What is E-8 BAH at Meridian in 2026?

$1,854 per month with dependents ($22,248 per year), effective 01 JAN 2026. without dependents it is $1,392 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 Meridian 2026 — $1,854/mo with dependents

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

Meridian, MS

E-8 · with dependents

$1,854/ month

$22,248 / year

At E-8, this is #315 of 338 stations loaded · high Westchester County $6,333 · low Anniston $1,638

MHA MS171 · ZIPs 39057 39301 39302 39303 39304 39305 +14 more

Your grade is calledARMYMSG / 1SGUSMCMSgt / 1stSgtNAVYSCPOUSAFSMSgt

Untaxed — matching it with taxable pay takes$2,377 / mo gross

Other dependency status here$1,392 without dependents

In government quarters, no dependents$50.10 / mo partial

Meridian — full sheetTap a row

Grade	With dep.	Without
Enlisted
E-1	$1,194	$1,032
E-2	$1,194	$1,032
E-3	$1,194	$1,032
E-4	$1,194	$1,032
E-5	$1,290	$1,062
E-6	$1,545	$1,155
E-7	$1,692	$1,269
E-8	$1,854	$1,392
E-9	$2,028	$1,521
Warrant officer
W-1	$1,563	$1,173
W-2	$1,758	$1,344
W-3	$1,959	$1,524
W-4	$2,052	$1,572
W-5	$2,169	$1,728
Officer — prior enlisted
O-1E	$1,722	$1,293
O-2E	$1,929	$1,446
O-3E	$2,070	$1,554
Officer
O-1	$1,329	$1,092
O-2	$1,542	$1,272
O-3	$1,953	$1,527
O-4	$2,202	$1,698
O-5	$2,382	$1,788
O-6	$2,400	$1,938
O-7	$2,412	$1,968

What this rate means

E-8 with dependents, nearest stations0 – $6,333 / month

Westchester County$6,333

Wichita$1,878

County Cost Group 630$1,869

County Cost Group 620$1,863

County Cost Group 610$1,854

Meridian$1,854

County Cost Group 600$1,845

Charleston$1,833

County Cost Group 590$1,833

Erie$1,824

Anniston$1,638

Meridian is #315 of 338. The spread between the dearest and cheapest station at this grade is $4,695 a month — $56,340 a year, untaxed.

Every pay grade at Meridian0 – $2,412 / month

E-1$1,194

E-2$1,194

E-3$1,194

E-4$1,194

E-5$1,290

E-6$1,545

E-7$1,692

E-8$1,854

E-9$2,028

W-1$1,563

W-2$1,758

W-3$1,959

W-4$2,052

W-5$2,169

O-1E$1,722

O-2E$1,929

O-3E$2,070

O-1$1,329

O-2$1,542

O-3$1,953

O-4$2,202

O-5$2,382

O-6$2,400

O-7$2,412

Promoting to E-9 here adds $174 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 Meridian to Westchester County at E-8 is worth $4,479 a month — about 26 promotions worth of housing allowance, at $174 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. $1,854 a month of BAH takes more than $1,854 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 with dependents at Meridian draws $1,854 per month in 2026

What this rate means

Things the rate table doesn't tell you