Army Pay Increases When Dependents Are Added Rumor

RUMOR:

When you get married or have a child, your pay from the Army increases.

FACT:

Sorry, but this is not true. There are certain pays that kick in when you are married. For instance, you will receive BAH at the with dependents rate. However, this is only slightly more than the without dependents rate and if you were living in the barracks before, you are now giving up free housing for housing you must pay for. So in most instances, this usually doesn’t actually amount to an increase in pay by the end of the month after you pay your new rent or mortgage payment.

You will also receive BAS once you are married (or live off post). But in the same fashion as BAH, you are given BAS because you have an increase in expenses since your meals are no longer provided for free in the chow hall.

When you are separated for more than 30 days, you will receive a separation allowance. This is one of the true increases in pay. However, you have to be away from home (typically deployed or at a longer school) to get it.

Base pay is based only on rank and time in service. There is not a difference in base pay between the single soldier and the married soldier with five kids. Base pay is the same across the board.

While it seems there is an increase in pay with BAH and BAS kicking in, when you add in the additional bills that accompany living outside of the barracks and eating outside of the chow hall, it usually doesn’t amount to much of an actual increase in cash by the end of the month.