Overseas Housing Allowance

Validated May 2026

Overseas Housing Allowance (OHA) is the OCONUS equivalent of BAH — a tax-free monthly allowance that reimburses rental costs for service members in private-sector housing outside the United States. Unlike BAH, OHA is based on actual rent paid (up to a published ceiling), not a fixed amount by ZIP code.

OHA has three components: a monthly Rental Allowance, a Utility and Recurring Maintenance Allowance (URMA), and a one-time Move-In Housing Allowance (MIHA) for initial move-in costs.

2026 Rates

OHA has no single published dollar amount — the ceiling is specific to your pay grade and duty location. DTMO publishes monthly rate tables covering 620 OCONUS localities across 192 countries. The May 2026 tables are in effect from May 1 – May 30, 2026; next update: June 1, 2026.

Rate structure:

Look up your exact ceiling using the DTMO OHA Rate Lookup.

Eligibility

General requirements:

• Active-duty member on an OCONUS Permanent Duty Station (PDS) assignment
• Entitled to basic pay
• Living in private-sector leased or owned housing (not government quarters or government-leased housing)
• Must submit DD Form 2367 (OHA Report) with a signed lease agreement or verifiable purchase price before OHA is paid
• Only one housing allowance at a time: OHA replaces BAH — members cannot receive both (§2.0)

Dependent status:

• Members with dependents receive OHA up to the with-dependent ceiling for their grade and locality
• Members without dependents receive OHA up to 90% of the with-dependent ceiling (§6.2.2.2)
• Sharers (two members splitting a unit) are each capped at the without-dependent ceiling unless accompanied by dependents (§6.2.4)

Special scenarios:

• Unaccompanied tours: a member with dependents on an unaccompanied tour may receive OHA for OCONUS housing occupied by their dependents outside the PDS vicinity (§6.1.1.2.1)
• Homeowners OCONUS: OHA is authorized based on purchase price ÷ 120 rather than a lease amount
• Members in government quarters: OHA is not authorized (§8.2.7)
• Dual-military couples: generally only one spouse may receive OHA at the with-dependent rate (§4.5.2.3)

Pay Limits

What This Means for Your Pay

OHA is a reimbursement, not a stipend. If your rent is $900/month and the ceiling for your grade and location is $1,400, your rental allowance is $900 — not $1,400. Only members whose rent equals or exceeds the ceiling receive the full ceiling amount.

URMA is separate and additional. The Utility and Recurring Maintenance Allowance is added on top of your rental allowance when utilities are not included in your lease. If rent includes all utilities, URMA is zero. If rent includes some utilities, URMA is prorated by a climate code and utility point score system (§6.3.2.2). This can meaningfully affect your total OHA.

OHA doesn't start until you have an approved DD 2367. Unlike BAH (which starts on your reporting date), OHA begins the day you sign a lease and incur a financial obligation — and only after your commanding officer approves the DD 2367. Delays in paperwork = delayed pay.

Homeowners get a different formula. If you own your OCONUS housing, there is no lease amount to submit. Instead, divide your verifiable purchase price by 120 to get the monthly housing cost. A $180,000 property yields $1,500/month in OHA housing cost, subject to the grade/locality ceiling.

The rate you get at lease signing is what you keep for that lease. DTMO updates ceilings every month, but your locked rate is the one in effect when your lease began. Renewal or re-leasing exposes you to the then-current rate — which could be higher or lower depending on local market and exchange rate movements.

MIHA is a separate, one-time payment. Move-In Housing Allowance covers initial move-in expenses (miscellaneous, security deposit, advance rent, lease-related costs, and in some locations infectious-disease prevention). It does not appear in your monthly OHA — request it separately through your finance office.

Common Mistakes

Treating OHA as a fixed monthly stipend. OHA reimburses actual rent up to a ceiling. A member whose rent is $600/month in a location with a $1,200 ceiling receives $600, not $1,200. Only the utility component (URMA) is a fixed locality amount.

Assuming OHA and BAH can be received at the same time. OHA replaces BAH for OCONUS assignments. You receive one or the other — not both (§2.0).

Expecting OHA to start on the reporting date. OHA starts on the day you incur a financial obligation for private-sector housing (lease start date), contingent on DD 2367 approval. Your reporting date is irrelevant for OHA (§2.2.1.1).

Applying the full with-dependent ceiling to a without-dependent member. Without-dependent members are capped at 90% of the with-dependent maximum rental allowance for their grade and locality — not the full ceiling (§6.2.2.2).

Including workplace parking in the OHA rent amount. Parking at the duty location is excluded from rent. Only a separate residential parking lease at or near the housing can be added to rent (§6.2.1, §6.2.1.5).

Claiming URMA when utilities are already in the rent. When your lease includes all utilities, the Utility and Recurring Maintenance Allowance is zero. When some utilities are included, URMA is partially paid based on a climate code and utility point score — not the full locality amount (§6.3.2.1–6.3.2.2).

Assuming OHA rates hold for the entire tour. Rates are updated monthly by DTMO. The rate locks at lease inception and holds through that lease term — but renewal or relocation to a new unit resets the rate to the then-current DTMO rates.

Citation

Authority: 37 U.S.C. § 403
Regulation: DoD Financial Management Regulation (FMR) Volume 7A, Chapter 26, "Housing Allowances"
Implementation: JTR Chapter 10
Official rate lookup: DTMO OHA Rate Lookup (updated monthly; May 2026 table effective May 1 – May 30, 2026)

Validated May 2026