What is O-3 BAH at Austin in 2026?

$3,447 per month with dependents ($41,364 per year), effective 01 JAN 2026. Without dependents it is $2,676 per month.

Does BAH count as taxable income?

No. BAH is excluded from federal taxable income, so a given BAH amount is worth more than the same figure in basic pay.

What happens if my BAH rate drops this year?

BAH rate protection holds you at the prior year's amount as long as your duty location, pay grade and dependency status stay the same. The lower rate applies to members arriving on new orders.

O-3 BAH at Austin 2026 — $3,447 with dependents, $2,676 without

Basic Allowance for Housing by duty station, pay grade and dependency status. Official DoD rates, no login, no email.

Austin, TX

O-3 · with dependents

$3,447/ month

$41,364 / year

At O-3, this is #61 of 338 stations loaded · high Westchester County $6,633 · low Anniston $1,686

MHA TX272 · ZIPs 73301 73344 76527 76530 76537 76573 +107 more

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Untaxed — matching it with taxable pay takes$4,419 / mo gross

Without dependents here$2,676 / mo

In government quarters, no dependents$50.10 / mo partial

Austin — full sheetTap a row

Grade	With dep.	Without
Enlisted
E-1	$2,046	$1,536
E-2	$2,046	$1,536
E-3	$2,046	$1,536
E-4	$2,046	$1,536
E-5	$2,241	$1,731
E-6	$2,802	$2,103
E-7	$3,039	$2,280
E-8	$3,294	$2,472
E-9	$3,558	$2,670
Warrant officer
W-1	$2,826	$2,121
W-2	$3,141	$2,355
W-3	$3,456	$2,673
W-4	$3,597	$2,856
W-5	$3,771	$3,096
Officer — prior enlisted
O-1E	$3,087	$2,316
O-2E	$3,408	$2,556
O-3E	$3,624	$2,796
Officer
O-1	$2,313	$1,848
O-2	$2,796	$2,283
O-3	$3,447	$2,676
O-4	$3,825	$3,054
O-5	$4,095	$3,198
O-6	$4,131	$3,435
O-7	$4,161	$3,495

What this rate means

O-3 with dependents, nearest stations0 – $6,633 / month

Westchester County$6,633

JB McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst$3,552

Vallejo$3,537

County Cost Group 880$3,489

Sitka$3,462

Austin$3,447

Annapolis$3,438

Willow Grove$3,438

Hampden County$3,426

Madison$3,426

Anniston$1,686

Austin is #61 of 338. The spread between the dearest and cheapest station at this grade is $4,947 a month — $59,364 a year, untaxed.

Every pay grade at Austin0 – $4,161 / month

E-1$2,046

E-2$2,046

E-3$2,046

E-4$2,046

E-5$2,241

E-6$2,802

E-7$3,039

E-8$3,294

E-9$3,558

W-1$2,826

W-2$3,141

W-3$3,456

W-4$3,597

W-5$3,771

O-1E$3,087

O-2E$3,408

O-3E$3,624

O-1$2,313

O-2$2,796

O-3$3,447

O-4$3,825

O-5$4,095

O-6$4,131

O-7$4,161

Promoting to O-4 here adds $378 a month. The pay chart moves this allowance far less than the map does.

Where you are stationed outweighs what you are paid. Moving from Austin to Westchester County at O-3 is worth $3,186 a month — about 8 promotions worth of housing allowance, at $378 per grade here.

Dependency status is worth 29% here. That is a status your finance office determines, not a box you tick — and it is the single largest lever on this page that is not a change of address.

None of it is taxed. $3,447 a month of BAH takes more than $3,447 of basic pay to match, which is why comparing a civilian salary against military base pay alone understates the gap.

Things the rate table doesn't tell you

“With dependents” is a dependency status, not a marital status. A single member paying child support can be authorized BAH-Diff; a married dual-military couple with no children is not automatically the with-dependents rate for both. If your situation is unusual, your finance office decides — not this table.

O-8, O-9 and O-10 draw the same BAH as O-7. The table stops there for a reason, not because it is missing rows.

This is CONUS BAH only. Overseas is OHA, which works differently — it reimburses actual rent up to a cap, with separate utility and move-in allowances. Alaska and Hawaii are BAH; Germany, Japan and Korea are OHA.

O-3 at Austin draws $3,447 per month with dependents in 2026, $2,676 without

What this rate means

Things the rate table doesn't tell you