BAH Calculator 2026

What BAH pays for, and what it does not

BAH pays for rent and utilities when the government does not give you quarters. DTMO says it applies to members on permanent duty in the 50 states, and it is set by three things only: your pay grade, whether you have at least one dependent, and the ZIP code of your permanent duty station. Where you actually live does not change it.

The rate is built from civilian rents. DTMO’s BAH Basics FAQ says each year’s rates use median market rents plus average electricity, water and sewer, and heating fuel costs for civilians at a comparable income. That matches the statute: 37 U.S.C. § 403(b)(2) tells the Secretary of Defense to base housing costs on “civilians with comparable income levels in the same area.” Home prices are not in it.

BAH is not meant to cover every dollar. The 2026 rates keep a 5% member cost-sharing amount, which the Department of War’s December 11, 2025 release put at $93 to $212 a month depending on grade and dependency status. Rent below the median and you keep what is left. The BAH Primer (January 2026 edition) describes the allowance as tax-free.

What changed for 2026

The release says 2026 rates rose an average of 4.2%, took effect January 1, 2026, and pay an estimated $29.9 billion to about one million members. Average is the key word. The release notes that local markets moved differently, so your location may have risen more, less, or not at all.

One location changed mid-year. DTMO raised the Abilene/Dyess AFB, Texas rates (MHA TX270) effective May 16, 2026, by about 24% on average, from 18% to 28% depending on grade and dependency status. DTMO says eligible members there get the new rate automatically and the temporary rates expire December 31, 2026. In the DTMO file, an E-4 with dependents went from $1,458 to $1,761 a month, $303 more. This calculator uses the raised rates.

Rate protection: why your LES can show more than this

This tool shows the published 2026 rate. If you were already at your duty station before January 1, you may be paid more. DTMO’s rate protection rule pays the larger of the January 1 published rate or what you received on December 31. It lasts until one of three things happens: a PCS, a reduction in pay grade, or a change in dependency status.

A promotion is not on that list. A common claim is that a promotion resets your rate. The BAH Primer says the opposite: if the new grade’s published rate at your location is lower than what you were getting, you keep the higher amount. The DoD Financial Management Regulation, Volume 7A, Chapter 26 (September 2026 edition) says the same in § 5.2, and adds one exception that matters in Abilene: “There is no rate protection for temporarily increased rates.” Plan on the 2027 TX270 rate, not the raised 2026 one.

Cases this calculator does not price

• Two service members married to each other. DTMO’s eligibility FAQ says one gets the with-dependents rate and the other gets the without-dependents rate when they have children. Run the calculator once for each of you.
• Unaccompanied overseas tour. The same FAQ says a member with dependents who is not given government housing overseas gets BAH at the with-dependents rate for the dependents’ U.S. ZIP code. Enter their ZIP, not yours.
• Stationed outside the 50 states. Overseas posts and U.S. territories pay an Overseas Housing Allowance instead. Territory ZIP codes such as Puerto Rico’s map to an “UNKNOWN” housing area with no rate in DTMO’s file, and the calculator says so.
• BAH-Partial. The FMR (§ 5.5.1) pays it to a member without dependents who is assigned single-type government quarters. It is small and flat: $6.90 a month at E-1 up to $50.70 at O-7 and above on the 2026 non-locality table.
• BAH-Differential. DTMO describes it as the amount for a member in single-type quarters who qualifies for BAH only because they pay child support, and it is not paid if the monthly support is less than the BAH-Diff amount. The 2026 table lists, for example, $380.10 a month at E-5. Child support payers who live off base get the with-dependents rate instead.
• Guard and Reserve on short orders. DTMO says reservists on active duty for less than 30 days get a non-locality rate, not the ZIP code rate shown here.

How this works

The calculator reads DTMO’s own 2026 files and does no estimating.

The arithmetic

1. Finds your ZIP code in DTMO’s ZIP-to-housing-area file (40,959 ZIP codes, 339 Military Housing Areas).
2. Reads that housing area’s row in the with-dependents and without-dependents rate files, in the column for your grade.
3. Multiplies the monthly rate by 12 for the yearly figure, and subtracts the two dependency rates for the comparison.

On November 3, 2026, five results were checked against DTMO’s own lookup and matched to the dollar: 28310 (Fort Bragg) at E-5, $1,806 with and $1,527 without dependents; 92136 (San Diego) at O-3, $4,518 and $4,248; 98433 (Tacoma) at E-7, $2,994 and $2,376; 23511 (Norfolk) at W-2, $2,628 and $2,460; and 79607 (Abilene) at E-4, $1,761 and $1,380.

What this does not account for

• Rate protection. If you were at this station on December 31, 2025, you may be paid more than the number shown.
• Whether you are assigned government quarters. If you are, you generally do not draw this rate.
• BAH-Partial, BAH-Differential, the reserve short-tour rate, and the Overseas Housing Allowance.
• Rates DTMO publishes after November 3, 2026, including the 2027 table.
• Your finance office has the final word on your entitlement. Your LES is the record.

Frequently asked questions