§402b Basic needs allowance for members on active service in the Armed Forces

Summary

Eligible active-duty service members can get a monthly basic needs allowance if they finished initial entry training, have dependents, and their household income for the most recent calendar year was no more than 200% of the Department of Health and Human Services poverty guideline for their location and household size. Cadets and midshipmen at the service academies or serving elsewhere are not eligible. If two or more service members in the same household qualify, only one payment may be made and they must choose who gets it. If a member’s pay rises permanently so their annual income would go over the 200% limit, the allowance stops. A drop in income caused by punishment does not make a member eligible. The monthly amount is calculated like this: take 200% of the HHS poverty guideline for the member’s location and household size for the year of payment, subtract the member’s gross household income for the previous calendar year, and divide the result by 12. “Gross household income” means all household income from any source, although the Secretary may choose to exclude part of the basic allowance for housing for members in high-cost areas. Members must apply to get the allowance and update their application at least once a year; the services must screen members and tell possible eligibles how to apply and must notify eligibles in writing. Members can decline the allowance in writing, and failing to apply within a reasonable time counts as not eligible. For members stationed outside the United States, the calculation uses the continental U.S. poverty guidelines. The allowance may be paid for months starting one year after the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022 was enacted and may not be paid for any month beginning after December 31, 2027.