What is E-8 BAH at Lexington in 2026?

$1,938 per month without dependents ($23,256 per year), effective 01 JAN 2026. with dependents it is $2,190 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 Lexington 2026 — $1,938/mo without dependents

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

Lexington, KY

E-8 · without dependents

$1,938/ month

$23,256 / year

At E-8, this is #208 of 338 stations loaded · high San Francisco $5,196 · low Youngstown $1,248

MHA KY107 · ZIPs 40502 40503 40504 40505 40506 40507 +33 more

Your grade is calledARMYMSG / 1SGUSMCMSgt / 1stSgtNAVYSCPOUSAFSMSgt

Untaxed — matching it with taxable pay takes$2,485 / mo gross

Other dependency status here$2,190 with dependents

In government quarters, no dependents$50.10 / mo partial

Lexington — full sheetTap a row

Grade	With dep.	Without
Enlisted
E-1	$1,713	$1,284
E-2	$1,713	$1,284
E-3	$1,713	$1,284
E-4	$1,713	$1,284
E-5	$1,875	$1,440
E-6	$2,151	$1,611
E-7	$2,172	$1,716
E-8	$2,190	$1,938
E-9	$2,304	$2,010
Warrant officer
W-1	$2,169	$1,668
W-2	$2,178	$1,935
W-3	$2,208	$2,022
W-4	$2,343	$2,148
W-5	$2,514	$2,172
Officer — prior enlisted
O-1E	$2,175	$1,872
O-2E	$2,196	$1,995
O-3E	$2,370	$2,142
Officer
O-1	$1,917	$1,545
O-2	$2,148	$1,824
O-3	$2,205	$2,049
O-4	$2,571	$2,160
O-5	$2,841	$2,175
O-6	$2,862	$2,181
O-7	$2,880	$2,217

What this rate means

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

San Francisco$5,196

Indianapolis$1,947

Baton Rouge$1,944

Pensacola$1,941

Coos Bay$1,938

Lexington$1,938

Bangor$1,932

Columbia$1,932

Mobile$1,929

Bloomington$1,923

Youngstown$1,248

Lexington is #208 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 Lexington0 – $2,217 / month

E-1$1,284

E-2$1,284

E-3$1,284

E-4$1,284

E-5$1,440

E-6$1,611

E-7$1,716

E-8$1,938

E-9$2,010

W-1$1,668

W-2$1,935

W-3$2,022

W-4$2,148

W-5$2,172

O-1E$1,872

O-2E$1,995

O-3E$2,142

O-1$1,545

O-2$1,824

O-3$2,049

O-4$2,160

O-5$2,175

O-6$2,181

O-7$2,217

Promoting to E-9 here adds $72 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 Lexington to San Francisco at E-8 is worth $3,258 a month — about 45 promotions worth of housing allowance, at $72 per grade here.

Dependency status is worth 13% 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. $1,938 a month of BAH takes more than $1,938 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 Lexington draws $1,938 per month in 2026

What this rate means

Things the rate table doesn't tell you