Updated August 2026 · Rates effective January 1, 2026.
The 2026 Pentagon BAH rates range from $2,409 to $4,071 per month without dependents and $3,096 to $4,770 per month with dependents, depending on pay grade. The Pentagon is part of the Washington, DC Metro Area Military Housing Area, identified by DoD as MHA DC053.
See what your BAH could support
- Choose your pay grade and dependency status.
- Adjust the rate, taxes, insurance, HOA, and added budget.
- Compare the illustration with your complete monthly costs.
Zero-down VA planning illustration—not a preapproval or loan estimate.
Use the complete table below to compare monthly and annual Basic Allowance for Housing amounts by rank. Then use the housing and commute guidance to translate the allowance into a realistic Northern Virginia home-search budget.
2026 Pentagon BAH increase
For an E-5, the with-dependents rate increased from $2,952 in 2025 to $3,132 in 2026—an increase of $180 per month. The without-dependents rate increased from $2,679 to $2,832—an increase of $153 per month.
Source: 2026 Department of Defense BAH rate data for MHA DC053 and the official BAH Rate Lookup. Verify your individual entitlement with your servicing finance office before making a housing commitment.
Pentagon BAH home-buying power planner
Turn your published BAH into a zero-down VA-loan planning scenario. Adjust every assumption before treating the result as useful.
Planning estimate only: This is not a loan estimate, preapproval, or promise that BAH will qualify as income. It assumes a 30-year fixed VA loan with zero down and finances the selected funding fee. The displayed budget includes modeled principal, interest, property tax, homeowners insurance, and HOA or condo fees. It excludes utilities, maintenance, repairs, parking, tolls, commuting costs, and cash that may be needed at closing. Lenders also evaluate income, debts, credit, residual income, entitlement, appraisal, occupancy, and property eligibility.
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Compare Pentagon commute and community tradeoffs in the paired PCS guide.
2026 Pentagon BAH rates for enlisted members
| Pay grade | With dependents | Without dependents |
|---|---|---|
| E-1 | $3,096/mo$37,152/year | $2,409/mo$28,908/year |
| E-2 | $3,096/mo$37,152/year | $2,409/mo$28,908/year |
| E-3 | $3,096/mo$37,152/year | $2,409/mo$28,908/year |
| E-4 | $3,096/mo$37,152/year | $2,409/mo$28,908/year |
| E-5 | $3,132/mo$37,584/year | $2,832/mo$33,984/year |
| E-6 | $3,759/mo$45,108/year | $3,057/mo$36,684/year |
| E-7 | $3,855/mo$46,260/year | $3,099/mo$37,188/year |
| E-8 | $3,957/mo$47,484/year | $3,261/mo$39,132/year |
| E-9 | $4,128/mo$49,536/year | $3,447/mo$41,364/year |
2026 Pentagon BAH rates for warrant officers
| Pay grade | With dependents | Without dependents |
|---|---|---|
| W-1 | $3,780/mo$45,360/year | $3,096/mo$37,152/year |
| W-2 | $3,894/mo$46,728/year | $3,258/mo$39,096/year |
| W-3 | $4,023/mo$48,276/year | $3,471/mo$41,652/year |
| W-4 | $4,167/mo$50,004/year | $3,777/mo$45,324/year |
| W-5 | $4,350/mo$52,200/year | $3,876/mo$46,512/year |
2026 Pentagon BAH rates for officers
| Pay grade | With dependents | Without dependents |
|---|---|---|
| O-1E | $3,870/mo$46,440/year | $3,129/mo$37,548/year |
| O-2E | $4,002/mo$48,024/year | $3,405/mo$40,860/year |
| O-3E | $4,197/mo$50,364/year | $3,753/mo$45,036/year |
| O-1 | $3,213/mo$38,556/year | $3,054/mo$36,648/year |
| O-2 | $3,753/mo$45,036/year | $3,126/mo$37,512/year |
| O-3 | $4,020/mo$48,240/year | $3,531/mo$42,372/year |
| O-4 | $4,410/mo$52,920/year | $3,855/mo$46,260/year |
| O-5 | $4,692/mo$56,304/year | $3,909/mo$46,908/year |
| O-6 | $4,731/mo$56,772/year | $3,999/mo$47,988/year |
| O-7/O-7+ | $4,770/mo$57,240/year | $4,071/mo$48,852/year |
How Pentagon BAH works
BAH follows the duty station
The Pentagon’s official mailing ZIP is 20301. BAH is generally based on the permanent duty-station ZIP—not the ZIP code of the home you decide to rent or buy.
Dependents are a yes-or-no category
DoD publishes a with-dependents rate and a without-dependents rate. The allowance does not increase for each additional dependent.
Published rates may differ from a protected rate
Individual rate protection can prevent an eligible member from receiving a lower rate while the duty station, pay grade, and dependency status remain unchanged.
BAH is not a complete housing budget
DoD’s 2026 component breakdown for DC053 attributes about 89% of the modeled housing cost to rent and 11% to utilities. Your actual utilities, parking, tolls, maintenance, HOA fees, and other costs can differ.
What the allowance means for a Northern Virginia home search
A BAH figure is a starting point—not a recommended rent or mortgage payment. A household choosing Pentagon City or Crystal City may spend more of the allowance on location and less space. Kingstowne, Springfield, Burke, or Prince William County may provide different housing options, but transportation costs and commute time become more important.
Before deciding what is affordable, compare the full monthly cost:
- Rent or mortgage payment
- Utilities and maintenance
- Condo or homeowners-association fees
- Parking, tolls, fuel, and first-mile transit
- Homeowners or renters insurance
- PCS timing, temporary lodging, deposits, and closing costs
Where VA financing has been most common
An Ask A Walker analysis of 374,005 Northern Virginia closed sales from August 2016 through July 2026 identified 49,986 purchases using VA financing. Stafford had the highest county-level share, while Fairfax recorded the greatest number of VA-financed purchases. Financing type does not identify a buyer’s duty station, so these figures show VA-loan usage—not Pentagon assignments.
4,300 VA purchases
1,666 VA purchases
1,221 VA purchases
1,053 VA purchases
996 VA purchases
915 VA purchases
Method: Share equals VA-financed purchases divided by all closed sales in each ZIP. ZIP examples shown have substantial ten-year sales volume. Results are aggregated from the Ask A Walker market warehouse; no transaction-level records are published.
Estimate VA funding fees and cash needed with the detailed Northern Virginia VA Loan Calculator.
Verify your official rate
Use the DoD calculator with your permanent duty-station ZIP, year, and pay grade. Your finance office is the authoritative source for entitlement questions and rate-protection situations.
Frequently asked questions
What is the 2026 Pentagon BAH rate for an E-5?
An E-5 assigned to the Washington, DC Metro Area receives $3,132 per month with dependents or $2,832 per month without dependents under the published 2026 table.
What Military Housing Area covers the Pentagon?
The Pentagon is in the Washington, DC Metro Area Military Housing Area, identified as MHA DC053.
Is Pentagon BAH based on where I live?
BAH is generally based on the permanent duty-station ZIP code. Choosing a home in a different Northern Virginia community does not automatically change the Pentagon duty-station rate.
Does BAH increase with each dependent?
No. DoD distinguishes between members with dependents and members without dependents; it does not publish a separate rate for each family size.
Can my BAH decrease when a new annual table is published?
Individual rate protection may preserve the prior higher rate while your duty station, pay grade, and dependency status remain unchanged. PCS, a reduction in pay grade, or a dependency-status change can end that protection.
Turn your Pentagon BAH into a practical housing plan
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