Info on BAH (Basic Allowance for Housing)

[Guest kirkhac]

I will be heading off to UPT in a few months but my wife will not join me until January. I have heard that I can live in the dorms and she will get BAH. Is there any truth to that rumor? Is that usually what guys do that go through UPT without their wives? Do I have any other options? Thanks.

[HerkDerka]

UPT is a PCS. So if you stay in the Q, you lose your BAH.

PD

[Riddller]

Uh, the only way to lose your BAH if you're married, is to stay in on-base married-housing. If you you're on base without your wife, you're what they call a "geo-bachelor". You still get BAH (I've heard some people get it for where their wife is, some where the service member is) but if you want to live in the Q, then it's on a space-A basis, since you're a geo-bachelor. What this means is, that if they have space for you, you can live there, but if not, you can't. Also, if you're living there and they suddenly need more space for "real" bachelors, they can boot you out. Hope this helps!

[Guest pcampbell]

I'll second Riddler's statement. I was initially assigned to do casual at Sheppard. My wife still had a semester of school left in Ark. I got permission to live in the dorms at Sheppard, and still get BAH for my wife in Ark. All you need is CC approval.

[ripster]

So lets go out on a limb and say I get to fly for a guard unit. Do I get BAH? Can I get it while I am in the "active" two years after training to get mission ready with the unit? Just curious to see if that benefit is carried to guard dudes.

[Guest Cannetny]

Well......there is always a "but". I am in the guard and have been screwed out of more money that you would believe. There are rules for BAH

1. Must be active orders. Could be anything from a UTA weekend to a deployment for 3 months. And yes school time counts.

2. Must be longer than 139 days in order to recieve type 1. Type two otherwise.

3. Even if you end up on orders for 140 days or longer, if the original order was less than that and lets say they were ammended to 140, well you lose...Type 2 for you.

4. Rule number 3 has been contested many times at my unit and we always lose.

5. Lets say you are on orders for 180 days, you end up at 2 or 3 schools during that period (not the same location the whole time) well....BAH type 2 for you!!

6. Rule 5 has been kicked around a few times as well, we always lose that battle too.

7. Any TDY for longer than 179 days will be treated as a PCS. You might not be considered in PCS status .....but, finance will pay you the BAH rate for the location of the TDY. (really sucks when you own a house in a very high BAH zone and go TDY to some hole that gets nothing for BAH.

8. Rule 8 sucks bad

Point here is not to sound bitter but just get educated from YOUR finance office. each unit seems to work differently, mine sucks maybe yours doesn't. Just ask all the questions. This topic is #1 at my unit as we all get screwed all the time.

[Guest flyboyav8or]

Does anyone know if I will recieve dependant or single BAH if I have children from a previous marriage that WILL NOT be coming with me to training or to my duty station?

[ClearedHot]

I believe you will get dependant rate BAH but single rate Disslocation Allowance. I went to ACSC without my wife and continued to get the dependant rate BAH, but they dropped my disslocation allowance to single rate.

[Guest ce2be]

Here is the pay reg...

http://www.dod.mil/comptroller/fmr/07a/index.html

[Stiffler]

I just got to my unit on seasoning days, orders just extended from UPT (i.e. not new orders) and i am receiving TYPE II Bah now. Any one else have this problem?

I hate that!

[Guest Guppyguy]

Yeah, when they amend the orders it resets your clock. You only get type I if the amended orders are over 120 days.

Its a crock along with half the other entitlements guard/reserves don't get that AD does. I've been compensated thousands of dollars less than my AD counterparts since this adventure began, but hey, it's a flying job and I never expected to get rich doing it:)

Guppyguy

[Guest borcherk]

Guppyguy,

Sounds like you know about this BAH II. I have a lapse between Corpus and Little Rock so I'm on BAH II now. Do you know if I will be eligible for type I, at my home of record, when I get my TDY orders. They will be for over 120 day. I've searched the regs for this one with no luck.

Thanks

[Guest Rainman A-10]

I don't think your clock should be reset if your orders are amended. It will be reset if you get a new set of orders...critical difference. I think the magic number is closer to 135 days continuous. Your MPF should be able to help you with this.

Bring it up to your unit leadership. I have had to step in and fix this for new guys more than once. I took a trip to JP-1 to sort it out and get smart on exactly how to make this work. It can be done but you may meet some resistance.

This is an entitlement, which means you are entitled to BAH I. You are not stealing anything from the govt here.

Good Luck.

[Guest JArcher00]

I was recieving regular Type I while on seasoning. As, long as your orders did not have a break in them you should still be on Type I. I had Type I the entire time until I ask them to end my seasoning orders. If you did not have a break, even 1 day, you should continue with Type I. Has nothing to do with the amount of days the extension was for. Your seasoning is still considered as part of your training order. Good luck

[Guest dcamp]

Again Rainman hits the nail on the head.

As a previous AGR type, I had been on some sort of orders for three plus years, but when I showed back to my unit and tried to get BAH started again (w/ only a month to go on my orders) they blindly entered in as if I was only on active duty for a month...not long enough to have Type I. It did not help that my first set was ending 30 Sep.

Guard dude, probably an oversight on their part. Take them your orders and show them that you have been on active duty for a long time, and they entered in the BAH incorrectly. They can quickly fix it, and back pay what's owed.

Remember speak slow, and don't activate their God comlex. All of this speaks to one of the major difficulties in the ANG. Whereas active duty is used to guiding young pups along the way, the guard guys get used to having crusty dudes who already know how to work the system. The ANG finance people are also not as used to doing PCS, DITY, etc, stuff, so do your homework.

[Guest sulaco]

*** National Defense Authorization Act of 2006 (H-Report 109-360) ***

Basic Allowance for Housing

Guard and Reserve members mobilized for more than 30 days will now be eligible for full locality-based housing allowance (regular BAH). This is a change from the current law which required BAH II for mobilizations of less than 139 days.

[Guest thebronze]

This is what I found on-line:

"Housing Allowance for Reservists. Section 606 would allow all reservists on active duty for over 30 days to receive the same basic allowance for housing as regular active-duty personnel. Currently, reservists called to active duty for over 140 days or those who are called to active duty in response to a contingency operation are allowed to receive a housing allowance equal to the full active-duty rate. Reservists called to active duty on orders lasting less than 140 days that are not associated with a contingency operation receive a lower housing allowance, which does not include locality adjustments. This section would allow all reservists on active duty for over 30 days to receive the full rate. Based on data from DoD, CBO estimates about 30,000 reservists a year are in an active-duty status between 30 and 140 days (not including those members associated with a contingency operation), and that their active-duty call-up lasts about two months, on average. The difference between the full active-duty housing allowance and the reduced housing allowance varies depending on rank, location, and whether the member has dependents or not. Based on an analysis of DoD's housing allowance tables and the number of reservists with dependents, CBO estimates this difference to be about $425 per month on average in 2005. (Housing allowances are adjusted each year for inflation in housing costs.) After accounting for such adjustments, CBO estimates implementing this section would cost $26 million in 2006 and $135 million over the 2006-2010 period."

Sweet!!!!!

:D

[CHQ Pilot]

I was asked if I would be requesting BAH in my HOR when I was outprocessing for UPT last year in addition to BAH at Vance. They had seen that I had a dependent and said I could claim BAH for my wife at my HOR if she was staying behind. Finance said they could do this because UPT was a TDY (as MDINC said).

Finance said there was some talk of changing the regs (to include bachelors) so that if a member owned property and maintained ownership for the duration of the orders without renting it out, they could claim BAH for that property. Basically said it is pointless to possibly force someone to sell a house because they are going to UPT.

[ 17. July 2006, 20:12: Message edited by: CHQ Pilot ]

[Jake_65_65]

This may help:

Here is the link: http://public.afosi.amc.af.mil/RE/announcements.asp

PER DIEM, TRAVEL AND TRANSPORTATION ALLOWANCE COMMITTEE

HOFFMAN BUILDING 1, ROOM 836

2461 EISENHOWER AVENUE, ALEXANDRIA, VA 22331-1300

PDTATAC/vap 31 March 2006

UNIFORMED TRAVEL DETERMINATION

TO: SEE DISTRIBUTION

SUBJECT: MAP 18-06 -- BAH Rules for Reserve Members on Active Duty More than 30 Days

1. SYNOPSIS: Implement Section 610b of the FY06 NDAA. The NDAA changed the minimum number of days that a Reserve Component member must be called or ordered to active duty to receive the full housing allowance rate from “less than 140 days” to “over 30 days”. MAP Item 18-06 adopts that change and also changes the housing allowance rate location from the place duty is performed to the principal residence (where housing costs are actually incurred).

2. The Committee Chair has approved, for publication, the attached changes to the Joint Federal Travel Regulations, Volume 1 (JFTR), made in MAP 18-06.

3. These changes have been provided to DFAS for inclusion in DoDFMR, Volume 26.

4. This change is effective for Reserve Component members called/ordered to active duty for more than 30 days and who begin active duty on or after 6 January 2006.

//approved 04-03-06//

S. W. Westbrook

Director

Attachments:

Memo to DFAS

Uniformed E-Mail Distribution:

MAP Members GSA-3FT PMO-DTS

T&T Branch HRSIC GSA-OGP(MTT)

PER DIEM, TRAVEL AND TRANSPORTATION ALLOWANCE COMMITTEE

HOFFMAN BUILDING 1, ROOM 836

2461 EISENHOWER AVENUE, ALEXANDRIA, VA 22331-1300

PDTATAC 31 March 2006

MEMORANDUM FOR DIRECTOR, DEFENSE FINANCE AND ACCOUNTING SERVICE,

1931 JEFFERSON DAVIS HIGHWAY, ARLINGTON, VA 22240

SUBJECT: Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) Entitlement Rules for Reserve Members Performing Active Duty for More Than 30 Days

1. Section 610 of the FY06 NDAA lowers the threshold in 37 USC §403(g) for payment of locality-based housing allowances for Reserve Component members on active duty for other than a contingency from “less than 140 days” down to “over 30 days”. This memorandum provides guidance to implement the change which was effective starting 6 January 2006.

2. Current rules in DODFMR paragraph 570502, state the place where the duty is being performed is the member’s permanent station for BAH purposes and that the BAH rate is based on that location. If that rule is retained, moving the full rate payment threshold to 31 days creates a situation in which Reserve Component members performing active duty for more than 30 days, but less than 140 days, at an overseas location, receive no housing allowance. These members would no longer receive the Reserve Component rate since they were on active duty for more than 30 days nor would they receive OHA since they would not have a lease at the overseas TDY point. To prevent this inequity, the location to be used as the defining location for type and amount of housing allowance becomes the location at which the member’s housing costs are incurred, the location of the principal residence.

3. Rules for implementation of the 30 day active duty threshold for Reserve Component members are as follows:

Rule 1: Reserve Component (RC) members called or ordered to active duty for 30 or fewer days receive BAH at the RC rate (drop references to BAH II and use RC rate instead) (BAH-RC)(BAH-RC with dependents or BAH-RC without dependents).

Rule 2: RC members who are called or ordered to active duty for more than 30 days and begin to serve on active duty prior to 6 January 2006, even if their continuous service extends beyond 6 January 06. Pay BAH at the RC rate using the 139 day threshold.

Rule 3: RC members who are called or ordered to active duty for more than 30 days and begin to serve on active duty on or after 6 January 2006, to include RC members whose service is extended on or after 6 January 2006, through amended or modified orders, and the member serves more than 30 days from the date the orders are extended. - Pay BAH at the principal place of residence using the 31 day threshold. Reserve component members called to active duty for 140 or more days and authorized PCS HHG movement continue to receive housing allowances based on the PDS (duty location).

NOTE. BAH Geographic Location for RC members – The location to be used to determine the type and rate of housing allowance is the RC member's principal place of residence when called or ordered to active duty. However, this does not change the current rule of basing BAH on the duty location if the member receives PCS HHG transportation to the duty location.

4. Examples of application of the new rules are:

Example 1. Member lives in Dallas, receives an order dated 15 November 2005 to begin active duty on 3 January 2006 for 45 days at Atlanta.

Answer: Member is subject to the old rules and gets the BAH-RC rate (old BAH II).

Example 2. The same member receives an order extending the active duty period by 15 days. Extension order is dated 20 January 20096.

Answer: Still subject to old rules through 19 January but changes to new rules on 20 January. (BAH-RC rate through 19 January 2006, Dallas based BAH starting 20 January 2006).

Example 3. Member lives in Dallas, receives an order dated 15 November 2005 to begin active duty for 50 days on 8 January 2006 in Naples, Italy.

Answer: The member is under the new rules since active duty begins on or after 6 January 2006, also using the policy of basing the housing allowance on the location where housing expenses are borne (member's principal place of residence), the member receives Dallas BAH starting 8 January 2006.

Example 4. Member without dependents lives in Dallas, receives an order dated 15 November 2005 to begin active duty for 90 days on 8 January 2006 at Ft. Leavenworth where the member is assigned quarters in the barracks.

Answer: The member is under the new rules since active duty begins on or after 6 January 2006, also using the policy of basing the housing allowance on the location at which housing expenses are borne (member's principal place of residence). The fact that the member is assigned Government quarters at the duty location has no affect on the member’s BAH. The member is authorized BAH at the without-dependents rate for Dallas if the member maintains a residence in Dallas and continues to be responsible for rent or owns the residence.

5. Please modify the DoDFMR to implement these revised rules.

//approved 04-03-06//

S. W. Westbrook

Director

[Jake_65_65]

Originally posted by rhildreth:

Also:

NOTE. BAH Geographic Location for RC members – The location to be used to determine the type and rate of housing allowance is the RC member's principal place of residence when called or ordered to active duty. However, this does not change the current rule of basing BAH on the duty location if the member receives PCS HHG transportation to the duty location.

Isn't that assuming that you are moving all of your household posessions and therefore would not need or do not have a home/apartment.

Assumption: If you do not transport all of your household posessions with you, it is assumed by the government that you are retaining a home/apartment and require BAH to prevent you from having to sell your home or move out of apartment.

"Reserve component members called to active duty for 140 or more days and authorized PCS HHG movement continue to receive housing allowances based on the PDS (duty location)."

i.e. you move with everything you own to UPT base. Live either in base housing or off base and get BAH for location of said UPT base. It makes sense that you would not get BAH for both your HOR and UPT base if you move with all of your household posessions.

I could be wrong, but I believe the memo pertains to members who choose to retain a home/residence in their home state and live in the dorms. It should be noted that I also have not been able to find the reg and that memo is all I have been able to find.

[And1]

I'm not only married, I have two kids, so I would need a three bedroom house with two family rooms as well in order to take both couches. Is a house that size do-able on BAH?

[Guest Robes]

Quick and simple... If they still have their home/apartment at home (paying rent) then they can still pull full BAH while living on base housing... Since in the Guard UPT is not a PCS, but rather a TDY (no per diem) the govt will pay you to keep your residence at your HOR. I hope that helps a bit.

Robes

[trailmix]

Wait... explain this to me like I am a small child. When i go TDY to start UPT, and my fiance stays here in our home... I can live in singles housing and still get BAH for my motgage at my home station? Is this correct?

[hindsight2020]

Robes is correct.

Yes, if you are Guard/Reserve and you have housing costs at your HOR (meaning you rent or own back home) and continue to carry those costs while you're at UPT, you are entitled to receive full BAH rate for your HOR location. This holds true regardless of your housing allocation status at UPT (works the same whether you occupy off-base housing or on-base housing/dorms at UPT, whether you're married or single). What this means is for guys like a buddy of mine who's from New England, he's living in the dorms here and pocketing about 1K in BAH for his HOR!$!$!$!

This is a recent addendum to the rules and I think the link in the previous posting has the thread that includes the source document.

I always loved the "TDY with PCS entitlements" on my UPT orders. PCS entitlements but not a PCS, TDY but no TDY entitlements lol. Total Force at work for ya.

[Guest srvmcm]

Can someone please email me a link or some reg about this for guard members? I co-own my in-laws place and I'm living in a house on base here in Columbus. My unit says I get nothing because my wife and kid are here and "don't know anything" about owning/renting back at my home base. They said they would gladly help if I could find a reg or something. Anything have it? Thanks...