rates for 2023 go into effect on Jan. 1, 2023. In the memo, Lloyd directed the prospective 2023 BAH rate tables be reviewed “to ensure that calculations reflect the unusually dynamic fluctuations in the housing market.”
Service members with issues regarding their BAH should contact their Service Compensation representation through their change of command, according to the BAH Primer on the Defense Travel Management Office website.