It’s the day we’ve all been waiting for – the day we all find out just how much money the government is going to give us for housing in 2012.
*drum roll please*
The good news! Most BAH rates are going up. The also good news! Just like every year, even folks living in places where the BAH rate is going down won’t see any decrease from their current rate unless they lose rank or no longer have dependents. The bad news: some people will be impacted by lower BAH rates -- those who have yet to relocate or homeowners who are getting new-to-the-area military renters in those same places.
This is a happy day for me because my area – Fort Campbell – is on the list of places that will see the largest monthly increase next year, an average of about $110 or 8.6 percent overall. The other places experiencing the biggest jump include Washington D.C., and El Paso, Texas. But it's the people lucky enough (ahem) to be stationed at Minot AFB who are really hitting the mother load – their rate is going up a whopping 40.9 percent.
(I couldn't help but ask: what in the world has changed so much about Minot in the last year .. and does a 40.9 percent BAH increase really make living there with it? Find out the answer over here.)
Like I mentioned above, no one currently living in an area facing a decrease will see anything new or different in their paycheck (unless they lose rank or become single). The bad news in a decrease is for homeowners trying to get the best rental price and for servicemembers planning a PCS to a reduced location. The places facing the biggest decrease this year include Fort Irwin, Ca. (home of the Army’s National Training Center), Los Angeles, Ca. and New York City.
You can check out all the dirty little details on the BAH changes over here at Military.com and see the full list of biggest winners/losers on this handy fact sheet. … Or just skip all that and see your new BAH rate by using this handy calculator.
