BAH Calculator 2026
Enter a duty station ZIP code, your pay grade and whether you have dependents to see your 2026 monthly Basic Allowance for Housing, with the 2025 rate beside it. Rates come straight from DoD's official BAH data for every ZIP code, and the lookup runs in your browser. Looking for a whole area? See BAH rates 2026 for every military housing area.
Maintained by Archie Chang · DoD rate files checked October 25, 2026 · Methodology & sources
BAH calculator 2026
Use the ZIP code of the duty station, not your home. The lookup runs in your browser against DoD's 2026 and 2025 rate files.
O-1E to O-3E are the rates for officers with prior enlisted service; O-7 covers O-7 and above (DoD lists the same rate for O-8 to O-10).
Monthly BAH
Enter a 5-digit ZIP code to see the 2026 rate.
Not affiliated with DoD. Rates are from DoD's official BAH files; confirm with the official lookup tool.
BAH 2026 in popular duty station areas
E-5 and O-3 with dependents in some large housing areas. Each area has its own page with every pay grade, with and without dependents.
| Housing area | E-5 with dependents | O-3 with dependents |
|---|---|---|
| San Diego, CA | $3,975 | $4,518 |
| Norfolk/Portsmouth, VA | $2,430 | $2,694 |
| Fort Bragg/Pope, NC | $1,806 | $2,175 |
| Fort Campbell, KY | $1,815 | $2,496 |
| Fort Hood, TX | $1,695 | $2,340 |
| Washington, DC Metro Area | $3,132 | $4,020 |
| Colorado Springs, CO | $2,358 | $2,595 |
| Jacksonville, FL | $2,181 | $2,364 |
| Honolulu County, HI | $3,663 | $4,428 |
| Seattle, WA | $3,135 | $4,215 |
299 named housing areas in all; browse and sort them.
How BAH works
BAH helps cover housing costs for uniformed service members who do not live in government quarters. It is authorized by 37 U.S.C. 403, and DoD sets the rates for each area from local housing costs. Your rate depends on three things: the ZIP code of your permanent duty station, your pay grade and your dependency status.
BAH is not taxed (IRS Publication 3). Pair it with BAS and base pay from the military pay chart to see your full monthly pay, or check military pay dates. Deploying? See the deployment pay calculator, and for the long run the military retirement pay calculator.
BAH calculator questions
How do I calculate my BAH?
BAH is a lookup, not a formula you work out yourself. DoD publishes one monthly rate for each pay grade, each military housing area (MHA) and each dependency status (with or without dependents). Enter the ZIP code of your duty station, pick your pay grade and whether you have dependents, and the calculator finds the MHA for that ZIP and reads the rate from DoD's 2026 files. For example, an E-5 with dependents at a San Diego ZIP such as 92101 gets $3,975 a month in 2026.
Which ZIP code do I use?
The ZIP code of your permanent duty station, not your home address. BAH is based on the cost of housing near where you are assigned, together with your pay grade and dependency status (DTMO, Basic Allowance for Housing).
Is there a separate Army, Navy, Air Force or Marine Corps BAH calculator?
No. DoD's data has one rate per MHA, pay grade and dependency status, so the same table applies whichever service you are in. Pick your pay grade (for example E-5 or O-3) and the ZIP of your duty station.
Do the rates change during the year?
Rates are set for the calendar year, with one exception in 2026: DoD temporarily raised the Abilene, TX/Dyess AFB (TX270) rates effective May 16, 2026. Those temporary rates expire on December 31, 2026. The calculator shows the current TX270 rate and the original January 1 rate. DoD announces next year's rates before January 1, and this site does not estimate 2027 rates.
Can my BAH go down?
Under 37 U.S.C. 403(b)(6), as long as a member keeps uninterrupted eligibility for BAH within an area of the United States, the monthly amount may not be reduced because of changes in housing costs in the area or because the member is promoted. The 2025 column in this calculator compares DoD's published rates; it is not your personal payment history. The statute and DTMO's BAH primer cover the details.
How does the 2025 comparison work?
The 2025 figure is the rate for the 2025 area of that same ZIP code, taken from DoD's 2025 ZIP file, not the 2025 rate of the area the ZIP is in now. DoD moves some ZIP codes between areas and county cost groups from one year to the next, so the change shown can include a move to a different area. ZIP codes DoD added in 2026 have no 2025 figure, so the calculator shows none.
Is BAH taxable?
No. IRS Publication 3 lists BAH among the servicemembers' government pay items excluded from gross income. This page is not tax advice.
What does "county cost group (rural areas)" mean?
DoD's ZIP file puts ZIP codes outside the named military housing areas into county cost groups, which are rural areas. They have a rate for every pay grade but no named MHA page here. The calculator shows the group code and number from DoD's file.
Why does my ZIP show no rate?
A few ZIP codes, such as Puerto Rico ZIPs, map to an "unknown" area in DoD's CONUS file, so there is no CONUS BAH rate for them. Overseas members receive OHA or other allowances; contact your finance office. If a ZIP is missing from the file entirely, check it and use the official DoD lookup tool.
Data source. 2026 rates: BAH-ASCII-2026.zip from the DTMO BAH page (travel.dod.mil/Allowances/Basic-Allowance-for-Housing), files bahw26.txt and bahwo26.txt (with and without dependents), downloaded October 25, 2026. 2025 comparison rates: BAH-ASCII-2025.zip from the same page. File checksums (SHA-256): 2026 zip 5446fed831e125c23cc6a407dcde4cae541f108e90ac852aaadeec0aa11e515f; 2025 zip 32d18c4220e88d3721a3519dada57ef95b605538369ce07aaa90d9e32efe758a.
2026 data file · 2025 data file · DTMO BAH rate lookup · Official per-ZIP tool · 37 U.S.C. 403 · IRS Publication 3