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Basic Allowance for Subsistence (BAS)

Joe Wallace

The Basic Allowance for Subsistence, or BAS, is a military benefit offered to individual military members to help with the cost of meals while on duty. The core purpose of BAS, according to one source, is to provide a “standardized, non-taxable payment” to service members to offset the costs of meals when a standard military dining facility or other options aren’t available or practical.

BAS is paid to military members and is not intended to offset food costs for family members. This distinction is crucial; while other allowances like the Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) may be adjusted based on dependency status, BAS is provided to the individual only. You’ll be notified if you qualify for BAS during in-processing to your new duty station, or if circumstances change and you become entitled to it at your current duty station.

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BAS Versus BNA

The Basic Allowance for Subsistence should not be confused with the Basic Needs Allowance. There are two separate benefits: one is taxable, and the other is not.

• The Basic Needs Allowance (BNA) is a taxable military benefit offered to service members whose household incomes are below a certain percentage of federal poverty guidelines. 
• The allowance is not automatic. That said, some servicemembers may be identified as qualifying for it by their commands before being offered the BNA as a supplement to basic military pay.
• BNA is offered to those with dependents, and unlike BAS, the Basic Needs Allowance is paid only to those with dependents.

Who Receives BAS?

According to DoD  Directive 1418.05, “all military members entitled to basic pay are also entitled to BAS” except under specific conditions.  For example, basic trainees do not get BAS while in boot camp. The same applies to officers in training at Officer Candidate School or its equivalent.

There are other exemptions, but typically, anyone serving and drawing basic pay may qualify if their circumstances are not addressed elsewhere in military regulations.

Why don’t basic trainees get BAS? The government provides all new recruits’ meals directly at no cost. This highly controlled environment focuses on standardized training and discipline, which extends to the mess hall.

BAS typically begins upon graduation from basic training or further technical schooling. Similarly, officer candidates who enter the service without prior enlisted experience may also be excluded from receiving BAS while in their initial commissioning programs.

How BAS Is Calculated

According to the DoD, BAS is intended to “defray a portion of the cost of food for the service member” and as such the payment rate for his military benefit “is linked to the USDA’s food cost index.”

The BAS rate is adjusted yearly, “based upon the percentage increase of the price of food as identified by the USDA.“

This is why any increase in the amount of BAS “will not necessarily be the same percentage as that applied to the increase in the pay table, as annual pay raises are linked to the increase of private sector wages.”

BAS for Officers, Enlisted

For commissioned and warrant officers, the allowance is paid BAS at all times and are expected to pay for their meals, whether from a military dining facility, a civilian grocery store, or a restaurant. They do not receive “rations in kind” meaning they can eat free if there is a military dining facility nearby the way enlisted members can using a “meal card.”

While all enlisted members who have completed basic training receive BAS, a portion of that allowance can be automatically deducted from their pay if required to have a meal plan. 

This system is called Essential Station Messing (ESM), sometimes known as a meal card.

ESM is a program applied at the installation level, typically for single enlisted members who reside in government-provided barracks or dormitories. The rationale is that these junior members, often living in quarters without adequate kitchen facilities, need ready access to nutritious meals to maintain health and safety.

 

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Under ESM, a member’s Leave and Earnings Statement will show the full BAS entitlement credited to their pay and a corresponding deduction for the provided meal plan. This is not a loss of the BAS benefit itself, but rather an automatic payment for the government-provided meals. 

A good example of this is found in Army BAS policies. According to Army.mil, “All active-duty Soldiers receive BAS, except those in basic training or a similar status where BAS entitlement would not be appropriate.”

For those using ESM, “a portion of the BAS indicated on their LES provides the required meal plan, and the remainder is paid to the Soldier for their discretionary use. This transaction is shown when the BAS is removed to provide the meal plan, and about $65 is paid directly to the Soldier for their discretionary use.”

As you can see from the example above, the service member still retains a small portion of their BAS as cash for meals consumed on weekends or when they choose not to use the dining facility. 

It is a common misconception among junior personnel that they “lose” their BAS when on ESM; they receive the allowance and immediately use most of it to pay for their meal access.

Guard/Reserve BAS

For members of the Guard and Reserve components, entitlement to BAS is directly tied to their duty status. When reservists perform their standard weekend drill, they are typically not entitled to BAS. 

However, when they are called to active duty for over 30 days, they generally receive the same pay and allowances as their active duty counterparts, including BAS. The same rules regarding meal deductions for government-provided food apply.

A single Guard/Reserve service member on active duty receives the same BAS as a married member with several children. The military’s support for family subsistence is addressed through other means, not by adjusting the individual member’s BAS.

What Is BAS II?

The military’s mission makes a one-size-fits-all approach to food allowances and related benefits impossible. Duty assignments, living quarters, and operational tempo can create unique situations that require adjustments to the standard BAS policy. 

This has led to the creation of different types of BAS and specific rules for their application in various scenarios.

One important variation is BAS II., which is authorized for enlisted members at a permanent duty station who are assigned to single-type government quarters that lack adequate food storage or preparation facilities. 

• BAS II is only authorized when a government dining facility is unavailable and the government cannot provide meals. In this scenario, the service member is expected to purchase all of their meals from commercial sources, which can be more expensive. 
• BAS II is designed to offset this increased financial burden. Its approval is carefully controlled and requires certification that the specific conditions of inadequate government quarters and unavailable government messing are met.
• The rules surrounding BAS also adapt to the force’s mission and needs. When service members are on field duty, participating in training exercises, or deployed in certain operational environments, they are often provided with all their meals. These can be pre-packaged Meals, Ready-to-Eat (MREs), or meals served from a field kitchen. In these situations, policy dictates that the government must be reimbursed for the cost of the food provided. 
• This is typically accomplished through an automatic collection process from the service member’s pay.
• Even though the member continues to receive their full BAS entitlement, a daily charge for the meals provided is deducted.

 

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