What Will the Army Pay for When My Husband Is Deployed?
- Family separation allowance is paid to military members with dependents while the military member is deployed. It starts after 30 days of deployment and, as of 2011, provides an additional $250 per month, prorated to $8.33 per day for partial months. This entitlement ceases when family members have visited the military members for more than 30 days at the temporary duty station, or the day before the military member returns home after deployment.
- Combat Pay, or Hostile Fire/Imminent Danger Pay, is intended to compensate military members for being at risk in certain areas where it is deemed combat is a possibility. This pay provides an extra $225 per month.
- The Combat Zone Tax Exclusion guarantees military members deployed in certain areas income tax exemption every month from both federal and state tax. Enlisted men are exempt from all tax; commissioned officers are exempt from tax on the first $6,315.90 they make per month. The tax exemption applies to any month a military member is in that combat zone, even if the soldier is there for a single day of the month. In other words, a soldier in an exclusion zone from April 30 to June 1 is exempt from all income tax for all three months, although only 33 days were spent in the zone. The zones determining this tax exclusion are somewhat different from the ones determining whether you receive combat pay, so you are possibly eligible for this one even if you don't get combat pay.
- When a military member is deployed for more than 401 out of the preceding 730 days, he is eligible for high deployment allowance. This allowance pays a per-diem rate of $100 on top of regular pay and other bonuses. It is limited to $1,000 per month. Military members hospitalized away from their permanent duty stations have the days of hospitalization counted toward this allowance.
