What is O-5 BAH at Gainesville in 2026?

$2,556 per month without dependents ($30,672 per year), effective 01 JAN 2026. with dependents it is $3,276 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 Gainesville 2026 — $2,556/mo without dependents

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

Gainesville, FL

O-5 · without dependents

$2,556/ month

$30,672 / year

At O-5, this is #155 of 338 stations loaded · high Westchester County $6,162 · low Youngstown $1,593

MHA FL057 · ZIPs 32601 32602 32603 32604 32605 32606 +25 more

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Untaxed — matching it with taxable pay takes$3,277 / mo gross

Other dependency status here$3,276 with dependents

In government quarters, no dependents$50.10 / mo partial

Gainesville — full sheetTap a row

Grade	With dep.	Without
Enlisted
E-1	$1,986	$1,572
E-2	$1,986	$1,572
E-3	$1,986	$1,572
E-4	$1,986	$1,572
E-5	$2,040	$1,800
E-6	$2,355	$1,932
E-7	$2,478	$1,983
E-8	$2,613	$2,109
E-9	$2,793	$2,196
Warrant officer
W-1	$2,373	$1,980
W-2	$2,532	$2,106
W-3	$2,700	$2,208
W-4	$2,826	$2,379
W-5	$2,982	$2,508
Officer — prior enlisted
O-1E	$2,502	$2,037
O-2E	$2,676	$2,175
O-3E	$2,850	$2,346
Officer
O-1	$2,085	$1,929
O-2	$2,352	$2,025
O-3	$2,697	$2,238
O-4	$3,033	$2,481
O-5	$3,276	$2,556
O-6	$3,300	$2,679
O-7	$3,324	$2,724

What this rate means

O-5 without dependents, nearest stations0 – $6,162 / month

Westchester County$6,162

Yakima$2,568

Volusia County$2,565

Wilmington$2,565

Cincinnati$2,562

Gainesville$2,556

Birmingham$2,535

County Cost Group 810$2,520

Dahlonega$2,520

Fort Stewart$2,520

Youngstown$1,593

Gainesville is #155 of 338. The spread between the dearest and cheapest station at this grade is $4,569 a month — $54,828 a year, untaxed.

Every pay grade at Gainesville0 – $2,724 / month

E-1$1,572

E-2$1,572

E-3$1,572

E-4$1,572

E-5$1,800

E-6$1,932

E-7$1,983

E-8$2,109

E-9$2,196

W-1$1,980

W-2$2,106

W-3$2,208

W-4$2,379

W-5$2,508

O-1E$2,037

O-2E$2,175

O-3E$2,346

O-1$1,929

O-2$2,025

O-3$2,238

O-4$2,481

O-5$2,556

O-6$2,679

O-7$2,724

Promoting to O-6 here adds $123 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 Gainesville to Westchester County at O-5 is worth $3,606 a month — about 29 promotions worth of housing allowance, at $123 per grade here.

Dependency status is worth 28% 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. $2,556 a month of BAH takes more than $2,556 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 without dependents at Gainesville draws $2,556 per month in 2026

What this rate means

Things the rate table doesn't tell you