What is E-8 BAH at Laughlin AFB in 2026?

$1,521 per month without dependents ($18,252 per year), effective 01 JAN 2026. with dependents it is $2,019 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-8 BAH at Laughlin AFB 2026 — $1,521/mo without dependents

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

Laughlin AFB/Del Rio, TX

E-8 · without dependents

$1,521/ month

$18,252 / year

At E-8, this is #299 of 338 stations loaded · high San Francisco $5,196 · low Youngstown $1,248

MHA TX278 · ZIPs 78837 78840 78841 78842 78843 78847 +1 more

Your grade is calledARMYMSG / 1SGUSMCMSgt / 1stSgtNAVYSCPOUSAFSMSgt

Untaxed — matching it with taxable pay takes$1,950 / mo gross

Other dependency status here$2,019 with dependents

In government quarters, no dependents$50.10 / mo partial

Laughlin AFB — full sheetTap a row

Grade	With dep.	Without
Enlisted
E-1	$1,371	$1,110
E-2	$1,371	$1,110
E-3	$1,371	$1,110
E-4	$1,371	$1,110
E-5	$1,470	$1,209
E-6	$1,704	$1,275
E-7	$1,854	$1,392
E-8	$2,019	$1,521
E-9	$2,238	$1,680
Warrant officer
W-1	$1,722	$1,350
W-2	$1,923	$1,518
W-3	$2,127	$1,683
W-4	$2,280	$1,734
W-5	$2,466	$1,899
Officer — prior enlisted
O-1E	$1,884	$1,467
O-2E	$2,097	$1,572
O-3E	$2,307	$1,731
Officer
O-1	$1,506	$1,269
O-2	$1,701	$1,440
O-3	$2,121	$1,686
O-4	$2,526	$1,896
O-5	$2,820	$2,115
O-6	$2,841	$2,130
O-7	$2,859	$2,145

What this rate means

E-8 without dependents, nearest stations0 – $5,196 / month

San Francisco$5,196

Frankfort$1,545

County Cost Group 680$1,536

Fort Leonard Wood$1,533

County Cost Group 670$1,527

Laughlin AFB$1,521

County Cost Group 660$1,515

Erie$1,515

County Cost Group 650$1,506

Columbia$1,500

Youngstown$1,248

Laughlin AFB is #299 of 338. The spread between the dearest and cheapest station at this grade is $3,948 a month — $47,376 a year, untaxed.

Every pay grade at Laughlin AFB0 – $2,145 / month

E-1$1,110

E-2$1,110

E-3$1,110

E-4$1,110

E-5$1,209

E-6$1,275

E-7$1,392

E-8$1,521

E-9$1,680

W-1$1,350

W-2$1,518

W-3$1,683

W-4$1,734

W-5$1,899

O-1E$1,467

O-2E$1,572

O-3E$1,731

O-1$1,269

O-2$1,440

O-3$1,686

O-4$1,896

O-5$2,115

O-6$2,130

O-7$2,145

Promoting to E-9 here adds $159 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 Laughlin AFB to San Francisco at E-8 is worth $3,675 a month — about 23 promotions worth of housing allowance, at $159 per grade here.

Dependency status is worth 33% 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. $1,521 a month of BAH takes more than $1,521 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-8 without dependents at Laughlin AFB draws $1,521 per month in 2026

What this rate means

Things the rate table doesn't tell you