Financial Benefits for Military Families

IF you read my column regularly, you may know that I'm a military spouse. My husband, Tom, has served for 19 years. Currently, he's a full-time pilot in the Air National Guard, and he previously spent more than a decade as an active-duty member of the Air Force.

- LISA GERSTNER

Military life comes with plenty of challenges: frequent duty-station relocations, irregular work schedules and overseas deployments, to name a few that we've been through. But servicemembers also have access to some significant financial benefits. In recognition of Veterans Day this November, I'm sharing below a few that are impactful for my family.

Housing allowance. One helpful perk is a tax-free subsidy, known as the basic allowance for housing, that covers all or part of your monthly rent or mortgage payment if you don’t live in government-provided housing on a military base. The amount you receive depends on the location of your duty station, your rank and whether you have dependents. You can use the BAH calculator at tinyurl.com/ywu7mju2 to look up the value of your subsidy based on those factors.