Uniformed Services Pay and Allowances

Uniformed Services Pay and Allowances. A. These types of income are broadly defined as follows: 1. Compensation to members of the Uniformed Services takes several forms, chiefly: a) Basic or Base Pay; b) Special and Incentive Pay; and c) Cash Allowances. B. These types of income are treated as follows: 1. Cash payments for pay and allowances which are paid for service as a member of the uniformed service are treated as earned income, with the exception of the following: a) Service members and their families living in on-base housing or privatized military housing may receive a BAH payment or the military may direct a BAH to a housing contractor by way of payroll deduction or allotment. In each case, the BAH is not cash income. However, if service members and their families who live in private housing receive a BAH payment, it is earned income. b) Hostile fire pay and imminent danger pay (sometimes referred to as “combat pay”) are types of special pay to a service member who is subject to hostile fire or explosion of hostile mines or on duty in an area in which he/she is in imminent danger of being exposed to hostile fire or explosion of hostile mines and while on duty in that area, other service members in the same area are subject to, killed, injured or wounded by hostile fire, explosion of a hostile mine or any other hostile action. Hostile fire and imminent danger pay is excluded income. If retained, unspent funds are a resource the following month if not otherwise excluded.