Official policy
What are the components of Overseas Housing Allowance?
DTMO describes OHA as a cost-reimbursement allowance with three separate components: rent, utilities and recurring maintenance, and Move-In Housing Allowance. A member applies with DD Form 2367 and supporting lease documentation; some MIHA claims also require DD Form 2556.
Sources: Defense Travel Management Office: Overseas Housing Allowance; Department of Defense Comptroller: DoD Financial Management Regulation, Volume 7A, Chapter 26: Housing Allowances
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Official policy
Does OHA pay the rent ceiling automatically?
No. DTMO states that members are reimbursed for rent up to the lease amount or the applicable allowance, whichever is less. Rental allowances are based on actual rents reported through local finance systems. MyLES uses the loaded ceiling only as a clearly warned planning estimate when actual rent is blank.
Sources: Defense Travel Management Office: Overseas Housing Allowance
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Official policy
How does OHA differ for members without dependents?
DTMO states that unaccompanied members or members without dependents are entitled to 90% of the with-dependent rental rate. Members without dependents who pay their own utilities are entitled to 75% of the utility and recurring-maintenance rate set for members with dependents.
Sources: Defense Travel Management Office: Overseas Housing Allowance
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Official policy
When is the OHA utility and recurring-maintenance allowance paid?
It is paid monthly when the member pays eligible utility and recurring-maintenance costs directly. DTMO states that members whose utilities are paid by the landlord do not receive this separate allowance. MyLES therefore includes it only when utilities are marked as paid separately.
Sources: Defense Travel Management Office: Overseas Housing Allowance
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Official policy
What is MIHA?
Move-In Housing Allowance partially defrays authorized costs associated with occupying privately leased quarters. DTMO lists MIHA/Miscellaneous, MIHA/Rent, MIHA/Security, MIHA/Infectious Disease, and MIHA/Safety components. Some are one-time or claim-based payments, so MyLES includes only an amount the user enters for the month.
Sources: Defense Travel Management Office: Overseas Housing Allowance
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Official policy
Why can the USD value of OHA change?
OHA is paid in U.S. dollars while overseas rent and utilities are commonly paid in local currency. Currency conversion can therefore change the U.S.-dollar amount. MyLES uses the official row's conversion value unless the user supplies an exchange-rate override for planning.
Sources: Defense Travel Management Office: Overseas Housing Allowance
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Official policy
What is Overseas COLA and is it fixed?
Overseas COLA is a non-taxable allowance intended to offset higher prices for non-housing goods and services and equalize purchasing power with CONUS. DTMO states that it is not fixed and should not be treated as dependable income for household budgeting. Payment varies with spendable income, rank, years of service, dependent count, locality, and applicable index.
Sources: Defense Travel Management Office: Overseas Cost-of-Living Allowance; Internal Revenue Service: Publication 3 (2025), Armed Forces' Tax Guide
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Official policy
Can Overseas COLA change twice a month?
Yes. DTMO states that Overseas COLA may be adjusted twice a month because of currency fluctuations. Currency changes affect the portion of the index attributed to purchases in local currency, and approved increases and decreases are implemented in full in the next pay period.
Sources: Defense Travel Management Office: Overseas COLA Tables
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Calculator methodology
Why does the calculator ask whether I live in barracks?
The official DTMO Overseas COLA lookup includes living-in-barracks as a calculation input along with locality, pay period, pay grade, years of service, and dependents. MyLES passes barracks status into the loaded official-table calculation and automatically selects it when OCONUS housing status is Barracks.
Sources: Defense Travel Management Office: Overseas COLA Rate Lookup
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Official policy
How often are OHA components reviewed?
DTMO states that rental allowances are reviewed and adjusted every six months, utility and recurring-maintenance allowances are reviewed annually, and MIHA/Miscellaneous is based on triennial surveys. Published effective dates and local finance processing determine when a member's actual payment changes.
Sources: Defense Travel Management Office: OHA Data Collection and Surveys
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Official policy
What is the practical difference between BAH and OHA?
BAH is a location, pay-grade, and dependency-status allowance for eligible members in the United States and is not reimbursement of exact housing expense. OHA is a cost-reimbursement program for eligible members overseas: rent is generally reimbursed up to the actual lease amount or applicable ceiling, and utilities and recurring maintenance are a separate component when the member pays those costs. MyLES therefore uses a table amount for BAH but asks for actual local rent and utility responsibility for OHA.
Sources: Defense Travel Management Office: Basic Allowance for Housing Overview; Defense Travel Management Office: Overseas Housing Allowance
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Official policy
How does dependent count affect Overseas COLA?
The DTMO Overseas COLA rate lookup uses number of dependents along with locality, pay period, pay grade, years of service, and barracks status. This differs from BAH, which distinguishes between with-dependent and without-dependent status rather than the number of dependents. MyLES uses dependent count for Overseas COLA and dependency status for BAH.
Sources: Defense Travel Management Office: Overseas Cost-of-Living Allowance; Defense Travel Management Office: Overseas COLA Rate Lookup; Defense Travel Management Office: Basic Allowance for Housing Overview
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