Temporary Support for Separating or Divorcing Military Families

For Soldiers, financial support of family members is governed by Army Regulation 608-99, Family Support, Child Custody, and Parentage. AR 608-99 ¶ 2-6 specifically addresses the financial support required when there is no applicable financial support agreement or court order.

Notably, in the army allegations or even proof of adultery or other marital misconduct by the spouse do not automatically excuse a Soldier from the obligation to provide financial support.

The Army calculation is also different from the Navy calculation. Instead of using the Soldier’s gross military pay, the Army uses the Soldier’s applicable BAH RC/T-WITH rate, or Basic Allowance for Housing Reserve Component/Transit With Dependents.

Despite the name, this does not mean that the Soldier has to be in a reserve component for the regulation to apply. For purposes of calculating interim family support, the Army uses this standardized nationwide housing allowance rate based on the Soldier’s pay grade rather than the Soldier’s geographic duty station.

To calculate interim support, the applicable BAH RC/T-WITH rate is divided by the total number of supported family members. Each supported family member receives one equal pro-rata share.

The applicable 2026 BAH RC/T-WITH rates are:

Applicable BAH RC/T-WITH ÷ Number of Supported Family Members = Each Family Member’s Pro-Rata Share

For example, assume an O-1 Soldier has a spouse and two children, for a total of three supported family members. The applicable 2026 BAH RC/T-WITH rate is $1,466.70, or $488.90 per family member. If the spouse and both children live together, the total interim support obligation is $1,466.70 per month. However, if one child continues to live with the Soldier, the spouse would receive support only for themselves and the child living with them—not for the child residing with the Soldier.

The Army also provides for Enhanced Interim Financial Support (“EIFS”), which can provide additional transitional support to a qualifying civilian spouse. In a qualifying case, the additional amount is equal to 25% of the Soldier’s BAH RC/T-WITH rate.

Using the same O-1 example: $1,466.70 × 25% = $366.68 Accordingly, a qualifying spouse may receive an additional (normally one-time) $366.68 in EIFS on top of the interim support.

For Marines, financial support of dependent family members is governed by the Legal Support and Administration Manual, Marine Corps Order 5800.16, Volume 9, Dependent Support and Paternity.

The Marine Corps rules have one particularly important difference: in the absence of a written agreement or court order, the interim-support requirement under Volume 9 is triggered by a complaint of nonsupport to the Marine’s commanding officer, and the support is calculated beginning on the date the commanding officer receives the complaint. In other words, you need to file a complaint in order to gurantee support.

Each qualifying family member receives a portion of the Marine’s applicable BAH or OHA. Unlike the Army’s standardized BAH RC/T-WITH rate, a Marine’s ordinary BAH generally depends on:

1. the Marine’s pay grade;
2. the Marine’s permanent duty station or geographic location; and
3. dependency status.

The applicable BAH can generally be found on the Marine’s LES or through the Department of Defense BAH Rate Lookup.

For example, E-6 Marine assigned to a permanent duty station at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, who is not furnished government housing, has an applicable BAH With Dependents rate of $1,944.00 per month.

The Marine Corps interim-support shares are:

Using our E-6 Marine with a BAH of $1,944.00, assume the Marine has a spouse and two children. There are three supported family members, so each family member is allocated 1/4 of the applicable BAH. $1,944.00 ÷ 4 = $486.00, meaning each supported family member is allocated $486.00 per month.

If the spouse and two children reside together: $486.00 × 3 = $1,458.00 per month The Marine would therefore need to provide $1,458.00 per month in interim support for the family unit.

The Marine Corps does, however, impose an overall ceiling: the total support paid to all qualifying family members generally may not exceed one-third of the Marine’s gross military pay per month. For this purpose, gross military pay includes military pay and allowances before taxes and other deductions.

Government housing can also affect the Marine Corps calculation. The fact that a Marine is furnished government housing does not necessarily mean that a separating spouse will receive nothing. The Marine’s applicable BAH or OHA entitlement has to be determined based on the actual living arrangements and applicable housing rules after separation.

For Airmen and Space Force servicemembers, known as Guardians, financial support of family members is governed by Department of the Air Force Instruction 36-2906, Personal Financial Responsibility.

Before there is an court order or financial support agreement, an Airman or Guardian is required to provide interim financial support to qualifying family members under the formula contained in DAFI 36-2906. This calculation introduces yet another BAH concept.

Airmen ordinarily receive geographic or locality based BAH. That ordinary housing allowance is generally based on the servicemember’s pay grade, duty location, and dependency status.

For purposes of calculating interim family support, however, the Air Force does not simply use the Airman’s actual locality based BAH. Instead, DAFI 36-2906 uses the applicable Non-Locality BAH With Dependents rate based on the member’s pay grade. In other words, where the Airman happens to be stationed does not matter for the calculation of interim support.

The applicable Non-Locality BAH rates are published by the Department of Defense and updated periodically. For 2026, the applicable With Dependents rates include:

To calculate interim support, the Airman’s applicable Non-Locality BAH With Dependents rate is divided by the total number of supported family members:

Non-Locality BAH With Dependents ÷ Number of Supported Family Members = Pro-Rata Share

Importantly, the Airman or Guardian is not included as a supported family member in that calculation.

For example, assume an E-4 Airman has a spouse and one child, for a total of two supported family members. The applicable 2026 Non-Locality BAH With Dependents rate is $1,219.50, or $609.75 per family member. If the spouse and child live together, the total interim support obligation is $1,219.50 per month.

In this situation the supported family members collectively receive an amount equal to the Airman’s entire applicable Non-Locality BAH With Dependents rate.

That does not necessarily mean that the Airman is paying his or her entire actual BAH. The Airman’s actual locality-based BAH may be substantially different. The Non-Locality BAH figure is simply the standardized number the Air Force uses to calculate this interim family-support obligation.

The Air Force regulation also addresses situations involving government or military housing, indirect support, shared physical custody, and circumstances under which a commander may release a member from certain spousal-support requirements.

Financial support of family members of Coast Guard servicemembers is governed by COMDTINST M1600.2, Discipline and Conduct, Chapter 2, Article 2.E, Support of Dependents.

The Coast Guard expects its members to provide adequate and continuous support for their lawful dependents.

Of all the branches, the Coast Guard calculation may look the most intimidating at first because it requires two separate numbers: the member’s “BAH Difference” and a percentage of the member’s basic pay.

BAH Difference = BAH With Dependents − BAH Without Dependents.

To calculate the Coast Guard BAH Difference, you need:

1. the servicemember’s pay grade;
2. the ZIP code for the permanent duty station;
3. the applicable BAH With Dependents rate; and
4. the applicable BAH Without Dependents rate.

For example, assume an O-1 Coast Guard Ensign assigned to Pensacola, Florida, ZIP Code 32506 has a BAH With Dependents rate of $1,914.00 and a BAH Without Dependents rate of $1,719.00.

The BAH Difference is: $1,914.00 − $1,719.00 = $195.00

Next, you need the servicemember’s basic pay. Basic pay is not based on geographic location. It is determined primarily by the servicemember’s pay grade and years of creditable military service.

To determine basic pay, you need to:

1. determine the servicemember’s pay grade;
2. determine the servicemember’s years of service; and
3. locate that pay grade and years-of-service category on the applicable Military Basic Pay Table.

For example, assume our O-1 has more than two years of creditable service and has monthly basic pay of $4,320.00.

Once you have both numbers, you determine the applicable percentage based on the number of dependents:

Now assume our O-1 Ensign has only a spouse. We already calculated the BAH Difference: $1,914.00 − $1,719.00 = $195.00 and Twenty percent of $4,320.00 in basic pay is: $4,320.00 × 20% = $864.00. Add the two together: $195.00 + $864.00 = $1,059.00. The spouse would therefore be entitled to minimum interim support of $1,059.00 per month under the Coast Guard formula.

Importantly, the Coast Guard emphasizes that these amounts as the minimum level of support expected from the servicemember.