What is E-5 BAH at Fort Polk in 2026?

$1,218 per month with dependents ($14,616 per year), effective 01 JAN 2026. Without dependents it is $1,128 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.

E-5 BAH at Fort Polk 2026 — $1,218 with dependents, $1,128 without

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

Fort Polk, LA

E-5 · with dependents

$1,218/ month

$14,616 / year

At E-5, this is #334 of 338 stations loaded · high San Francisco $5,127 · low Anniston $1,185

MHA LA115 · ZIPs 70634 70637 70639 70652 70653 70656 +29 more

Your grade is calledARMYSGTUSMCSgtNAVYPO2USAFSSgt

Untaxed — matching it with taxable pay takes$1,562 / mo gross

Without dependents here$1,128 / mo

In government quarters, no dependents$50.10 / mo partial

Fort Polk — full sheetTap a row

Grade	With dep.	Without
Enlisted
E-1	$1,206	$1,026
E-2	$1,206	$1,026
E-3	$1,206	$1,026
E-4	$1,206	$1,026
E-5	$1,218	$1,128
E-6	$1,833	$1,374
E-7	$1,872	$1,404
E-8	$1,911	$1,434
E-9	$1,989	$1,527
Warrant officer
W-1	$1,854	$1,392
W-2	$1,887	$1,416
W-3	$1,941	$1,551
W-4	$2,010	$1,839
W-5	$2,100	$1,881
Officer — prior enlisted
O-1E	$1,875	$1,410
O-2E	$1,929	$1,488
O-3E	$2,022	$1,827
Officer
O-1	$1,296	$1,191
O-2	$1,827	$1,407
O-3	$1,938	$1,611
O-4	$2,124	$1,866
O-5	$2,262	$1,884
O-6	$2,277	$1,917
O-7	$2,289	$1,947

What this rate means

E-5 with dependents, nearest stations0 – $5,127 / month

San Francisco$5,127

Meridian$1,290

Fort Chaffee$1,263

Altus AFB$1,254

Fort Sill$1,233

Fort Polk$1,218

Vance AFB$1,200

Monroe$1,194

Youngstown$1,191

Anniston$1,185

Fort Polk is #334 of 338. The spread between the dearest and cheapest station at this grade is $3,942 a month — $47,304 a year, untaxed.

Every pay grade at Fort Polk0 – $2,289 / month

E-1$1,206

E-2$1,206

E-3$1,206

E-4$1,206

E-5$1,218

E-6$1,833

E-7$1,872

E-8$1,911

E-9$1,989

W-1$1,854

W-2$1,887

W-3$1,941

W-4$2,010

W-5$2,100

O-1E$1,875

O-2E$1,929

O-3E$2,022

O-1$1,296

O-2$1,827

O-3$1,938

O-4$2,124

O-5$2,262

O-6$2,277

O-7$2,289

Promoting to E-6 here adds $615 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 Fort Polk to San Francisco at E-5 is worth $3,909 a month — about 6 promotions worth of housing allowance, at $615 per grade here.

Dependency status is worth 8% 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. $1,218 a month of BAH takes more than $1,218 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.

E-5 at Fort Polk draws $1,218 per month with dependents in 2026, $1,128 without

What this rate means

Things the rate table doesn't tell you