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All About
Army Pay 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 2008
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 $1,587.90. 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 30th
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 1st and 15th
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 2008, 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 2008 is $294.43. 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 2.5-3.5% 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). Any other pay questions, let me know. For current rates, visit:
RELATED LINKS:
All About The Army Benefits For Soldiers and Family Members Find out about the benefits that are afforded to your soldier, yourself as an Army wife and your children.
Learn how to read the Leave Earnings Statement (LES) line by line.
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