Introduction
The Overseas Housing Allowance (OHA) Calculator shows what the military may pay you for housing when you live off base in a foreign country. Enter your duty location, your pay grade, and whether you have dependents. The tool then shows your rent ceiling, your utility allowance, and your one-time move-in payment (MIHA).
OHA has three parts: rent, utilities and recurring maintenance, and a move-in housing allowance (MIHA).1 The rent ceiling is the most rent the military will cover each month, and you are paid your rent or the ceiling, whichever is lower.3 The utility and maintenance allowance is a flat monthly amount for things like power, water, and upkeep. MIHA helps with move-in costs through a one-time lump sum and reimbursement of certain one-time, nonrefundable rent charges.2
You can search by town, base, OHA locality, or country. Type "Ramstein," "Camp Humphreys," or "Okinawa" and the tool finds the right OHA locality. It uses the Defense Travel Management Office's OHA rate tables for every country they cover, with each locality's rental allowance by pay grade and each country's utility allowance and move-in payment.6
Rates show in local money and in U.S. dollars. Because DoD reviews the pay-system exchange rate twice a month, your dollar amount can shift even when the local rate stays the same.4 You can change the exchange rate to match your current pay system rate with help from a currency calculator.
OHA is tax-free.5 These numbers are estimates to help you plan and compare housing costs. Check with your local housing office for your official rate before you sign a lease.
How to use our Overseas Housing Allowance (OHA) Calculator
Enter your overseas duty station, pay grade, dependent status, rent, and exchange rate. The OHA calculator shows your monthly rent ceiling, utility allowance, one-time MIHA payment, and your total monthly and yearly OHA in both local currency and U.S. dollars.
Search duty location, city, base or country: Type at least two letters. The search knows the OHA locality names and the towns and bases DoD lists under them, such as Ramstein or Landstuhl for the Kaiserslautern Military Community.7 Use the arrow keys and press Enter to pick a match.
Country: Pick the country where you are stationed. This is another way to find your base if you do not want to use the search box.
OHA locality: Choose your OHA locality from the list. This box turns on after you pick a country.
Pay grade: Select your pay grade, such as E-5, W-3, or O-4. DoD publishes a rental allowance for each pay grade at each OHA locality.6
Dependency status: Tap "With Dependents" if you have a spouse or children with you. Tap "Without Dependents" if you do not. Without dependents lowers your rent ceiling and utility allowance.
Monthly rent: Type the rent you pay each month, in the currency the rates are shown in. OHA pays the lesser of your rent or the ceiling. Leave it blank to see just the ceiling.
Exchange rate: This is filled in with the DoD OHA exchange rate for the October 1, 2026 pay period. Change it to match the current rate in the pay system for a closer USD estimate. It is hidden where DoD sets the rates in U.S. dollars.
Utilities you pay yourself: Untick any utility your rent already covers. When rent includes some utilities, part of the utility allowance is moved into the rental allowance, using DoD's point table for the locality's climate code.2
Chart currency: Switch the bar chart between local currency and U.S. dollars to compare with and without dependents.
Press Calculate to see your results and the step-by-step math. Press Reset to start over.
What Is the Overseas Housing Allowance (OHA)?
Overseas Housing Allowance, or OHA, is money the military pays service members who live in private housing outside the United States. It helps pay rent and utilities in places like Germany, Japan, South Korea, Italy, and the United Kingdom. OHA is tax-free, and it takes the place of Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH), which is used for duty stations inside the U.S.
OHA is based on where you are stationed, your pay grade, and whether you have dependents. Rates are set for each rate locality, a set area around one or more bases. For example, DoD's Kaiserslautern Military Community locality includes Ramstein, Landstuhl, Sembach and Kaiserslautern itself, so they all share one rate.7
The Three Parts of OHA
- Rent allowance (rental ceiling): This is the most rent OHA will pay each month. You get your actual rent up to that limit.2 If your rent is lower, you get only what you pay. If your rent is higher, you pay the extra yourself.
- Utility and recurring maintenance allowance: A flat monthly amount for things like power, water, heat, and trash. You get the full amount no matter what your real bills are, but if some or all utilities are included in your rent, the included amount is withheld from this allowance and added to your rental allowance instead.2
- Move-In Housing Allowance (MIHA): A fixed lump sum paid with your first OHA rental payment, plus reimbursement of certain one-time, nonrefundable rent charges; security deposits are handled through an advance OHA payment instead.2 It is not paid every month.
How Exchange Rates Affect Your Pay
Your rent ceiling is set in the local money, but your pay lands in U.S. dollars.1 The Department of Defense reviews the pay exchange rate twice a month.4 So the dollar amount on your Leave and Earnings Statement (LES) can go up or down even when the local rate stays the same. In some places, like Guam, Puerto Rico, Djibouti, and Guantanamo Bay, DoD sets the OHA rates in dollars, so no conversion happens there.6
Things to Know Before You Sign a Lease
Dependency status matters. Members without dependents get up to 90% of the rent ceiling and 75% of the utility allowance, while the MIHA lump sum stays the same.2 You must report your real rent to your finance or housing office, and OHA never pays more than what you actually spend on rent. Rates change over time, so always confirm your final numbers with your local housing office and the official DoD rate tables.