One little known aspect of the military pay and allowance system is the ability to request advance payment of Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH). While this opportunity has been around since 1999, you will still find that most admin folks and senior leadership are completely unaware that it even exists. And, unfortunately, even those who do know about it sometimes won’t authorize it. Plus, it’s not available to Marines. Silly.
Authority for advance BAH comes from the Joint Travel Regulations, Chapter 10, Part A, Section 10006 (generously cut and pasted by Rob for our use). It is authorized “to pay advance rent, security deposits, and/or initial expenses incident to occupying other than Gov’t housing.” Translated, this means for expenses associated with setting up a house that is located off base and not owned by the government or part of a public-private venture (PPV) military housing set-up.
Who Is Eligible?
Who Is Eligible?Any service member who is setting up new, non-government housing is eligible for advance BAH. This does not have to be in conjunction with a PCS move. Rob reports that it is commonly used by service members who are newly married and moving from the barracks to their first apartment. It could also be used by service members who have just attained a rank that allows them to move off base, or families moving to a new location that is more expensive than their Permanent Change of Station (PCS) savings account can handle. One common misconception is that advance BAH is only available in conjunction with a PCS move. In fact, the instruction specifically states that “The advance may be made at any time during a member’s tour at the station concerned.”
Advance BAH is not authorized for expenses incidental to purchasing a home or other dwelling – it’s just for renters.
How Do You Request It?
There is no standard way of requesting advance BAH, so you may encounter some difficulty with admin folks and leadership who are unaware that it exists. As far as I know, the Coast Guard is the only service who has their own branch-wide form. Some local area authorities have their own forms, such as this one used by the Naval Medical Center Portsmouth. In cases where there is no form, you’ll have to use whatever form your branch of the service uses for special requests. In the Navy, they are called “special request chits.” I’m not sure what the other branches use.
You’ll need to attach documentation to demonstrate your financial need. Rob recommends an unsigned lease from the prospective landlord as one form of documentation.
There are also time limits on requesting advance BAH. It must be requested within 30 days, before or after of the qualifying event.
How Much Money Can You Get?
Service members requesting advance BAH need to demonstrate their ability to repay the loan, and may take no more than 3 months of the prevailing BAH rate for their location, rank, and dependency status.
How Do You Pay It Back?
The typical repayment schedule for advance BAH is 12 months, with one-twelfth of the total amount borrowed to be repaid each month starting with the month subsequent to the loan. In certain circumstances, the repayment may be deferred up to three months, and repayment may stretch as long as 24 months or until the estimated detaching date of the service member.
In a perfect world, military families would have a hefty PCS savings account to cover the many expenses that come with a move. When that doesn’t happen, advance BAH can help pay for the upfront costs involved with setting up a new home.
Do you want to know more about your military pay and benefits?
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Mckenna says
10 November 2015 at 11:23 amI had no idea this was a thing. Super helpful; thank you!
Kara Bragg says
14 November 2015 at 12:53 amWe have used this since 1995…. In Okinawa, Sydney Australia, and Germany….. When we’ve had to rent hubby goes to finance and they front us the money needed according to the lease…. It gets paid back from our checks every month…. I’m shocked this is not widely known…. Maybe because you can use it outside of a pcs and stateside…. Who has almost 5to 10 grand saved up for moving in some case or even 3 grand just for rent…. Ummmmmm no us old schoolers (24 yrs here) who didn’t have access to college money who have been working here and there when we can only exist on hubby’s checks with kids hardly ever have that saved up for a pcs. Why would you? Anyone who uses their own money to start up house in the military is crazy…. They pay you to move ….. To live in certain places….. Why would you think it’s all on you? That’s crazy. I’m sorry your command or finance office is so undereducated or lazy. This is why I always preach to other spouses especially new ones educate yourselves and go straight to the source because relying on others or gossip in the military is just setting yourself up for failure.
Krista says
13 October 2016 at 8:55 amWe tried to seek this when moving last December and were told it is no longer a thing
Kate Horrell says
14 October 2016 at 8:48 amKrista, I have not heard anyone else who has a problem. I wonder if you got a clerk who wasn’t doing their job very well…?? Readers???
Ariel E Rojas says
15 October 2016 at 9:37 pmTo get a better understanding, it is more a loan based off the BAH amount as opposed to a BAH advance? Because an advance to me sounds like if I get 3 months of BAH in November, then I will NOT receive it Dec and Jan. But the description here states a repayment over the course of 12 months telling me that we would still receive BAH for the subsequent months because the amount presented upfront will be repaid…
Please correct me if I am misunderstanding.
Thank you.
Kate Horrell says
16 October 2016 at 7:32 pmAdvance BAH is structured like a loan, just as advance pay is structured like a loan. Does that make sense?
clark says
28 February 2017 at 10:19 amI have had a terrible time requesting this advance I work at naval medical center Portsmouth that’s probably why. There has been ten different forms we have been trying to use and no one understands what their doing or whats going on.
Char says
7 June 2017 at 1:19 pmI’m pregnant and living in privatized housing for E-4 and below sailors. I plan to separate on November 30th, will I be able to request advance BAH or will my detachment date come too soon?
Michael says
5 August 2017 at 2:24 pmYou have to have at least 12 months retainability to request the advance. i am in the Air Force and have been using this almost my whole career and I ran into this problem one time when I was 8 months from separation and I had to reenlist to get it. I already had a reenlistment date so it wasnt a big deal its just I had to do it sooner than i wanted.
Jessica G says
23 August 2017 at 3:55 pmWe’re currently waiting for Advance BAH, its “processing”. how long does this normally take? People at ipac aren’t really helpful when it comes to stuff like this. after it’s done processing or “getting approved” how long does it take to receive it? Does it drop right in to your bank account or do they cut you a check? Sorry for all the questions I just wanna make sure I’ve got this all down!