What is O-5 BAH at Birmingham in 2026?

$2,826 per month with dependents ($33,912 per year), effective 01 JAN 2026. without dependents it is $2,535 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-5 BAH at Birmingham 2026 — $2,826/mo with dependents

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

Birmingham, AL

O-5 · with dependents

$2,826/ month

$33,912 / year

At O-5, this is #205 of 338 stations loaded · high Westchester County $8,064 · low Youngstown $1,827

MHA AL007 · ZIPs 35004 35005 35006 35007 35015 35020 +117 more

Your grade is calledARMYLTCUSMCLtColNAVYCDRUSAFLt Col

Untaxed — matching it with taxable pay takes$3,623 / mo gross

Other dependency status here$2,535 without dependents

In government quarters, no dependents$50.10 / mo partial

Birmingham — full sheetTap a row

Grade	With dep.	Without
Enlisted
E-1	$2,223	$1,668
E-2	$2,223	$1,668
E-3	$2,223	$1,668
E-4	$2,223	$1,668
E-5	$2,439	$1,878
E-6	$2,532	$2,031
E-7	$2,550	$2,232
E-8	$2,559	$2,463
E-9	$2,583	$2,478
Warrant officer
W-1	$2,547	$2,160
W-2	$2,556	$2,460
W-3	$2,568	$2,484
W-4	$2,598	$2,520
W-5	$2,682	$2,532
Officer — prior enlisted
O-1E	$2,553	$2,436
O-2E	$2,562	$2,472
O-3E	$2,613	$2,517
Officer
O-1	$2,457	$2,007
O-2	$2,529	$2,370
O-3	$2,565	$2,490
O-4	$2,703	$2,523
O-5	$2,826	$2,535
O-6	$2,847	$2,538
O-7	$2,865	$2,556

What this rate means

O-5 with dependents, nearest stations0 – $8,064 / month

Westchester County$8,064

Fayetteville$2,847

Kansas City$2,847

Lexington$2,841

Lemoore NAS$2,835

Birmingham$2,826

Champaign$2,820

Eastern Shore$2,820

Lansing$2,820

Laughlin AFB$2,820

Youngstown$1,827

Birmingham is #205 of 338. The spread between the dearest and cheapest station at this grade is $6,237 a month — $74,844 a year, untaxed.

Every pay grade at Birmingham0 – $2,865 / month

E-1$2,223

E-2$2,223

E-3$2,223

E-4$2,223

E-5$2,439

E-6$2,532

E-7$2,550

E-8$2,559

E-9$2,583

W-1$2,547

W-2$2,556

W-3$2,568

W-4$2,598

W-5$2,682

O-1E$2,553

O-2E$2,562

O-3E$2,613

O-1$2,457

O-2$2,529

O-3$2,565

O-4$2,703

O-5$2,826

O-6$2,847

O-7$2,865

Promoting to O-6 here adds $21 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 Birmingham to Westchester County at O-5 is worth $5,238 a month — about 249 promotions worth of housing allowance, at $21 per grade here.

Dependency status is worth 11% 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. $2,826 a month of BAH takes more than $2,826 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-5 with dependents at Birmingham draws $2,826 per month in 2026

What this rate means

Things the rate table doesn't tell you