December 17, 2012
Today, the Department of Defense released the 2013 BAH Rates, that will take effect January 1, 2013. Overall, you can expect to see an average increase of 3.8%.
The average increase in BAH for members with dependents is approximately $60/month. For example, a typical E-6 with dependents will see about a $60/month increase over last year’s amount, while an O-3 with dependents will see about a $55 increase.
If your area is showing your rates decreasing, this will solely apply to members who are newly reporting to those locations. Individual Rate Protection will protect members and ensure those already assigned to a given location will NOT see their BAH rate decrease; however they will receive the increase if the rate goes up. This allows members who have made long-term arrangements [contracts or leases] to not be penalized if housing costs go down.
BAH Computation consists of three components: Median Current Market Rent + Average Utilities (including electricity, heat, and water/sewer) + Average Renter’s Insurance.
Housing costs are then calculated for six housing profiles in each military housing area. This is based on dwelling type and number of bedrooms. BAH Rates are then calculated for each pay grade (with/without dependents). An estimated $20 billion will be paid to more than 1 million service members in 2013.
For more information on BAH, visit www.defensetravel.dod.mil/site/bah.cfm