Free BAH calculator with 2026 military housing allowance rates by pay grade, duty location and dependents. See your monthly tax-free estimate.
Disclaimer: Rates shown are the published 2026 monthly BAH figures for the 8 listed Military Housing Areas, compiled from DoD-based sources. O-8 through O-10 are shown at the O-7 rate in this tool. BAH depends on your exact duty-station ZIP code, so always verify with the official DoD BAH Rate Lookup at travel.dod.mil before making housing decisions.
Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) is the tax-free monthly payment the U.S. military gives service members to cover housing costs when they live off base. Your rate depends on three things: your pay grade, your duty station’s Military Housing Area, and whether you have dependents. In 2026, an E-5 with dependents receives $3,975 a month in San Diego but only $1,806 at Fort Bragg — location changes everything. This free BAH calculator uses published 2026 rates for eight major duty locations so you can estimate your allowance before a PCS move, a lease signing, or a promotion.
Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) is one of the three pillars of military compensation, alongside basic pay and Basic Allowance for Subsistence (BAS). It is paid monthly and is entirely tax-free, which makes each dollar worth more than a dollar of taxable wages. BAH is not reimbursement: if your rent is below your rate, you keep the difference.
Every duty station belongs to a Military Housing Area (MHA) — one of 300+ regions priced each year by the Defense Travel Management Office against local rental costs, utilities, and renter’s insurance. By policy, BAH is set to cover about 95% of typical local housing costs for each pay grade; the service member covers the remaining ~5%. Rates take effect every January 1 and stay fixed for the calendar year.
The with-dependents rate applies as soon as you have one qualifying dependent — a spouse, child, or dependent parent. Additional dependents do not raise it further. If BAH in your area ever drops year to year, rate protection lets you keep your higher existing rate as long as you stay at the same duty station.
BAH is not computed from a math formula — it is a lookup of three inputs:
Monthly BAH = published 2026 rate (pay grade, MHA, dependent status)
Your annual BAH is simply the monthly rate times 12:
Annual BAH = monthly BAH × 12
Worked example 1 — the same rank, two locations: An E-5 with dependents stationed in San Diego looks up $3,975/month. Annual BAH = $3,975 × 12 = $47,700. The same E-5 with dependents at Fort Bragg looks up $1,806/month. Annual BAH = $1,806 × 12 = $21,672. The San Diego assignment pays $47,700 − $21,672 = $26,028 more per year in housing allowance — purely because of the local market.
Worked example 2 — the dependent difference: An E-5 in San Diego without dependents receives $3,147/month. With dependents: $3,975/month. The difference is $3,975 − $3,147 = $828/month, or $828 × 12 = $9,936 per year of extra tax-free income from having a dependent.
Sergeant Rivera (E-5) is married and currently stationed at Fort Bragg, where her 2026 BAH is $1,806/month. She receives PCS orders to San Diego. Her new BAH becomes $3,975/month — an increase of $2,169/month, or $26,028 per year. Before signing a lease in San Diego, she checks the calculator and budgets a $3,400/month rental, pocketing the $575/month difference ($6,900/year) because BAH is a flat allowance, not a reimbursement.
Second scenario: Captain Lee (O-3) without dependents is assigned to JBLM (Tacoma MHA). The calculator shows $2,784/month. His annual BAH is $2,784 × 12 = $33,408, all tax-free — roughly equivalent to $43,000+ of taxable civilian salary at a 22% marginal rate.
Mortgage Amortization Calculator — See how your BAH-sized payment breaks down into principal and interest on a VA home loan.
Take Home Paycheck Calculator — Add tax-free BAH and BAS to your basic pay for a true picture of military take-home pay.
Salary Calculator — Convert your total military compensation into an equivalent civilian salary.
Income Tax Calculator — Estimate federal taxes on the taxable portion of your military pay.
Personal Loan Calculator — Plan borrowing against your budget after accounting for your housing allowance.
This page is a free 2026 BAH (Basic Allowance for Housing) calculator for U.S. service members. Key facts: BAH is a tax-free monthly allowance set by pay grade, Military Housing Area (MHA), and dependent status; 2026 rates are effective January 1, 2026; E-1 through E-4 share one rate in most areas; the with-dependents rate does not increase with additional dependents; rate protection preserves a member’s higher rate if area rates fall. Example: 2026 E-5 with dependents = $3,975/month in San Diego, CA and $1,806/month at Fort Bragg, NC.
Your 2026 BAH depends on your pay grade, your duty station’s Military Housing Area, and whether you have dependents. For example, an E-5 with dependents receives $3,975/month in San Diego, $2,430/month in Norfolk, and $1,806/month at Fort Bragg. Select your location, grade, and dependent status in the calculator above for your estimate, then confirm with the official DoD BAH Rate Lookup.
No. BAH has only two rates: with dependents and without dependents. A single qualifying dependent, such as a spouse or one child, unlocks the higher with-dependents rate, and having additional children does not raise it further.
No, BAH is completely tax-free. It does not appear as taxable income on your W-2, which means a $3,000 monthly BAH payment is worth considerably more than $3,000 of taxable civilian salary after federal and state taxes.
Your BAH recalculates to the new duty station’s Military Housing Area rate on the day your new assignment takes effect. It can go up or down depending on the local market. If the new area’s published rate is lower than what you currently receive, rate protection lets you keep your higher rate while you remain there.
Yes. BAH is a flat allowance, not a reimbursement. If you rent off base for less than your BAH rate, the difference is yours to keep and spend however you like. On-base privatized housing, by contrast, typically takes your full BAH amount.
Cite this page as: “BAH Calculator.” Sigma Calculator. Accessed October 20, 2026. https://sigmacalculator.net/financial-calculators/bah-calculator/
Last updated: October 20, 2026