What is O-3 BAH at Washington in 2026?

$4,020 per month with dependents ($48,240 per year), effective 01 JAN 2026. without dependents it is $3,531 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-3 BAH at Washington 2026 — $4,020/mo with dependents

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

Washington, DC Metro Area

O-3 · with dependents

$4,020/ month

$48,240 / year

At O-3, this is #38 of 338 stations loaded · high Westchester County $6,633 · low Anniston $1,686

MHA DC053 · ZIPs 20001 20002 20003 20004 20005 20006 +553 more

Your grade is calledARMYCPTUSMCCaptNAVYLTUSAFCapt

Untaxed — matching it with taxable pay takes$5,154 / mo gross

Other dependency status here$3,531 without dependents

In government quarters, no dependents$50.10 / mo partial

Washington — full sheetTap a row

Grade	With dep.	Without
Enlisted
E-1	$3,096	$2,409
E-2	$3,096	$2,409
E-3	$3,096	$2,409
E-4	$3,096	$2,409
E-5	$3,132	$2,832
E-6	$3,759	$3,057
E-7	$3,855	$3,099
E-8	$3,957	$3,261
E-9	$4,128	$3,447
Warrant officer
W-1	$3,780	$3,096
W-2	$3,894	$3,258
W-3	$4,023	$3,471
W-4	$4,167	$3,777
W-5	$4,350	$3,876
Officer — prior enlisted
O-1E	$3,870	$3,129
O-2E	$4,002	$3,405
O-3E	$4,197	$3,753
Officer
O-1	$3,213	$3,054
O-2	$3,753	$3,126
O-3	$4,020	$3,531
O-4	$4,410	$3,855
O-5	$4,692	$3,909
O-6	$4,731	$3,999
O-7	$4,770	$4,071

What this rate means

O-3 with dependents, nearest stations0 – $6,633 / month

Westchester County$6,633

Burlington$4,203

Marin$4,146

Newport$4,137

Fitchburg$4,059

Washington$4,020

Providence$4,008

West Palm Beach$3,975

Hawaii County$3,945

New Haven$3,843

Anniston$1,686

Washington is #38 of 338. The spread between the dearest and cheapest station at this grade is $4,947 a month — $59,364 a year, untaxed.

Every pay grade at Washington0 – $4,770 / month

E-1$3,096

E-2$3,096

E-3$3,096

E-4$3,096

E-5$3,132

E-6$3,759

E-7$3,855

E-8$3,957

E-9$4,128

W-1$3,780

W-2$3,894

W-3$4,023

W-4$4,167

W-5$4,350

O-1E$3,870

O-2E$4,002

O-3E$4,197

O-1$3,213

O-2$3,753

O-3$4,020

O-4$4,410

O-5$4,692

O-6$4,731

O-7$4,770

Promoting to O-4 here adds $390 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 Washington to Westchester County at O-3 is worth $2,613 a month — about 7 promotions worth of housing allowance, at $390 per grade here.

Dependency status is worth 14% 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. $4,020 a month of BAH takes more than $4,020 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-3 with dependents at Washington draws $4,020 per month in 2026

What this rate means

Things the rate table doesn't tell you