2026 BAH Calculator
Look up your exact Basic Allowance for Housing by ZIP code and pay grade, the real DoD rate, with and without dependents.
Sources: DoD / DTMO BAH rates (2026), IRS Publication 3 — Armed Forces Tax Guide (BAH is excluded income)
Both spouses serve? Toggle Dual-military couple above for the combined household view, or read Dual-Military BAH: Who Gets Paid What.
How the 2026 BAH rates work
BAH is a tax-free monthly housing allowance built from three inputs: the Military Housing Area your duty-station ZIP falls into, your pay grade, and whether you have dependents. Rates are set annually by the DoD to reflect local rental costs, which is why the same rank earns very different BAH in San Diego than in San Antonio.
It does not track what you actually pay. If your housing costs less than your BAH you keep the difference, and if it costs more the gap comes out of your pocket. That is the whole reason a rate lookup is worth doing before you sign a lease rather than after.
This calculator uses the official DoD rates effective 2026-01-01, covering all 338 Military Housing Areas across the continental United States, Alaska and Hawaii. Overseas locations use Overseas Housing Allowance instead, which is a different system with different rules.
Reading your result
The two figures the calculator returns are the with-dependents and without-dependents rates for your grade and location. Dependent status is a binary switch, not a count: a member with one child and a member with four draw the same BAH at the same grade and location. Adding a second child does not add BAH.
Junior enlisted grades often share an identical rate inside a housing area, so seeing the same number for E-1 through E-4 is the data being correct rather than a bug.
The three situations that trip people up
Dual military. Each member draws their own rate. There is no combined household rate, and only one of you can claim a given child for the with-dependents figure. The diagram above walks the four common arrangements.
Chapter 31 / VR&E.VR&E pays a subsistence allowance rather than BAH, but if you are also Post-9/11 eligible you may elect a housing-based rate instead. Compare both on the VR&E pay chart before you choose, because which one wins depends on your ZIP.
Family in a different city. BAH follows the duty station, not the household. A geographic bachelor draws the duty-station rate, and BAH differential is a separate and much smaller payment tied to child support, not a variant of the rate above.
BAH: common questions
Is BAH taxable?
No. BAH is a non-taxable allowance, not wages. IRS Publication 3, the Armed Forces Tax Guide, lists Basic Allowance for Housing among the living allowances excluded from gross income, alongside BAS. It does not appear in the wages box on your W-2 and you do not report it as income. The practical effect is that a dollar of BAH is worth more than a dollar of base pay, which matters when you are comparing a military package against a civilian salary offer.
How is my BAH rate actually determined?
Three inputs and nothing else: the Military Housing Area your duty-station ZIP code falls into, your pay grade, and whether you have dependents. It is not based on what you actually pay in rent, and it is not based on where you live. If your housing costs less than your BAH you keep the difference, and if it costs more you cover the gap yourself. Rates are published once a year and take effect on 1 January.
How does BAH work for a dual-military couple?
Each member draws their own BAH based on their own pay grade and duty station. The couple does not receive one combined household rate. Where it gets specific is dependents: only one member can claim a given child as a dependent for the with-dependents rate, so the usual arrangement is one member at the with-dependents rate and the other at the without-dependents rate. Toggle the dual-military option in the calculator above to model both sides at once.
Does VR&E (Chapter 31) pay BAH?
Chapter 31 pays a subsistence allowance, which is not the same thing as BAH, but veterans who are also eligible for the Post-9/11 GI Bill may elect a subsistence allowance calculated on the Post-9/11 monthly housing allowance instead. That figure is ZIP-driven and based on the E-5-with-dependents rate, which is why people search for a VR&E BAH rate at all. Which option pays more depends on your ZIP and your training load, so compare both before electing.
What is BAH differential, and who gets it?
BAH differential, often written BAH-Diff, is a smaller payment for a service member in government quarters who pays child support. It is not the full with-dependents rate and it is not the same as the standard without-dependents rate. It exists to recognise the support payment rather than to house you, so treat it as a separate line rather than a version of the rate this calculator returns.
What happens to BAH if my family lives somewhere else?
BAH normally follows your duty station, not your family. A geographic bachelor, meaning a member whose dependents live apart from the duty station by choice, generally draws the rate for the duty-station location rather than the family location. Orders-driven separations are treated differently from voluntary ones, so this is one to confirm with your finance office rather than assume, because the two situations produce different answers.
When do BAH rates change?
Every 1 January. The rates in this calculator are the DoD rates effective 2026-01-01, covering all 338 Military Housing Areas. New rates are normally published in mid-December for the year starting a couple of weeks later, so a rate you looked up in November is not the rate you will be paid in January.
Source: U.S. Department of Defense / DTMO, BAH rates effective 2026-01-01. Taxability per IRS Publication 3. Informational only, verify with your finance office or the official DoD BAH calculator before relying on a figure. Not affiliated with the Department of Defense.