I think I receive more emails about pay than anything else. So I’m going to try to address some of the most common questions. The pay rates given below are based on 2010 rates. All of these are assuming the soldier is married, lives off post and is stationed CONUS. If your soldier is single or lives on post, he will not receive BAH.

1.      Will he get paid in basic training? If so, how much?

While your soldier is in basic, he will receive base pay based on his grade/rank. For instance, the base pay for an E-3 is $1,705.80. This pay is taxable while he is in training or at his duty station. If he is married, he will also receive BAH (housing) based on where the wife lives as well as FSA (family separation allowance). BAH can vary greatly depending on location. You can look up rates online – it is based on rank, zip code and whether there are dependents. FSA is $250/month and begins after the 30^th day of separation. Be aware that FSA is normally $100/month but since the war in Iraq started, it has been $250/month. Allowances are NOT taxable regardless of whether he is in training, at his duty station or deployed.

2.      How long will it take to get paid for the first time?

Your soldier’s pay will be direct deposited into his bank account on the 1^st and 15^th of each month. Some always seems to get the pay a few days ahead of time while others don’t receive it until the exact day. This largely depends on your bank. It will generally be about six weeks before he receives his first paycheck. Some may receive it sooner and some later but six weeks is a general rule of thumb.

3.      What are clothing allowances?

Each year, your soldier will receive a clothing allowance. This is generally paid around his anniversary date. In 2010, a male with less than three years of service would receive $370.80.  This allowance is to replace any uniforms, etc.

4.      What pay will he receive once he is assigned to his duty station?

He will receive his base pay, BAS (food) and BAH. BAS in 2010 is $323.87. This allowance is not taxable. He may also be entitled to special pays such as airborne (commonly referred to as jump pay) which is an additional $150/month. Special pays are based on his MOS and any additional training he has received.

5.      When will we receive his bonus?

Most people were told that their soldier would receive his bonus as soon as his training was complete. I know exactly ZERO people who have had it actually happen that way. His bonus is broken up over the time of his enlistment. He is eligible to receive up to $7,000 as his first payment. Any remaining bonus will be divided among the rest of his years of service. So if his bonus is $13,000 with a four year enlistment – he will receive $7,000 the first year and $2,000 per year thereafter. We have received my husband’s bonus at the first of each year, others receive it close to his anniversary date. The key – don’t count on it until its in your hands!

And remember, this bonus is taxable! If he receives a bonus while he is deployed, it is generally not taxable. But the bonus must be awarded overseas. For instance, if when it is time to receive his enlistment bonus he happens to be deployed, it will be taxed. Because technically when he was awarded the bonus (at the time of enlistment) he was stateside. If he re-enlists when he is overseas, it generally is not taxable because he earned the bonus while deployed.

6.      What extra pay will he be awarded when he is deployed?

First, his pay is not taxable when he is overseas (state and federal). He will continue to receive his normal pay (base, BAS, BAH and any special pays). In addition, after 30 days, he will receive separation pay of $250 if he is married. He will also receive imminent danger/hazardous duty pay of $225 as well as location pay of $100. There have been many rumors that location pay was increasing to $750. While there is a bill for it, there is no sign that it will pass. The max location pay available now is $300 and the majority of soldiers only receive $100 so even if it increases to $750, its unlikely we’ll see that much of an increase. I know some who basically already had that money spent believing he would receive that much when he deployed and were disappointed to say the least when it didn’t show up. Don’t spend your money before you get it!

7. When will he receive raises?

While there is no guarantee, there is typically a cost of living raise in January of each year. Over the past few years, it has been in the 2.5-4% range. In addition, he will have an increase in pay when he is promoted to a new rank as well as with years of service (2nd year, 3rd year, 4th year and every even year after that).

When my husband joined the Army, we made the decision that we would always live off post based on the experience of other family members who had served. There are advantages and disadvantages to each decision but we never regretted our decision to live off post.

On Post Housing

Each duty station has on post housing available. However, the waiting list can vary dramatically from one post to the next. Many posts offer temporary lodging that can be utilized until a home on post is available if the waiting list is fairly short. If the waiting list is longer, you may have to explore off post options until a home is available. If you pursue off post with the intention of moving on post when a home is available, be sure to carefully read your lease. The military clause does NOT cover you if housing becomes available on post.

Living on post used to be simple as far as the financial aspects of it. But with privatized housing where the housing is managed by a private company rather than the Army, it is becoming increasingly more complicated. For some posts, your BAH will cover rent as well as utilities. For others, it will cover rent and a portion of the utilities each month. When you live on post, the BAH is automatically deducted from the paycheck.

The convenience to living on post is that your soldier is probably just around the corner from his unit, he’ll likely be able to come home for lunch every day and as the spouse, you’re close to where social functions will be held as well as FRG meeting sites. You are also surrounded by other families who also have a member in the military. There’s never a lack of being able to find someone enduring the same situation as you are. Your kids may also adjust better on post as the other kids may also be dealing with mom or dad being deployed or at training, etc. They will also to be able to attend installation schools with other military kids. There is also a sense of security living on post, particularly if your soldier is deployed.

The downside to living on post is that the regulations are very strict. This can especially be an issue if you have pets. One of the main reasons we decided to live off post was because my husband thought he would always feel like he was at work if we lived on post and he wanted to be able to have an end to his day when he drove off post each day. It was also true, at least for his unit, that they called those who lived on post in after hours first before they would call those who lived off post because of them being closer.

Off Post Housing

For us, living off post was great because we could choose the size house that we wanted to have. Housing on post is decided based on rank and number of dependents. As a couple with no kids, we would have only been allowed a two bedroom and we felt we needed three bedrooms if for no other reason than to accommodate all of our furniture. The third bedroom also gave me a separate place to house my home office.

Also, we found that we could get more room off post than we could on post and not have any more out of pocket than we would have if we lived on post. I know quite a few people who were able to save a pretty penny by living off post and banking the difference between rent and their BAH. Of course, this could vary greatly from one duty station to the next but it was certainly true where we were stationed.

We enjoyed living off post as well because it gave us a sense of normalcy. We did have other military families that lived in our neighborhood but it wasn’t every single family on the block. At times, it was nice to be able to leave the military lifestyle behind and just at least pretend to be civilians on the weekends. This was especially true during block leave when we didn’t have plans to leave town. Living off post also made it easier for family and friends outside of the military to drop by to see us as well.

Whether to live on post or off post is a personal decision. You may find that certain locations are better for living on post while others are better for living off post. Be sure to weigh the pros and cons before you make your decision.