What is O-1E BAH at Charleston in 2026?

$2,655 per month with dependents ($31,860 per year), effective 01 JAN 2026. Without dependents it is $2,382 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-1E BAH at Charleston 2026 — $2,655 with dependents, $2,382 without

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

Charleston, SC

O-1E · with dependents

$2,655/ month

$31,860 / year

At O-1E, this is #131 of 338 stations loaded · high Westchester County $5,931 · low Youngstown $1,521

MHA SC259 · ZIPs 29401 29402 29403 29404 29405 29406 +53 more

Your grade is calledARMY2LTUSMC2ndLtNAVYENSUSAF2d Lt

Untaxed — matching it with taxable pay takes$3,404 / mo gross

Without dependents here$2,382 / mo

In government quarters, no dependents$50.10 / mo partial

Charleston — full sheetTap a row

Grade	With dep.	Without
Enlisted
E-1	$2,220	$1,755
E-2	$2,220	$1,755
E-3	$2,220	$1,755
E-4	$2,220	$1,755
E-5	$2,385	$1,941
E-6	$2,616	$2,064
E-7	$2,652	$2,223
E-8	$2,694	$2,439
E-9	$2,769	$2,496
Warrant officer
W-1	$2,634	$2,172
W-2	$2,667	$2,436
W-3	$2,724	$2,508
W-4	$2,790	$2,619
W-5	$2,880	$2,661
Officer — prior enlisted
O-1E	$2,655	$2,382
O-2E	$2,712	$2,484
O-3E	$2,802	$2,607
Officer
O-1	$2,421	$2,049
O-2	$2,613	$2,334
O-3	$2,721	$2,529
O-4	$2,904	$2,646
O-5	$3,039	$2,664
O-6	$3,060	$2,697
O-7	$3,081	$2,742

What this rate means

O-1E with dependents, nearest stations0 – $5,931 / month

Westchester County$5,931

Richmond$2,682

Spokane$2,679

Detroit$2,664

Twenty Nine Palms MCB$2,664

Charleston$2,655

Fort Collins$2,649

Buffalo$2,646

Fairbanks$2,646

Helena$2,637

Youngstown$1,521

Charleston is #131 of 338. The spread between the dearest and cheapest station at this grade is $4,410 a month — $52,920 a year, untaxed.

Every pay grade at Charleston0 – $3,081 / month

E-1$2,220

E-2$2,220

E-3$2,220

E-4$2,220

E-5$2,385

E-6$2,616

E-7$2,652

E-8$2,694

E-9$2,769

W-1$2,634

W-2$2,667

W-3$2,724

W-4$2,790

W-5$2,880

O-1E$2,655

O-2E$2,712

O-3E$2,802

O-1$2,421

O-2$2,613

O-3$2,721

O-4$2,904

O-5$3,039

O-6$3,060

O-7$3,081

Promoting to O-2E here adds $57 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 Charleston to Westchester County at O-1E is worth $3,276 a month — about 57 promotions worth of housing allowance, at $57 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. $2,655 a month of BAH takes more than $2,655 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-1E at Charleston draws $2,655 per month with dependents in 2026, $2,382 without

What this rate means

Things the rate table doesn't tell you