Have you ever wondered what happens with your service member’s basic allowance for housing (BAH) if you aren’t living together? If you haven’t, now you are. It’s a question that we get frequently, when a military service member is permanently stationed without their dependents, what are the entitlements for housing allowance?
Accompanied or Unaccompanied?
The primary factor in figuring out the allowances for housing is whether the service member is authorized to have their dependents move with them. If the orders are "unaccompanied," and the service member isn't permitted to take their dependents with them, then the service member may be authorized to receive a housing allowance for their dependents' location. If the orders are "accompanied," and the service member is permitted to take their dependents with them, then it is a personal choice for the family to remain elsewhere, and, therefore, the service member is not authorized a housing allowance for their dependents' location.
Example: Service member receives unaccompanied orders to Korea and the family wants to stay at Fort Bragg, the BAH would be for the Fort Bragg location. But if the orders to Fort Polk are accompanied and the family wants to stay at Fort Gordon, the BAH would be for Fort Polk.
Where Can The Family Live?
If a service member has unaccompanied orders, they are authorized a housing allowance for their dependents to live at a "designated place." Under the regulations, this designated place may be anywhere in the United States. If the spouse is foreign-born, then the designated place may be the native country of the foreign-born spouse. Under certain conditions, the designated place may be overseas if it is the previous or intended next duty station of the service member.
Example: Service member has unaccompanied orders to Korea, the family may stay where they are or move somewhere else and receive BAH for that location.
How It Works
If a military member is moved on PCS orders to a location where dependents are not authorized, then the military member must inform their branch of service where their dependents are residing. The service member must affirm that "the designated place is the place at which the dependents intend to establish a bona fide residence until further dependent transportation is authorized at Gov’t expense." Under these circumstances, the service member will receive BAH or Overseas Housing Allowance (OHA) for the dependents' location.
What About The Service Member's Housing?
Regardless of the allowances that are, or are not, authorized for the family's location, the service member remains eligible for whatever housing allowance is authorized for their status, rank, and location. For example, if an unaccompanied E-5 in Japan is required to live in the barracks, that remains the same whether or not they are receiving a housing allowance for the dependents' location.
While you could, in theory, make up a million "what if" scenarios, the rules remain the same. If the orders are unaccompanied, then the service member is authorized housing allowance for their dependents' designated place of residence. This should all be listed in the service member's PCS orders. If the orders are accompanied, or the dependents do not live in a location eligible to be considered a designated place, then the service member is not authorized to receive a housing allowance for their dependents' location.
You’ll always hear of exceptions to this rule and people who “worked the system,” but these are the regulations and this is what you should base your plans on.
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