Members of the 59th Medical Wing at Wilford Hall Ambulatory Surgical Center, Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas, submit documentation for the mandatory basic allowance for housing recertification, Oct. 3, 2014. (Air Force photo/Senior Airman Michael Ellis) The appearance of U.S. Department of Defense (DoW) visual information does not imply or constitute DoW endorsement. Image: DoW
By: FEDweek Staff
The Pentagon has begun disbursing a one-time payment in the amount of $1,776 to around 1.28M active-duty service members, and 174,000 qualified reserve component members.
President Trump announced the payments in a speech Wednesday evening, dubbing them as a “warrior dividend” and claiming that funding would come from tariff revenue. The payments, to be immediate and non-taxable, will in reality be made as a supplement to the basic allowance for housing (BAH), using $2.6B of the $2.9B in BAH supplemental (additional) funding appropriated under the Big Beautiful Bill passed in July.
The bonus applies to service members in pay grades O-6 and below as of Nov. 30, as well as reserve component service members on active-duty orders of 31 days or more as of Nov. 30.
Officials say the dividend reflects both congressional support and the administration’s push to bolster military morale as the department continues modernization and retention initiatives.
Readers are reporting that payments have been hitting their own or their uniformed children’s accounts via direct deposit, with “checks already on the way” in other cases, according to the Pentagon.
The pay systems that handle BAH and other allowances are:
DFAS (for the Army, Navy, Air Force, Space Force)
USMC Total Force Pay Systems
Coast Guard Direct Access, if included
*Funds could appear as a separate line item on the service member’s LES, labeled as a one-time BAH supplemental payment or similar.
The relatively recent appropriation gave the department the flexibility, but not a mandate, to use the BAH funds, and without formalized eligibility criteria or payment structure, they have gone unused. The timing before the Christmas holiday and upcoming 250 year anniversary of 1,776 declaration of independence provided a political opportunity to disburse most of that funding. But who cares, it’s $1,776 tax free and is one of those situations where recipients are unlikely to just shrug and say: “it’s the thought that counts.”
*If you have received this payment please comment on Facebook or in comments below on how it was made and what it was labeled as, and if you have received any official notification or guidance, thank you!
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