2025 Military BAH Rates and Calculator: How Much Can You Get

Living in the barracks or on base has its upsides (and downsides), but there’s a lot to be said for having a place of your very own outside the gate. Unlike civilians who want to rent a home, those in the military don’t have to fret about their rent taking a huge chunk of their paychecks because of BAH. Whether there’s no housing on base or you want to live with a little more independence on the weekends, this benefit ensures you don’t pay out of pocket for a roof over your head. Military BAH rates are designed to cover most to all of your housing costs.

• BAH helps cover most housing costs for service members living off-base, with amounts based on rank, dependent status, and duty station location.
• 2025 BAH rates increased by an average of 5.4%, though individual rates may vary based on local rental market changes.
• Different types of BAH exist, including Dual Military BAH, BAH Type II, Partial BAH, and BAH Diff, each serving specific situations.
• PCS moves can impact BAH, with potential decreases due to lower housing costs at the new station, changes in dependent status, or transitioning from active duty to reserve status.

BAH stands for Basic Allowance for Housing. All active personnel, including reservists and members of the National Guard serving on active duty for at least 30 days, are eligible and will receive a stipend calculated to cover roughly 95% of the costs associated with renting a home. Your BAH money will be added on top of your monthly pay to cover the average monthly rent and utilities for military members living off base.

There are a few key factors that go into how much BAH you will receive:

• Your rank – higher rank gets more BAH
• Whether or not you have dependents – those with dependents receive more BAH
• The average rent around your base – based on average rental costs near your assigned station for PCS

Make sure to utilize our BAH Calculator to find out how much you will receive each month.

It’s important to know the different types of BAH and what they help cover. This section will cover the fundamentals of Dual Military, BAH Type 2, Partial BAH, and BAH Diff.

In cases where both spouses in a marriage are on active duty, both will receive the without-dependent BAH rate commensurate with their rank and location. If a married couple has children, only one parent (normally the higher-ranking member) will receive the higher with-dependent BAH rate.

While personnel in the reserves or National Guard activated for 30 days or longer receive standard BAH, those activated for 30 days or less receive BAH Reserve Component/Transit (BAH RC/T). It’s also sometimes called BAH Type 2 or II, depending on your numerical preference. Unlike standard BAH, RC/T is based solely on your rank and whether or not you have dependents. Location does not factor in.

If you’re a service member with no dependents living in government quarters (such as the barracks, temporary on-base lodgings, or base housing), you’ll receive a small fraction of the standard BAH for someone of your rank and location.

Commonly referred to as BAH Diff, this is specifically for service members living in government quarters who pay child support. The amount is the difference between the BAH of a service member with a dependent and one without. Someone will not receive BAH Diff if the monthly amount they pay in child support is less than the amount of BAH Diff they would be eligible for.

2025 military BAH rates have been released. There is an average BAH increase of 5.4% for 2025 military BAH rates over 2024, which makes it the second year in a row to increase at an above-average rate. Yours could be slightly more or less, depending on where you’re posted. However, if you don’t see such a substantial increase, it’s no cause for alarm. You may not see an increase in your personal BAH and may even see a decrease.

2025 military BAH rates will expire on December 31st, 2025.

The possible reasons for a BAH decrease include:

• The average rent in the area you are PCSing may have decreased significantly.
• Expected out-of-pocket costs for service members’ rent have increased gradually over the last few years.
• The estimated cost of renter’s insurance is no longer included.

As you may have guessed by the name, Overseas Housing Allowance ( OHA ) is the BHA equivalent for service members who live off-base while stationed outside the 50 states. It is important to note that although Alaska and Hawaii are considered OCONUS moves , they qualify for BAH, not OHA. For example, those stationed in non-state United States territories like Guam receive OHA rather than BAH. In addition to paying for rental and utility coverage, it may also include an initial Move-In Housing Allowance (MIHA). This defrays the initial expenses of moving somewhere outside the US. When you arrive at your overseas station, check in with your nearest housing office to apply for your OHA and any MIHA reimbursement you may be entitled to. If the base has no such office, check with your commanding officer.

Just like BAH, a few attributing factors determine how much OHA you receive:

• Your rank
• Whether or not you have dependents
• The average rent of your station location

Like BAH, the DTMO offers an up-to-date OHA calculator . This way, you can see exactly how much your payments will be at any eligible location worldwide. If you have any additional questions, their OHA FAQ is pretty handy, too.

A Monthly Housing Allowance (MHA) helps all Veterans attending school on the GI Bill receive funds to help offset the cost of rent just as they used to on active duty. All full-time graduate or undergraduate students receive payments for every month they are actively in school. So, you don’t get them during months you’re not in class. The monthly amount was previously based on the zip code of your school’s official address, but it’s now based on the average rent in the zip code where the majority of your classes take place. The rate is set at that of an E-5 with dependents in that location, regardless of your family status or most recent rank.

Conclusion

BAH allows service members to live off-base without digging into their savings whenever the rent is due. It means you and your family never have to weigh the downsides of living or waiting for an opening in base housing against the costs of living on your own, so you don’t have rent costs to worry about when moving. Now, you can focus on the other things while settling into your new home, like learning about your new base, what the weather will be like, where the best schools are, and where to go for good grub. For more information on navigating your PCS move or getting settled into your new place, check out more on our blog.